Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 User Manual
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Merge All Layers
Merged Layers
Individual Layers
Sequence
Note:
Note:
as opaque white, whereas it exports a checkerboard background as a transparent alpha channel when exporting to a format that supports alpha
channels.
Importing layered Photoshop files makes it easy to use graphics created in Photoshop. When Premiere Pro imports Photoshop files as unmerged
layers, each layer in the file becomes an individual clip in a bin. Each clip’s name consists of the layer name followed by the name of the file that
contained it. Each layer is imported with the default duration you select for still images in Preferences.
You can import Photoshop files containing video or animations like any other Photoshop file. Since each layer is imported at the default still-image
duration, the imported video or animation may play back at a speed different from that of its source in the Photoshop file. To make the speed
match, change the still image default duration before importing the Photoshop file. For example, if the Photoshop animation was created at 30 fps
and the Premiere Pro sequence frame rate is 30 fps, set the still image default duration in Premiere Pro to 30 frames in Preferences.
The options you select in the Import Layered File dialog box determine how the layers in the video or animation are interpreted on import into
Premiere Pro.
From the Import dialog box, when you select a Photoshop file containing layers for import, the Import Photoshop Document dialog box opens. The
Import As menu gives you these options for ways to import the file:
Merges all layers, importing the file into Premiere Pro as a single flattened PSD clip.
Merges only the layers you select into Premiere Pro as a single, flattened, PSD clip.
Imports only the layers you select from the list into a bin containing one clip for each source layer.
Imports only the layers you select, each as a single clip. Premiere Pro also creates a sequence containing each clip on a separate
track, and deposits all these into their own bin in the Project panel. Choosing Sequence allows you to select one of the following options from the
Footage Dimensions menu:
Document Size Changes the frame size of the clips to match the frame size specified in the Sequence Settings dialog box.
Layer Size Matches the frame size of the clips to the frame size of their source layers in the Photoshop file.
When you import one layer as a single clip, its name in the Project panel consists of the layer name followed by the original filename.
Importing Illustrator images
You can import an Adobe Illustrator still-image file directly into a Premiere Pro project. Premiere Pro converts path-based Illustrator art into the
pixel-based image format used by Premiere Pro, a process known as rasterization. Premiere Pro automatically anti-aliases, or smooths, edges of
the Illustrator art. Premiere Pro also converts all empty areas into an alpha channel, so that empty areas become transparent.
If you want to define the dimensions of the Illustrator art when it is rasterized, use Illustrator to set crop marks in the Illustrator file. For information
about setting crop marks, see Illustrator Help.
Even though the layers in Illustrator are merged in Premiere Pro you can edit the layers by selecting the clip and choosing Edit > Edit Original.
Import numbered still-image sequences as video clips
You can import an animation contained in a single file, such as an animated GIF. You can also import a sequence of numbered still-image files,
such as a TIFF sequence, and automatically combine them into a single video clip; each numbered file becomes one frame of video. Importing a
sequence is useful for animations exported as a series of numbered still images by applications like After Effects. The images in the series cannot
include layers. For information on layers and flattening, see the application’s documentation.
1. Set the framerate for the still-image sequence. Select Edit > Preferences > Media (Windows), or Premiere Pro > Preferences > Media.
Then, select a framerate from the Indeterminate Media Timebase menu. Click OK.
2. Make sure that each still-image filename contains an equal number of digits at the end and has the correct file extension—for example,
file000.bmp, file001.bmp, and so forth.
3. Choose File > Import.
4. Locate and select the first numbered file in the sequence, select Numbered Stills, and click Open. When Numbered Stills is selected,
Premiere Pro interprets each of the numbered files as a single frame in a video clip.
Changing the default duration of still images in the Preferences dialog box does not affect the duration of numbered stills imported into a
video clip. Each still becomes one frame when imported in this way.
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