Analysis/Reflection #4, Q2

Most applications reserve keyboard shortcuts for the functions that you use most often. It is really good to learn all of these as it will speed up your editing and additionally alert you to functions that the software developers and other users find important. (You can learn much about the software by looking at keyboard shortcuts).

Find the keyboard shortcuts for Premiere (hint, film-tv blog) and note four or more functions that you’ve never used before and why they may be invaluable to your editing. (Different functions to what you wrote last semester)

  1. Razor tool (C)
    I use the Razor tool most often, to cut clips into segments. I hadn’t discovered its shortcut until recently. Prior to this epiphany, I often played a clip and hovered my pointer around the clip in the workspace. When I had decided exactly when and where to cut the clip, I would: 1) pause it, 2) drag my pointer to the sidebar, 3) click on Razor tool, 4) drag it back to the workspace, 5) align it with the red line, and 6) slice it. It was inefficient considering how many cuts I had to make. ‘C’ literally obliterates steps 2-5, and has saved me so much time and frustration scrolling to the sidebar to switch between tools. Invaluable? YOU BET!
  2. Selection tool (V)
    I use the Selection tool alongside the Razor tool – which means I use it to the point of abuse. When I cut up clips, I tend to shift the segments around, whether that be within the same sequence or between different sequences. I used to get so frustrated having to pace back and forth the sidebar and the workspace. My steps to using the Selection tool were similar to the aforementioned steps to the Razor tool – inefficient and deplorable. Again, various steps were obliterated, resulting in a more streamlined editing process. Praise be to shortcuts.
  3. Add Marker (M)
    I’ve been using the Add Marker tool a lot of late, mostly to leave notes and comments on different scenes of the film. This is really, really useful and indispensible because 1) it’s easier and much more organized to keep notes on the same platform/workspace. I used to jot down notes the primitive way, i.e. pen and paper, which I diligently accompanied with timestamps. How silly! 2) Sometimes not all of our group members can be present at editing sessions, and we might come into the suites at different times to edit. We have used the markers to communicate and update one another on progress, changes, and ideas.
  4. New Sequence (Cmd+N)
    This is helpful when I am cutting up clips and organizing them into ‘scenes’ or sequences. I use at least five sequences for a short five-min film, so I reckon Cmd+N would come especially in handy when I edit films of much longer lengths in the future. I can’t emphasize how irritating it is to navigate the screens of TWO huge monitors! Ah!
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