Adobe Premiere Elements continued Adobe’s longtime commitment to provide professional video editing solutions for Windows-based workstations. Premiere CS3 is one component of a production suite that Adobe has developed for digital media production. Using Premiere CS3, you can edit video, add effects and export the finished project to various file formats. Premiere is best-suited with digital video file formats acquired from DV camcorders or professional standard or high-definition cameras.

1. Step 1

   Open Adobe Premiere CS3 and import video files by double-clicking anywhere in the Project tab. Select the video clips you want to edit using the Import file navigation window. Select multiple clips by holding down the “Ctrl” key as you click on clips you want to import.

2. Step 2

   Drag clips you want to edit from the Project tab to the “Timeline: Sequence 01″ tab at the bottom half of the Premiere CS3 desktop.

3. Step 3

   Trim the in or out points of the clips by using your mouse to drag the beginning or end of the clip to the desired points.

4. Step 4

   Drag additional clips from the Project tab to the Timeline tab, adjusting in our out points as needed.

5. Step 5

   Add transitions by using the “Page Up” or “Page Down” keys on your keyboard to advance or return to edit points between clips. Press the “Ctrl” and “D” keys to add a default one-second dissolve between two clips. If another transition is desired, select the “Effects” tab next to the Project tab, then select the pull-down arrow to the left of the “Video Transitions” folder to view transition sub-folders. Select your desired transition from one of the sub-folders and drag the transition effect onto the timeline where the two clips meet.

6. Step 6

   Adjust the transition duration by dragging either end of the purple transition icon, much as you did to trim the video clips in Step 3.

7. Step 7

   Add a fade to black after the last clip by pressing “Ctrl” and “D” to use the default transition from the last clip to an empty portion of the timeline. Portions of the timeline where no video clips exist are treated as black video by Premiere.

Sports events like the NFL and the WWE can cut to replays almost instantly, but when you are editing home movies, it may take a little longer to do. If will have a great effect seeing one of your family members jumping into the pool in slow motion or one of the younger ones hitting a home run in little league.

1. Step 1

   Open up Adobe Premiere Pro. Choose a file name for the project, something like “slow_motion,” or whatever you please.

2. Step 2

   Right click on the file bin in the let hand corner and click on the import. Select all of the video files that you wish to import and create a slow motion replay out of

3. Step 3

   Go through all of the files and decide which one you want to use first. Click and drag that file into the Video 1 line on the editing Timeline.

4. Step 4

   Using the navigation bar, drag to the exact moment where you want the replay to begin. Keeping that bar there, click the slice tool on the far left of the timeline. This tool looks like a razor blade. Bring your cursor back over and click right where the navigation bar sits.

5. Step 5

   Go back where you clicked the slice tool and click the selection tool arrow.

6. Step 6

   Drag the navigation bar to the point that you would like the replay to end. Once again click the slice tool and click the mouse right over the navigation bar. Choose the selection tool after you have completed that. Now there should be a section of your video that has been separated from the other part.

7. Step 7

   Click once on the separated section without dragging the mouse and the selection should be highlighted.

8. Step 8

   Press CRTL+C on your keyboard. The selection will now be copied. To paste it, drag the navigation bar to the right of the clip and press CRTL+V. Now a copy of that selected video will be on your timeline.

9. Step 9

   Click and drag it to the left until it right against the end of your video. Now right click on the newly copied video and select the option that says “Speed/Duration.” Here there will be two options. You can either adjust the clip by the percentage or the time. I’d suggest doing it in the amount of time, because then you will know how long the clip will be before you render it.

10. Step 10

    Try out different times to pick the best slow motion. For example a three second clip may look great at six seconds in length, but a little too long with eight seconds. Once you have set your desired time, click on the OK button.

11. Step 11

    To see what the clip will look like, just hit the enter button and your project will automatically render. Then you can play it back and preview the slow motion part easily.

Two important terms to know in working with audio in Adobe Premiere Pro are “gain” and “volume.” Gain is the level of volume in a clip, and volume is the level of your audio’s output in a sequence. You can change the volume and gain levels to achieve a level of consistency across tracks, or for audio effect.

1. Step 1

   Use the “Audio Gain” command. Go to the “Clip” Menu and then “Audio Options” and then “Audio Gain.” Enter a value higher than 0.0 dB to increase, or lower than 0.0 dB to decrease. 0.0 is the starting point for the original value of the clip.

2. Step 2

   Adjust the volume of the sequence in either the “Effect Controls” or the “Timeline” panels. The methods for adjusting volume in the “Effect Controls” panel are the same as they are in other effect options.

3. Step 3

   Control your track levels with the “Timeline” panel. Track levels are controlled here with keyframes. To adjust with keyframes, go to your “Timeline” panel, and position your Time Indicator over the clip you want to adjust.

4. Step 4

   Click on the “Show Keyframes” icon. You will see a small dot appear on your audio track. Using your mouse, drag it up or down to increase or decrease accordingly.

