Hour 4. Using the Storyboard and Timeline for Cuts-only Editing

Finally. Storytelling using your clips and Premiere. The easiest way to begin editing with Premiere is simply to lay down a series of video clips with no narration or music. That's the focus of this hour.

Premiere lets you either slip gradually into nonlinear editing or dive in headfirst. I'll introduce you to both approaches. I'll show you how to use Premiere's storyboard to put your clips in a logical sequence. Its sequentially arranged thumbnail images of each segment of your video can simplify the editing process--for some projects. There you'll tighten your production by trimming your clips.

Then we'll move to the video editor's best friend--the timeline--a more practical and useful editing method. We'll focus on the standard news-story approach to editing--cuts-only. I'll toss in some useful and effective editing technique tips as well.

First, though, we'll do a little housework--putting your assets in their proper "bins."

The highlights of this hour include the following:

• Organizing your clips in bins

• Using the storyboard to build a "rough cut" of your video and trim individual clips

• Using the timeline to make a cuts-only project

• Trimming, rearranging, inserting, and removing clips from the timeline

• Adding a professional touch to your project with standard editing techniques such as matching edits, wide/tight shots, and cutaways