MediaStorm Guide to Navigating the Adobe Premiere Pro Timeline

MedaiStorm by Eric Maierson

This is the first of a new series of posts with tips and tricks from our producers’ experience working with Adobe Premiere Pro after years of working in Final Cut Pro. To read more about why we made the switch, check out this post.

Today’s post is the first of two posts on navigating the Adobe Premiere Pro timeline, written by MediaStorm producer Eric Maierson.

Most of your time editing is spent in the timeline. Mastering just a few shortcut keys will enable you to work faster and focus instead on creating meaningful stories.

Here are some of the shortcuts that I use most regularly.

Transport Controls

J – plays timeline forward
K – stops playback
L – plays timeline forward
Spacebar – toggles between stopping and starting playback

In and Out Points

Use the familiar I and O key to create in or out points.

Option-X will remove in and out points.

Viewing the Timeline

/ – shows the entire timeline (similar to FCP’s Shift-Z). Pressing it a second time will return you to your original, closer view.
+ and - keys – zoom the timeline in and out, respectively. Use the + and – from the main keyboard. The numeric keypad equivalents are associated with other shortcuts. read more...