Adobe Premiere is one of the best prosumer video editing programs on the market. It has all the features you need to transform your video into a professional looking end product. But to get started in Premiere, you first have to bring your video files into the program and place them in the timeline. The following will show you exactly how to do this.

1. Step 1

   Open a new document in Premiere. This should usually match the size, format and resolution of the video you recorded. On the other hand, if you are using video you saved to your hard drive from an online source, you may not want to go with its size and resolution, but with something larger. You can always export to something different. Name your project. Click OK.

2. Step 2

   Go to the Menu and click on File, select Import, and click File. Go to the location on your hard drive where you saved the file, click on it, and click OK.

3. Step 3

   The selected video file has now been imported into Premiere and placed in the Bin. The Bin is a file cabinet where all the files you import for a project are kept until you need them.

4. Step 4

   Go the bin and, with the cursor, left click and drag the imported file from the Bin to the timeline and place it in the section called Video 1. You could also right click on the item in the Bin, and select Insert at Edit Line, and the Video will automatically be place at the current edit point in the timeline.

Instead of creating a handmade galaxy, painting custom weather maps or using giant video screens, movie and television productions rely on chroma keys to eliminate thins from shots and replace them with special effects, background and other videos. You do not need an expensive production suite to use chroma keys because the filters are built right into Adobe Premiere Elements. With a little tweaking, you can easily use the chroma key on any AVI video.

1. Step 1

   Start a new project and import your footage by clicking on the “Project Window” and selecting “Import…” Select the files from the explorer window and press “OK.”

2. Step 2

   Drag the AVI file that you want to use chroma key on and place it into the “Video 2″ slot in the timeline.

3. Step 3

   Click on the “Sticky Note” icon and select a new “Color Matte.” Choose a bright red color matte. This will be used to place behind the video to help guide you and show what has been keyed out.

4. Step 4

   Drag the red color matte into the “Video 1″ slot on the timeline. Click on the edge of the colored mat and extend it until it reaches the end of the AVI video clip.

5. Step 5

   Click on the “Effects” tab in the project window. By default, the tab is located on the project window, but it could be a separate window or located to the left of the timeline. Click on the “Video Effects” folder, “Keying” and find the “Chroma Key” filter. Click and drag the filter onto your AVI clip.

6. Step 6

   Click on the “Effect Controls” tab in the “Monitor Window.” The chroma key should be applied and placed right under the “Opacity” option. Click on the arrow next to “Chroma Key” to expand the options.

7. Step 7

   Click on the “Eyedropper” tool on the “Color” menu selection. Move the eyedropper over the video preview and click once on the color you want to eliminate. Wait a few seconds and the color should disappear. Look for spots of red to appear on the video.

8. Step 8

   Adjust the “Similarity” of the color to remove any other tints of that color. Do not extend this percentage past 5 percent or you could eliminate the whole video.

9. Step 9

   Adjust the “Blend” to smooth other edges. This will make edges appear crisp and smooth. Alternate between the “Blend” and “Similarity” to get the perfect mixture.

10. Step 10

    Apply multiple chroma keys to eliminate different colors. If the “Similarity” takes out too much, apply multiple chroma keys to remove multiple shades of a color. Work with the video multiple times to get the best result.

Adobe Premiere allows you to remove the background with an effect called a Garbage Matte. In earlier versions of Premiere such as 6.5 and Pro, your options were a 4-point and 8-point Garbage Matte effect. Premiere CS3 and CS4 offer a 16-point Garbage Matte and much easier tools to create the matte. However, Premiere Pro will accomplish the background removal if you have a little patience.

1. Step 1

   Import your video to be fixed and the background video to the Premiere Project bin.
   Drag your background picture to Video layer 1 and your video to be fixed to Video layer 2. For this tutorial we are going to put this art sculpture produced by William H. Thielen into the golf course video.

2. Step 2

   Highlight Window on the top toolbar and then Effects. In the Effects bin look for Video Effects, Keying and then chose the 4-, 8- or 16-point Garbage Matte. To work with this effect you must open Effect Controls, again under Window in the top toolbar. In the Effect Controls bin, click the box to the left of the words 16-Point Garbage Matte and control wheels will appear over your subject video (see picture).

3. Step 3

   Move the Garbage Matte control wheels around the object in the Sequence Monitor. You will begin to see the background appear behind your subject.

4. Step 4

   When you have eliminated all the subject background, you may want to resize the object and place it somewhere else in the picture. Use Motion in the Effect Controls window for Position and Scale.

5. Step 5

   The last step is to render your layer by pressing the space bar, which will give you the best video quality. You can add another layer to the timeline and put more sculptures on the golf course using the garbage mattes.

