3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3 The Monitor Window Source vs. Program Playing Source Video In and Out Points Setting In and Out Points Clearing In and Out Points H O T Premiere Pro HOT DVD The Monitor window is the built-in television within Premiere Pro. You can watch your source video, as well as watch changes that are made to the program video. Beyond playing your video, the Monitor window also allows you to make initial edits to your source video. Before you add video to the Timeline, most of the time you will want to take it to the Monitor window and trim off the fat, so to speak. Any edits you make in the Monitor window are temporary, and you can always undo or fine-tune them later on. In this chapter, you will learn the function of the Monitor window, as well as how to perform these functions inside the Monitor window: play source video, preview edit points, and add clip markers. 36
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window Source vs. Program The Monitor window comes in a couple of different flavors, depending on which workspace you are in. Thus far you have been working with the Editing workspace, which arranges the Premiere Pro desktop so the most useful windows and palettes for editing are available. In the Editing workspace, the Monitor window has two sides: the left side is the Source view, and the right is the Program view. The source is the original video; all of the clips sitting in your computer, waiting to be used, are the source materials. The program refers to the video you are creating, as if you were creating a television program (get it?). If this book was a tutorial on oil painting, the source would be your paint, and the program would be the canvas. (And your mouse would be the paintbrush?) This chapter will cover the Source view of the Monitor window exclusively. 37
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 1. Playing Source Video The first step to editing video in Premiere Pro is to play the video in the Source view (the left side of the Monitor window). This exercise will walk you through the steps of playing source video, shuttling backward and forward, and stepping frame-by-frame. 1. If Premiere Pro is not running, launch it and click Open Project at the Welcome Screen. If Premiere Pro is already open, choose File > Open Project. Navigate to the c:\premiere Pro HOT \Chapter03 folder, select Exercise01.prproj, and click Open. Tip: A nice feature about Premiere Pro is that it remembers the workspace and Project window view when a project is saved. Exercise 01 uses the Editing workspace, and the Project window is in the Icon view the same view used in Chapter 2. 2. In the Project window, double-click the Video bin to view its contents. 38
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window 3. In the Project window, click the icon for B board saw.avi and drag and drop it in the Source view. Tip: Notice that the Source view displays the first frame of the source video, but not the poster frame that you set in Chapter 2, The Project Window. The poster frame is only used in the Project window, and it does not have an effect on your editing or other windows. 39
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 4. In the Source view, click the Play button. Your video will play in the monitor above. Click the button once more to stop. Note: If you have the Title Safe/Action Safe guides activated, you may see two thin boxes around the perimeter of the Source view. (These are used for creating titles, which is covered in Chapter 6, Title Designer. ) You can temporarily hide these guides by toggling the Title Safe/Action Safe button. Click the button until the guides disappear. 40
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window b a d c e 5. Click the Play button again, and you will see a few interesting things happening in the Source view: the current time indicator (a) moves across the time ruler (c), and the current time display (b) increases to reflect the current running time. [See the following Note.] Also note the play button (e) switches to a stop button during playback. NOTE Displaying Current Time The current time indicator (a) shows you the exact frame you are viewing in the Source view. As the video plays, the current time indicator travels from left to right across the time ruler. The far left is the beginning of the clip, and the far right is the end of the clip. When the current time indicator reaches the end of the clip, playback automatically stops. The current time display (b) shows the frame number that is being viewed. When the current time indicator is at the beginning of a clip, the time display is always 00h;00m;00s;00f. The time ruler (c) displays the divisions of time in your clip. The far left is always 00;00;00;00 and the far right is always the end of the clip. Even if the clip was 1 hour long, the far right is always the end, but the divisions of time would be much larger. The clip duration (d) displays the total number of frames in the clip. Curiously, when playback stops in the current exercise, the current time display reads 00;00;03;05 (3 seconds 5 frames). However, the clip duration reads 00;00;03;06 (3 seconds 6 frames). Why the 1 frame difference? This is because Frame 1 was displayed as 00;00;00;00, which means that Frame 2 was displayed as 00;00;00;01, and Frame 3 was displayed as 00;00;00;02, and so on. As an added bonus, when you play DV video that was captured via IEEE-1394 (FireWire), the current time display shows the original timecode on the tape. More on that in Chapter 15, Capturing Digital Video, which talks about capturing video. 41
