Editing for Animatics, Audio, and Previz

Required TEMPLATE SETUP method 

1. If you are using a private device, you must please install the exact version of Premiere Pro that is installed on college computers, otherwise use college computers. 

2. Download and use the Premiere Projectname-EDIT folder template
   (see right) 

   1. • Open this Projectname-EDIT folder in GDrive, download the whole folder, unzip (extract all, as a folder), and use it as your project folder. 

3. Move/copy your source media files to the subfolders under the (Source) subfolder in the Premiere project folder. 

   1. • The Premiere Project file and its Source Media should please be kept together. Whenever you upload/download to/from GDrive, or change computers, the whole project folder should please be mirrored exactly. 
      • For animatic still images, please avoid adding TIFs or PSDs to the Premiere project. We don't support that workflow. Use JPGs or PNGs, exported from Photoshop TIF/PSD, because JPGs/PNGs are smaller and faster to edit with. 

4. If Premiere is already running, 

   1. • File > Close all projects 

5. Launch Premiere (if not already running)  

6. Window > Workspace > Import Workspace from Projects [ON] 

7. File > Open Project... 

8. Browse to the Premiere Project Folder, and open the project file
   Projectname-EDIT.prproj 

9. Skip ahead to the Import Footage stage, below 

Alternative setup, creating all details from scratch 

Students are generally not approved to use this method, because students are often careless with organization and setup, which causes unnecessary confusion. Also, Adobe's details change from time to time. Please supply a good reason and obtain approval, otherwise use the TEMPLATE method, as instructed above. 
However, it might be a good idea to use these details to simply check your settings. 

Start Premiere Pro 

If already open, File > Close All Projects 

File > New > Project 

• Project Name: ProjectName-EDIT  

• Location: Browse 

  • • Please save the project file to a local drive Projectname-EDIT folder, which also contains the (Source) media (images/audio/video) in a subfolder. Use clear organization. A local drive gives faster video editing performance than an external drive or network drive. 

• Create new sequence [ON] 

  • • Sequence Name: ProjectName-EDIT   

• Create 

• File > Project Settings > Ingest Settings > Ingest [ON] > Create proxies 
  
  To improve performance. 

Project Window (or Timeline) > [Select Existing Sequence]  

or File > New > Sequence

• Sequence Preset: DSLR 1080p, DNX 1080p, or AVCHD 1080p 

Sequence > Sequence Settings

• Editing Mode: DSLR, DNX 1080p, or AVCHD 1080p (Presets)

• Timebase: 24 or 23.976 frames per second, for animation or international cinema 
  25 frames per second, for regional live action film / vfx 

• Frame Size: 1920 x 1080 

• Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square Pixels (1.0) 

• Sequence Name: ProjectName-EDIT  
  (use the same name as your project filename)  

File > Save 

Keep these sequence settings. If you ever get this warning while editing, keep existing settings. 

Adding Multiple Short Clips to the Sequence Timeline 

Window > Workspace > Assembly 

Project Window > Select all the source media 

• storyboard still image keyframes, 

• video footage clips, 

preferably in sequential order; 

you can use the use the [SHIFT] and/or [CTRL] key to select many clips.  

Clip > Automate to Sequence 

Still Clip Duration: 

• Frames Per Still: 24 frames (1 sec.) or 

• Frames Per Still: 48 frames (2 sec.)

You will need to retime all the clips, after adding them all to the timeline.  

This is usually faster than adding one clip at a time, to the timeline. 

If Premiere offers to change the sequence settings, keep the existing sequence settings. 

Oversized vision? Undersized vision? Black bars? Different resolutions? 

• You can apply a uniform scale setting to multiple footage clips, to fit them to the 1920x1080p sequence frame 

  • • • Select multiple clips in the sequence timeline, and 

      • Right click > Scale to Frame Size, 

      • For deliberately oversized artwork you are zooming/panning with, this is not necessary. 

and/or 

• You can use 

  • • Window > Effect Controls > Motion > Scale 

Adding Selected Parts of Audio/Video Clips, to the EDIT 

• Window > Workspace > Editing 

Browse and select the best takes / segments 

• Project Window > Select desired media clip > double click > View and/or Listen to the clip in the Source Monitor  

Mark a segment of a clip, to put into the timeline 

• Source Monitor > Find In Point of selected take > Mark In 

• Source Monitor > Find Out Point of selected take > Mark Out 

Add, Append, Insert or Overwrite to the Timeline

• View the EDIT sequence in the Program Monitor 

• Sequence Timeline > Drag the Playhead > Find the desired In Point 

• Drag and Drop, Insert, or Overwrite the Marked Clip to the Sequence Timeline 

Source Monitor 

Window > Workspace > Editing 

Basic regular editing 

• Use the Sequence Timeline 

• Use the default Select tool (v) > left-mouse, to 

  • • Drag the ends of clips, and re-time them. 

    • Drag clips, to place them where you want them.  

    • Drag and drop clips from the Project window into the Sequence timeline on a Track 

• Use the Razor tool (c) > left-mouse, to cut clips. 

