Premiere Pro Initial Setup

A guide to building a fast, beautiful, and friction-free workflow in Premiere Pro.

🎬 Project Template

Create a reusable Premiere project file that includes:

Sequences:
- 4K 16:9 (YouTube)
- Vertical 9:16 (Reels/Stories)
- Square 1:1 (Social Media)
- 1080p 16:9 (Standard)
Preloaded Layers:
- Adjustment layers
- Color grading LUTs or FilmConvert layer
- Motion graphics placeholders
Graphics Panel:
- Favorite MOGRTs from Motion Array
- Pre-customized lower thirds, intro titles, transitions
Music/SFX Bins:
- Placeholder bins for Musicbed, Artlist.io, and personal picks

Save this as Premiere_Starter_Template.prproj and duplicate it per project.

🗂 Folder Structure

Create this on your SSD or RAID:

PROJECT_NAME
	Footage
	Music

Keep it consistent. Let automation or habits take care of the rest.

📥 Import Workflow

Use Media Browser in Premiere to import from SD or iPhone.
Set up watch folders using Post Haste or Hazel for automation.
Drag and drop from Photos app into /Footage folder.

🎨 Presets

Create and save:

Color presets (e.g., natural, vintage, contrasty)
Transition presets (zoom, blur, push-ins)
Audio effect chains (vocal clarity, ambient pads, voiceover sweetening)
Custom LUTs for Blackmagic or LOG footage

🧰 Essential Graphics Panel

Customize Motion Array templates with your font/colors
Export as new MOGRTs for reuse
Organize your favorites in categories: Titles, Lower Thirds, Overlays, etc.

🧩 Proxy Workflow (If needed)

For large Blackmagic 4K files:

Enable proxies on ingest
Use lower-res proxies for smoother editing

🎞 Looks & Vibes

Define 2-3 main visual aesthetics:

Moody / Filmic
Clean / Bright / Natural
Vintage / Warm / Soft

Build Lumetri presets around these and test quickly.

✅ Quick Recap Checklist

Starter template with pre-made sequences
Organized folder structure
Graphics panel loaded with drag-and-drop assets
Audio & color presets saved
Proxy ingest settings ready
Go-to visual looks defined

Make this your base, and every project becomes less of a grind and more of a flow.