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 6. Another way to change the current time is to drag the current time indicator left and right in the time ruler. In the Source view, click and hold your mouse button on the current time indicator (the blue tab) as you drag the indicator all the way to the left in the time ruler. Now drag the indicator all the way to the right. This is a very quick way to jump to any point in the time ruler. 7. In the Source view, drag the current time indicator until the current time display shows 00;00;01;00. If you have trouble dragging the current time indicator to that exact time, you can advance the current time indicator one frame at a time with the Step Back and Step Forward buttons. Tip: The left and right arrow keys on your keyboard are shortcuts for the Step Back and Step Forward buttons. Some users can edit quicker with keyboard shortcuts. Do what is most comfortable for you. 42
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window 8. As if you didn t have enough ways to change the current time, Premiere Pro provides two more convenient methods. Click and drag the shuttle slider slowly to the left and then the right. This is a helpful way to watch the Source view in slow motion. The center is pause, and playback accelerates the farther away from center you drag the shuttle slider. 9. Directly below the shuttle slider is the jog disk, which has a similar effect as the shuttle slider. Click and drag your mouse to the left and right to rewind or forward the Source view. Tip: These are just a few ways of accomplishing the same task: moving the current time indicator. There is no single correct method to follow. With so many ways to complete the same task, it becomes a matter of comfort. You have just learned the basic functions of the Monitor window Source view, and how it interacts with the Project window. You ve also practiced the different methods of moving the current time indicator. 10. Save this project and keep it open before moving on to the next exercise. 43
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T Premiere Pro provides no less than nine different methods to change the current time. (There s actually more that you have yet to learn!) Here is a summary of each method and its keyboard equivalent, if applicable. The Many Ways to Change Current Time Button or Method Play/Stop toggle button Drag the current time indicator Click mouse in time ruler Step Back button Step Forward button Shuttle slider Jog disk Click in current time display Go to In Point button Go to Out Point button Go to Previous Marker Go to Next Marker Play In to Out What It Does Plays and stops Source view (spacebar). Changes current time to mouse position. Snaps current time indicator to mouse. Reverses current time by one frame (left arrow). Advances current time by one frame (right arrow). Accelerates playback based on distance from center position. Rewinds or forwards Source view. Allows you to manually enter in the frame number to view. You can enter in an absolute number, like 03;00 (3 seconds 0 frames), or a relative number (+5), which moves you 5 frames forward from the existing current time. Jumps to the Source view s In point (Q). Jumps to the Source view s Out point (W). Jumps to the previous marker set in the Source view. Jumps to the next marker set in the Source view. Plays from Source view In point to Source view Out point. 44
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window In and Out Points In and Out points are the bookends of your source clip. When you import a clip into the Project window, you don t have to use the entire clip. You can trim a little fat from the beginning and end of the clip, or you can use just a small segment of the source clip. This process of whittling down your video to the most essential part is the heart and soul of video editing. The most common workflow in Premiere Pro is to set In and Out points in the Monitor window. The idea is to watch your original clip, and then choose which portions of that clip you want to use. Keep in mind that changing In and Out points does not permanently delete any video from the clip. The In and Out points affect only the copy of the clip in the Project window, never the original file on your hard drive. In and Out points can be changed as often as you d like, and they can also be removed. In other words, you are doing no damage to any of your clips, so don t worry about practicing with your own video. Once you are satisfied with the In and Out points you have specified, the next step is to bring the clip into the Timeline window and begin building your program. The next chapter covers this process and the Timeline window. 45
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 2. Setting In and Out Points Now that you know your way around the Source view of the Monitor window, it is time to set In and Out points. In this exercise, you are given a clip of a snowboarder jumping off of a cliff (don t try this at home). Your goal is to whittle the source clip down to the essential portion of the clip and to trim off the excess at the beginning and the end. 1. If Premiere Pro is not running, launch it and click Open Project at the Welcome Screen. If Premiere Pro is already open, choose File > Open Project. Navigate to the c:\premiere Pro HOT\Chapter03 folder, select Exercise02.prproj, and click Open. 2. Double-click the Video bin to view its contents. 3. Choose File > Import. 4. Navigate to the c:\premiere Pro HOT\Source Video directory, select White coat jump MS.avi, and click Open. Note: The file will be imported into the currently displayed bin. In this case, the clip was placed into the Video bin since you were viewing the Video bin. If you were viewing the root directory (top-most level), the clip would have been placed in the root directory. 46
