Yeah, there's a watermark on this tutorial. Just ignore it (I'm working on a new, better tutorial, for now, this is what I got!)
This might be the only recursive editing tutorial where the editing example I use in the tutorial is editing the tutorial itself. You can skip to 01:03:50 for that part.
This tutorial teaches Premiere Pro by way of a completely custom keyboard shortcut layout with more than 30 shortcuts that are all on the left side of the keyboard so your right hand never needs to leave the mouse. These shortcuts will work just as well in Media Composer and Resolve (and just about any other NLE).
I've been a video editor since 1996. I had worked in digiBeta digital tape-to-tape rooms until 2005, when I started using Final Cut Pro. When I first sat down to use the software I noticed the keyboard shortcuts layout seemed to be designed by software engineers, not video editors, and the shortcuts were kind of all over the place, sometimes requiring awkward key combinations (like command+shift, etc.). Before making my first edit I re-arranged these shortcuts, and have been perfecting them ever since.
For instance, the only reason the shortcut for Mark In is "i" and Mark Out is "o" is because In and Out start with "i" and "o". For thousands of years this has been the way it's been, I guess so people just starting to use the software could remember where they were. But you're not just beginning. You don't need to use these ancient shortcuts that are in the wrong places. It's the same with the transport keys J and K - these have been Transport Backward and Forward since the dawn of time. But they are in a horrible location. Look down at the home row on your keyboard: ASDF - this is where your left hand rests, and these are the keys used for Mark In (A), Mark Out (F), Frame Back (S). Frame Forward (D), with Transport Backward (X) and Forward (C) right under the home row. See how much more conveniently located these are?
And, all the shortcuts are this intuitive, plus they are all either the key or shift+the key - no command/control+shift nonsense. I've also moved the often used copy/paste and undo/redo to a better location, and if you switch between Mac and PC you won't have to get used shifting between using Control-C and Command-C, for instance - it will be exactly the same no matter what computer you're using.
If you know how to type, these shortcuts are for you. If you don't know how to type, learn (seriously, if you're going to be an editor, learn to type). Also, if you edit by dragging footage from the Source window to the Timeline, this tutorial is for you (seriously, stop editing by dragging footage to the timeline, it's slow and horribly inefficient).
A couple things I wish I had done differently on this:
A couple times I said click on something when I meant right-click
When applying an effect to a clip, it's faster to select the clip and double click on the effect rather than dragging the effect onto the clip
I don't think I explained well enough when you'd want to change the render file to something like ProRes, then turn on Use Previews on export. This is something you'd do if you have a long project and have a client that might be making a lot of changes. Instead of waiting forever to export each time you make a small change, you render the entire timeline to a high-quality codec like ProRes. When you check Use Previews, the will go faster each time you export when you make the changes.
I didn't mention proxies at all. If you find you need to render the footage (maybe if you're using 4K on a slower system), you can check the make proxies on import box, or make proxies later. Then, make sure to add the Toggle Previews button on the Source and Timeline window by pressing the + under each window. You can edit with proxies on, then toggle them off to check what things are looking like in full resolution. Combining proxies with high quality render files and Use Previews on export will greatly speed up your workflow.
You can download the keyboard shortcut layout images and the Premiere keyboard file here: davidblairportfolio.com/daves-premiere-keyboard-shortcuts if you don't want to download a zip file get the images at davidblairportfolio.com/daves-premiere-pro-tutorial and either enter the shortcuts in yourself or email me at daveditor@gmail.com and I'll send you the .kys shortcuts file.
In the video I explain where to put the Premiere shortcut file on your computer.
Download the six short video clips used in the tutorial here:
vimeo.com/313776528/5ecb858823
vimeo.com/313776686/73103b3def
vimeo.com/313776747/232dee04ac
vimeo.com/313776837/c5951e4a67
vimeo.com/313777183/8865beb1c9
vimeo.com/313777268/07279c31cd
Click Download and choose Original. (This is footage I shot and used in this video:vimeo.com/202299861)
davidblairportfolio.com/daves-premiere-pro-tutorial
