Speed Up Your Premiere Pro CC Editing Workflow Using These Five Must-Know Shortcuts Along the Way

We all know how powerful and efficient shortcuts can be, right? They can not only increase the speed of your video editing workflow exponentially but also allow you to work much smarter in the long run and focus on the more important aspects of the creative process instead.

For those of you predominantly editing in Premiere Pro CC, here’s another series of neat keyboard shortcuts covered in great detail by AdobeMasters in the video below. So, if you are currently building your custom keyboard layout and want to put a few more tricks up your sleeve, here’s another great chance to do so.

You have probably heard the following tip many times, but if you really want to optimize your editing workflow, it’s highly recommended to use your left hand on the keyboard whenever possible along with all the shortcuts that you can assign and instantly access on that side.

Fortunately, the customization of the keyboard in Premiere Pro CC is very simple and straightforward indeed. Everything you need to do is heading over to Edit and then selecting Keyboard Shortcuts. There are multiple configurations you can opt for, plus you can utilize these shortcuts in combination with Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys to expand the range of the available options even further.

That said, adding edits in Premiere Pro is probably one of the most frequently used functions when editing, but the main issue with this particular shortcut is that by default it’s assigned to Ctrl+K keys that are generally hard to hit from the left side. Since you would probably use this option a myriad of times on a daily basis, it will be much convenient to assign it to a single key like Z instead.

Jumping to different cuts on your timeline is another commonly used function that can also save you a ton of time. By default, you can jump between cuts in either direction by using the Shift+Up and Down Arrow keys. Kurt Anderson, however, suggests assigning these functions to 1 and 2 keys respectively. Again, using only a single button for a frequently used function provides efficiency and allows you to skip the redundant clicks that otherwise quickly add up over time and slow you down as a result.

Another less known editing technique that you can use in Premiere Pro CC is Match Framing. Instead of expanding and then scrubbing all over your clip in the timeline while looking for a certain frame, you can just select the clip, place the playhead on that exact spot and hit F. That way, the video will be instantly loaded in the Source Monitor where you can pick another moment of that take or simply change the in-and-out points of your edit right off the bat.

In an almost identical way, you can utilize Match Replace as well. You need to assign this function manually, though. You can find it in the Keyboard Shortcuts panel, under the Clip functions. Just go to Replace clip with and select From Source Monitor, Match Frame. This feature essentially allows you to replace one take with another in your edit. You can even point a certain frame with your playhead and use it as a reference for the swap.

Last but not least, if you want to change the order and position of the clips on your timeline press and hold the Ctrl key while moving the selected piece around. It’s not a breakthrough techniquе by any means, but it can still help you to streamline your editing process in a way. Ultimately, if you want to learn more about Premiere Pro CC shortcuts along with a few less known ones, check out the previous write-ups we did on the topic here and here.

[source: AdobeMasters]

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