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window 5. In the Project window, click the icon for White coat jump MS.avi and drag it to the Source view of the Monitor window. Right away, you will see the first frame displayed in the Source view, and the clip duration of 00;00;10;13 (10 seconds 13 frames). Pop Quiz: If this clip had 17 more frames, what would be the clip s duration? Answer: 10 seconds 13 frames + 17 frames = 11 seconds 0 frames. Remember, there are 30 frames per second in DV NTSC video. 6. In the Source view, click the Play button to play the video. Watch the entire video. 7. Move the current time indicator to the point just before you see the snowboarder at the cliff, about 00;00;02;12. Click the Set In Point button. This sets an In point at 00;00;02;12, and tells Premiere Pro that you want to start using the video at this point. 47
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 8. Move the current time indicator to the point just after the snowboarder lands, about 00;00;07;11. Click the Set Out Point button. This sets an Out point at 00;00;07;11. The Out point tells Premiere Pro that you want to stop using the video at this point. Note: The dark gray area in the time ruler represents the In to Out. 9. Click the Play In to Out button. This plays the Source view starting at the In point and stopping at the Out point. Note: Notice that the clip duration now shows the total duration of the In to Out point, instead of the clip s total duration. In this case, you have chosen exactly 5 seconds of source video to use. 48
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window 10. To quickly move the current time indicator to the In point, click the Go to In Point button. This changes the current time to the In point, in this case 00;00;02;12. 2 1 11. Premiere Pro provides the flexibility to change the In point as many times as you d like. In this case, you want to change the In point to a little later, maybe right as the snowboarder leaves the cliff. To change the In point, advance the current time indicator to 00;00;02;27 with the Step Forward button (1), and click the Set In Point button (2). 49
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 12. An even quicker method to change the In or Out point is to click and drag the point directly. In this case, you will want to change the Out point to a little earlier, maybe when the snowboarder first makes contact. To change the Out point in this method, hover your mouse over the Out point bracket ] until the Trim Out cursor appears, and drag the mouse to the left, to roughly 00;00;05;21. Tip: Don t worry if you can t get to exactly 00;00;05;21. The advantage of the Trim cursor is that it saves a step, and it can be a quicker way to approximate a new In or Out point. The disadvantage is that it is not as precise as advancing frame-by-frame with the Step Back or Step Forward buttons. 13. Click the Play In to Out button to preview your new In and Out points. You have successfully performed your first edit. The good news is that all source clips are edited this way music, video, graphics, everything. There is still much more in-depth editing to learn, but you now understand the basics and are well on your way to efficient editing. 14. Save and keep this project open before moving on to the next exercise. 50
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window 3. Clearing In and Out Points An editor never makes mistakes, right? Even so, now that you know how to set and modify In and Out points, this quick exercise will walk you through the steps of clearing them, should you make a well, you know. 1. If Premiere Pro is not running, launch it and click Open Project at the Welcome Screen. If Premiere Pro is already open, choose File > Open Project. Navigate to the c:\premiere Pro HOT\Chapter03 folder, select Exercise03.prproj, and click Open. 2. Double-click the Video bin to view its contents. 3. Choose File > Import. 4. Navigate to the c:\premiere Pro HOT\Source Video directory, select MS Brown coat.avi, and click Open. 5. In the Project window, click the icon for MS Brown coat.avi and drag it to the Source view of the Monitor window. Pop quiz: What is the total duration of the clip? 00;00;13;01. Extra credit: If it had two less frames, what would the duration be? 00;00;12;29. 6. In the Source view, click the Play button to preview the clip. 51
3.The Monitor Window Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 7. Move the current time indicator to 00;00;09;20. Use the Step Back and Step Forward buttons if needed. Click the Set In Point ({) button. 8. Oops. Perhaps that was an accident. In order to clear your In point, right-click anywhere in the time ruler, and choose Clear Clip Marker > In from the shortcut menu. The In point marker disappears. 52
Premiere Pro 1.5 H O T 3.The Monitor Window Tip: Follow the exact same steps when you want to clear an Out point except choose Clear Clip Marker > Out, of course. Or, you can clear them together by choosing Clear Clip Marker > In and Out. This option will only be available to you if you have both In and Out points specified. There s no mystery to setting In and Out points. Plus, the same steps we just outlined apply equally to both audio clips and still images. 9. Save this project and close it before moving on to the next exercise. Now that you know how to play your source clip and select the portion of the clip that you d like to use what do you do with it? It all comes together in the next chapter, as you learn the ins and outs (get it?) of the Timeline window. 53