Adobe Premiere: The Project Settings

Adobe Premiere software contains many project settings which are preset options. There are many different preset categories. These different settings contain settings for typical projects that are commonly used. Users will have the option of selecting from a project setting or they can customize the setting. In this way, the setting is used as the base and then changes are made until the desired project is produced. For those that want total control on the project, it is best to customize the preset project settings.

Project Settings

The project settings are determined by the type of footage that was shot. There are different settings for flash memory camcorder, hard disk, AVCHD, HDV and DV. Whenever a new project is started, preset settings from the project settings are applied. Normally the default is for 4:3 DV. The different standards will depend on your geographic location, as in the US, the TV standard is NTSC, which is different from other areas of the world.

General Settings

The general settings will deal with the fundamentals of the project. There will include file formats used for playback in the editing mode, previewing files, play back video in the time base, and count time in the display format.

Capture Settings

The capture preset settings deal specifically with how the audio and video is transferred from the camera to the computer and software. If you change the other project settings, they will not affect the capture settings. It is not necessary to change this setting if you are capturing DV footage. Some capture formats such as DV/IEEE 1294 will not have any additional options as all options are set to the standard for IEEE 1394. If your computer has additional software, then other options may be available. If you are capturing using P2 DVCPRO HD or P2 DVCPRO 50, then there are no capture format settings.

Video Rendering Settings

The different video rendering settings will deal with the color depth, compressor, file format and bit depth. All of these are used for the playback and preview files.

Default Sequence

This setting will control the number of audio and video tracks that can be used in the sequences that you are creating with the software.

Unavailable Project Settings

If you find that there are some project settings which are unavailable, it is possible to create your own projects which can be saved as preset projects. Simply create a new project with all of the settings you want, and then save it so it can be used in the future. Be aware that if the video is imported at different rates, then it may be unsynchronized with the new settings. Any changes that are made after capturing the clips will all be created with your new settings which can clash.

Changing Your Mind

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to change the project settings once you have imported your footage. It is best to determine the source of the footage and ensure there is a project setting match. If there is not and a standard setting is not working, then it will be necessary to create your own project settings specifically for that footage source.