Chapter 3. Using the Project Panel

The Project panel is the center of the universe for Premiere Pro. Every element that is used in your edited sequence first must be imported and opened in your project. All video clips, audio files, still images, and sequences have icons and instances that you can access in your Project window (Figures 3.1a and b). Although, depending on how much content you have imported and saved, your project size can get pretty large (four to ten megs), if you need to email it, it will zip into an incredibly small file, because the project file format is XML based. Over the course of this chapter, I will give you an overview of the Project panel's functions, features, and behaviors.

Figures 3.1a and b. The Project panel can display its contents in Icon view (above) or List view with icons turned on (left)

Because so many of these functions relate to clip handling, it's important to understand how Premiere Pro manages clips. When you first import a file into your project, that file is referred to as a master clip. It is the master file from which all edited and used instances will come. If clip01 is edited into a sequence using only half of its duration, the edited instance of clip01 in the sequence is referred to as a subclip or a child of the master clip. This subclip, if opened separately, can access all the information of the master clip, while honoring its assigned In/Out points and duration. Deleting an edited subclip does not delete the master clip. Deleting a master clip from your project will delete all of the subclips, because the subclips point to the master clip to get their information. Because Premiere Pro supports offline files in the timeline, if you accidentally delete a master clip from your hard drive, all project clip instances will remain intact with the media appearing offline.

To get a better sense of clip handling, take a look at how to import and open your media.