Retiming 

To change the timing of many clips in the sequence at once: 

• • • zoom out and box-select all clips in the timeline (or use the "a" shortcut for "select all clips to the right" tool) 

    • right-click  >  Speed/Duration  

    • type in the number of seconds you want eg: timecode  00:00:01:00 for 1 second each 

    • check [ON] "Ripple Edit, Shifting Trailing Clips" 

Pacing 

• Laying down a music track EARLY is necessary, for mood, timing and pacing of your cuts. Audio drives rhythm.  

Transitions 

• video transitions > dissolves > drag and drop onto clip cut points where 2 clips meet 

• audio transitions > constant power, fade, etc. > drag and drop onto clip cut points where 2 clips meet 

• transitions can also be used on a single clip end, to ramp in or out (e.g. audio volume fade in/out, or video dissolve to/from black) 

Motion 

• Camera Pans and Zooms, e.g. 

  • • Background pans - good for establishing shots, tracking subjects, characters running 

    • Zooms - good for establishing shots, subject focus zooms 

• Layer Motion, e.g. 

  • • Character over background 

    • Foreground, midground, background 

    • You must provide layers, from your source vision / artwork, as 

      • • Still image PNGs, with transparency (for Animatics), or 

        • Video with an alpha channel, or 

        • You will need to apply a key effect or mask for transparency 

• For 2D motion in Premiere Pro, use the Effect Controls window to keyframe position and scale of track clips. 

  • • Select a clip in the timeline 

    • Window > Effect Controls > Motion > 
      - Position 
      - Scale 

    • See Premiere Help > Keyframing 

    • See Premiere Help > The Motion Effect  

• To achieve good depth and layer motion, it may be desirable to apply position and scale motion to multiple clips on multiple tracks: 

  • • File > New > Adjustment Layer > this clip's motion can be used to affect all the clips in the tracks below it. 
      or, 

    • Make sure the motion in each clip on each track has exactly the same keyframes, or copy the keyframes from one clip to another. See Moving and Copying Keyframes.  

    • Complex depth and layering can be achieved if you scale/move backgrounds, midgrounds and foregrounds with slightly different speeds. 

    • Keep your motion simple and clean. 

• In After Effects, layer clips can also be keyframed with position/scale, or you can use the more advanced Camera Tool to create 3D camera motion with 2D layers. 

Timing and Reference 

Student edit timing and keyframed motion is often too slow (snap it up, folks, it isn't a lullaby) or too fast (huh? what just happened?) Good timing needs good audio/music, video reference and style interpretation. 

• Act with your body/face/hands, using a stopwatch/timer. Use energy and intention. 

• Capture your video reference at 24fps, using 

  • • a DSLR from Tech Store, or 

    •  a mobile camera app such as: MoviePro (iOS), McPro24fps or FiLMiC Pro (Android), 

• Search for and download well-chosen video reference from a respected source, with appropriate style, and convert to 24fps  

  • • reference guidance and examples 
    • jpg sequence method  

• Step through 24 fps video, frame-by-frame, and count.
  Note that animation is around 75% of live action timing, style-wise. 

  • • Premiere Pro Source Monitor or Timeline: left arrow, right arrow (step frame back, forward) 

    • Youtube / GDrive: spacebar (pause), then "," and "." (step frame back, forward) 

    • Vimeo: [SHIFT] + left arrow, right arrow (step frame back, forward) 

    • Syncsketch: left arrow, right arrow, (step frame back, forward) 

      • • You must invite your facilitators to your Syncsketch and share it 

    • PotPlayer: D, F (step frame back, forward) 

    • DJV player: left arrow, right arrow (step frame back, forward), time display in timecode or frames 

    • VLC player: spacebar (pause), then "E" (step frame forward only) 

    • Quicktime player: left arrow, right arrow, (step frame back, forward), time display in timecode or frames 

    • KeyframeMP: left arrow, right arrow, (step frame back, forward) 

    • KMPlayer:  ALT-F, F (step frame back, forward) 

    • FCheck (Autodesk Maya image frame sequence player): left arrow, right arrow, (step frame back, forward) 

    • For animation, reference and animation must please be viewable at the same time. 

Annotation  

Shot numbers are often necessary with animatics, especially when the animatic is being followed as the main storyboard and shotlist in production. 

• Shot numbers can be overlayed with the Type Tool. 

• Note: A scene is a sequence of camera shots, around a specific plot point or location. A shot is a single camera angle, either moving or locked off, usually separated by cuts. Use shot numbers. 

Color 

• • • Do not use color in animatics unless directed to do so, and only if the budget and schedule works. It may distract from more important issues, like camera composition, focus points, action, story, acting, timing, and edit flow.  
    • If your main shots & keys are going well and the schedule permits, a vertical slice may be desirable in your animatic edit. This is simply one shot, in any scene in the show, in which all the keyframes are colored, either with 2D paint and cleanup line, or with 3D lighting test renders/comps. It represents the proposed fine look of the show. It is to be edited into the main video Edit, in the normal storytelling sequence order. So your fine-edited video animatic would be mostly monochrome shots, with one of the shots in color. 

General 

• • • The edit must provide a clear, competitively entertaining story experience for the target audience, in vision, audio, pacing, and emotional feel.