Adobe Premiere Pro is a versatile and powerful video editor. When you edit in Premiere, you’ll often be working with long video clips. It’s useful to trim and cut these into shorter sections. This makes edits easier. And it makes it simpler to make precise edits to small portions of longer clips.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to cut in Premiere Pro. We’ll explore two top ways to trim and clip videos in Premiere. Both work with any clip, and they’re easy to use. When you’ve finished this guide, you’ll know how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro like an expert.
Let’s get started learning how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro!
How to Cut a Video on Adobe Premiere Pro (Step by Step)
Knowing how to trim a video in Premiere Pro is a key skill. It’s something that professional editors do every day, and you’ll soon find yourself adding it to your own workflow. But why do you need to know how to clip video in Adobe Premiere Pro?
Key benefits include:
- The ability to make precise edits. Style edits often apply to full clips. By choosing shorter clips, you can make more precise edits. It’s easy to segue from scene to scene.
- Reducing length and file size. Let’s face it: attention spans are getting shorter. When you edit a video, the key is to keep things short and sweep. By trimming unwanted content from a clip, you’ll keep things interesting.
- Maintaining engagement. Frequent scene changes (and shorter runtimes) keep your viewers interested. Knowing how to trim a video in Premiere Pro is a great way to shorten scenes with ease.
Now, let’s learn how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s amazingly easy, with multiple ways to do it. To demonstrate, we’ll work with beautiful stock footage from Envato Elements. Download it today to follow along.
1. Trim with the Playhead in the Timeline
Trimming and cutting in Premiere Pro begins on the Timeline. The Timeline is the section of Premiere in the lower center of your screen.
Here, you can see it right below the Program Monitor. The Program Monitor is the large video preview in the upper center.
Think of the Timeline as the nerve center in Premiere Pro. It’s here that you’ll work with all of your media. This includes skills in Adobe Premiere Pro for how to cut a clip.
Videos are represented by purple bars. You can move through these clips with the Playhead, the vertical blue bar. Dragging it to a certain frame will display that frame in the Program Monitor. It’s also one way how to cut in Premiere Pro.
If you have your Playhead positioned at a given location, you may want to trim there. For example, you can place the Playhead at the start of a section you want to clip.
With the Playhead in place, press Command + K on your keyboard. (If on Windows, press Control + K). Just like that, you’ll see the clip trim.
You can always drag the Playhead further forward or back to clip into multiple sections. Simply repeat the very same steps. It’s that easy.
2. Use the Razor Tool for Quick Edits
Wondering how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro without the Playhead? Instead of scrubbing through a clip, you can cut “on demand” at any location. This is done using the Razor Tool.
The Razor Tool is found in the toolbar immediately left of your Timeline. You can launch it by clicking on the razor blade icon. Or, you can simply press the letter C on your keyboard, and the Razor Tool will activate.
With the Razor Tool, move your cursor over a clip in your Timeline. Find a place where you want to make a cut? Simply click once, and you’ll see the clip trimmed and split. Again, you can do this as many times as you want with any clip (audio or video.)
You’ve just learned how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro. You have more than one quick and easy method to do exactly that. Try them today.
The Top Source for the Best Adobe Premiere Pro Templates (With Unlimited Downloads)
You just learned how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s part of editing efficiently. But the ultimate way to do that is with a premium Adobe Premiere Pro template. With template designs, you can create amazing designs in moments.
The best source for these premium templates is Envato Elements. For a flat monthly rate, you can download and use as many Adobe Premiere Pro templates as you want. Plus, you'll get fonts, music, stock video, and so much more. All are included in the unlimited downloads offer.
Now, Envato Elements makes it easier than ever to source the perfect content for any project. With the new AI-powered search tool, digital content is just a click away. Describe your project needs, and you’ll see a curated list of the perfect digital assets from the vast library.
Don’t wait - join Elements today and start exploring!
Master Premiere Pro with the Premiere Pro Tutorial from David Bode
Want to learn all you need to know about Adobe Premiere Pro in 2024 and beyond? David Bode has created the ultimate Premiere Pro Tutorial course.
Even if you’re a brand-new editor, this is the perfect way to learn the key features of Adobe Premiere Pro. In a few minutes, you’ll be up to speed with the latest and greatest ways to edit in Adobe Premiere.
In this course, you can see David’s ways of how to cut in Premiere Pro. And you’ll enjoy many other helpful tutorial lessons.
Each one is in a short, easy-to-watch video form. You can master Adobe Premiere Pro in your free time, thanks to this course!
Clip Video in Adobe Premiere Pro Today
In this tutorial, you learned how to cut a video on Adobe Premiere Pro. As you can see, you have more than one option! You can trim using the Timeline playhead and quick keyboard shortcuts. Or, you can work with the classic Adobe Premiere Pro razor tool. Either option gives you precise control over your edits.
Now that you know how to cut a clip in Premiere, you’ll find yourself trimming footage every day. It’s a powerful and simple way to gain control over your edits. It makes you more skilled and flexible as an editor. Give it a try today!
By
