Video editing can normally be regarded as a long and tedious process. Whether you are working on a small project with a quick turnaround or on a feature-length film with all bells and whistles, the editing process is just as intricate and intimidating. In fact, one minute of footage could easily take a considerable amount of your time to edit depending on the complexity of the montage and multitude of insert edits and cut-aways as well as the number of revisions, color enhancements, and mixing tweaks. Knowing the keyboard shortcuts of your NLE on such occasions can help but only to a certain degree.
Fortunately, there are other ways to take advantage of the powerful editing features found in editing platforms such as Premiere Pro CC to speed up your editing process and eventually make it more efficient and productive.
So, if you are struggling with your current workflow in the editing bay, make sure to try out this mind-blowing video editing technique showcased by Peter McKinnon first. Overall, it could be extremely effective in reducing editing time especially when you’d want to match your cuts to the beat of an audio track.
Before attempting this workflow, make sure that your keyboard shortcut settings match those outlined in the tutorial, specifically the shortcut regarding adding markers which should be assigned to the M key.
Now that your settings are in order, the first thing you’ll have to do is place an audio track on your timeline. Then by playing the sequence in real time, you should create markers at the points/beats where you want to add a cut.
Next, head over to your Media bin and go through the clips that you’ll want to include in your edit. For each clip, set the in and out points (use I and O shortcuts on your keyboard) so that you can specify the usable parts you’ll want to see in the final edit, thereby removing any bloopers, mistakes or unwanted shots from the finished product.
The last step is to select all the clips from your bin, click on Clip and then Automate to Sequence. A settings box should appear and you’ll want to confirm that in the Placement drop-down menu, you have chosen All Unnumbered Markers before clicking OK. After that, Premiere will automatically add your clips to the timeline and create edits according to the market placement.
Of course, you’ll still need to fine-tune your rough cut, but at least you’ll be able to save the initial time, effort, and energy spent on dragging all the bits and pieces across your timeline and putting together your very first assembly which can be not only rather tedious and overwhelming but also quite time-consuming process.
[source: Peter McKinnon]
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