Production has wrapped and now it’s time to hit the edit. Excited from the shoot, you’re ready to dig into some epic footage and the last thing you want to do is mess around with setting up a new project in Premiere Pro. Well what if I told you there was an easy shortcut to start editing faster? Enter project templates!
Why Use a Project Template
With a basic understanding of project settings in Adobe Premiere, starting new projects and getting their settings right isn’t inherently difficult. It can still be a bit time consuming though. Even if you’re fast at building out bins, setting renderers, changing scratch disks, and creating sequences, that still takes time. Assuming you build multiple projects the time you save by utilizing a template continues to multiply each time you use it.
What’s in a Template
A template in Premiere Pro is really just an empty project that’s been set with your preferred project settings and includes a pre-built bin structure and any assets that you typically use in edits.
In the template that I use across most of my projects (which you can download below) I keep a defined bin structure, have a blank sequence set to my preferred specs, generic sound effects, and a 1920×1080 adjustment layer.
The project’s render settings and my scratch disks are also already set.
How to Use the Template
I like to keep my template on my desktop because I use it so frequently. You could also keep it buried in your files somewhere, but digging to get to it only takes away time from editing – even if it’s just a second or two. After opening the template the first thing I do is Save As a new project, with a unique name, then pull in my media and get to work.
I’ll be honest – there are times when I get a little carried away and start editing before changing the project’s name and accidentally save my template project with a bunch of media and working edits. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep a duplicate backup of your template somewhere else on your computer. You know – just in case you do dumb things like me.
Downloads
Click below to download the project template that I use on 99% of my Premiere edits. Due to licensing, I couldn’t share my grab bag of generic sound effects. Don’t let that stop you from creating your own though. Also the first time you open the template, you’ll want to set your preferred renderer and change the scratch disk settings. Save, duplicate, and enjoy!