When you are editing a video project in Adobe Premiere Pro, it is important to also pay attention to your audio elements. The more complex your project is, the more layers of audio you will have within your Timeline. This is when you may find it beneficial to “link clips” in your project. Linking clips can be very useful, because they will remain in sync if you move or trim them in your Timeline panel. You can link a video clip to multiple audio clips, or you can link multiple audio clips together. You can also apply audio effects simultaneously to all of the channels of your linked clips, as well as trim them.

1. Step 1

   Open the Premiere Pro program, and your project. Select multiple clips to be linked together by holding down the Shift key, and then clicking the clips with your mouse.

2. Step 2

   Link the clips together by going to the “Clip” menu at the top of your Premiere Pro workspace, and then go to Link.This will link all selected clips together.

3. Step 3

   Double click on one of the linked clips in the project panel. You can also go to the timeline panel and double-click the linked clips to begin the edit process using the source monitor to view your work.

4. Step 4

   Specify the “In” and “Out” points for the track using the source monitor panel. Click on the panel and then press Play or use the current time indicator to locate your In point. Press the In point icon when you locate it. Repeat for the Out point. Using this option, the times chosen for your In and Out points will apply to all of your linked clips.

5. Step 5

   Specify the “In” and “Out” points for a specific track in the Timeline, by using the current time indicator to “scrub” through the footage to the correct point. Note that in the timeline panel, your In and Out points will be different for each clip or track that has a different length of time.

6. Step 6

   Edit your clips as needed. You can trim all linked clips using the razor tool, move linked clips using the selection tool, or add effects from the effects panel, the audio effects bin. All changes made will apply to each of the linked clips within the In and Out Points you have determined.

Adobe Premiere displays audio and video tracks intuitively in the media timeline. When you open a video in Adobe Premiere, it is automatically queued for display in the media bin, which is usually found at the top left corner of the workspace next to the preview pane. When you need to delete one or more tracks in a video, Adobe Premiere lets you do so without compromising the quality of the remaining audio or video tracks.

1. Step 1

   Open the video file you wish to edit in Adobe Premiere or Adobe Premiere Elements by selecting the “File -> Add Media -> From Files or Folders” command. This will open a dialog box where you can browse your computer to find the file. Click on the file to open it in the media bin.

2. Step 2

   Drag the video file from the media bin to the video timeline located below the preview pane. The video track will automatically be placed in the video section while the audio track is located right below in the audio section.

3. Step 3

   Determine which track you’d like to delete. In some videos, the speaking audio track and the music audio track are split into two different tracks, usually labeled as Audio 1, Audio 2, etc. in Adobe Premiere. The speaking track is usually Audio 1.

4. Step 4

   Right-click anywhere on the video or audio track and select the “Unlink Audio and Video” command. This will sever the parts into their respective tracks. If you move, delete or otherwise adjust any piece of the video or audio separately, the parts will no longer be synced, so make sure you make changes simultaneously if you need to make any at all.

5. Step 5

   Click on the track you want to delete, and press the “Delete” button on your keyboard. You can also right-click the track and select the “Delete Audio” or “Delete Video” command from the popup menu.

6. Step 6

   Save the video file by selecting “File -> Save As” or tapping the Control + S command on your keyboard.

A scene transition is a special effect inserted between two video clips. The purpose is to blend the two scenes together using a special effect. There are many transitions to choose from that come with Adobe Premier elements. First time film makers tend to overuse this feature. Only add a transition when it makes sense otherwise they tend to distract from the video. Add transitions after editing and before adding the soundtrack. Transitions have an impact on timing and may cause you to edit your soundtrack differently.

1. Step 1

   Open your movie in Adobe Premier elements and select the transitions menu from the Media Palette on the left.

2. Step 2

   Scroll through and preview all the transitions to decide which one is the best for the two clips you selected.

3. Step 3

   Drag the transition to the little box between the two clips in the scene line of the project window.

4. Step 4

   You will see the transitions properties window to the right of the video window. Here you can fine tune the transition. You can adjust the duration, start points, end points and the alignment of the transition. Save the project after adding the transition.

It is fun and easy to add special effects to your home movie using Adobe Premiere Elements. The best time to do this is after you have edited your movie and before adding the soundtrack or transitions. Special effects or transitions can change the length of the clip and may change your choice of soundtrack or cause you to edit the soundtrack.

1. Step 1

   Open your Adobe Premiere movie and under SCENE VIEW, select the clip you want to manipulate with a special effect.

2. Step 2

   From the palette on the left, choose the special effects icon and then select the special effect category.

3. Step 3

   In this example, we will chose SOLARIZATION from the STYLIZE group. Using your mouse drag the solarization icon and place it on top of the selected clip. You will notice immediately that the image in the video window has changed exhibiting the special effect.

4. Step 4

   The image is solarizied but too dark. You will notice that the properties box on the right now has the special effect associated with the clip. In this case, we will change the THRESHOLD from 50 to 100 to lighten the image and enhance the effect.

5. Step 5

   Once you have adjusted the THRESHOLD to 100, you can see the change in the displayed movie. You can now add another effect, delete the effect or save the movie.