Long ago, I used to fear technology. I still do—but definitely less than before. I put that aside, sat down with my all-knowing brother, and learned how to use Adobe Premiere Pro once and for all. Despite my anxiety, it became easy to make and edit my acting reel once I got the hang of it. Now, I can update my reel whenever I want, with whatever footage I want, as soon as I get it.
Premiere Pro is something my brother and dad use often—for what exactly, I don’t know. But for me, it’s my easy-peasy reel maker and what helped me get my TV/Film agent. Talk about useful! Now I can also edit YouTube, Instagram, and other videos in very little time! I highly recommend investing in it if you’re in the entertainment industry or plan to be.
This is a basic reel walk-through, but if you want to learn how to use some visual and audio effects to make your reel seem more professional, an article on that will be up soon! To know when it’s out, Email Subscribe below and I’ll make sure to notify you! We have a lot of online courses coming out soon on getting started in acting, how to get more auditions and bookings, and how to make more money with your acting; not to mention some awesome freebies that we definitely want you to take advantage of.
Here’s how to make your own reel:
1. Open Adobe Premiere Pro.
2. Click “New Project…”
3. Enter the name of your reel where it says “Name:_______”
4. Click “OK”.
5. Click the “Timeline” box.
6. Drag wanted footage to the “Timeline” box.
7. Press Play-Stop Toggle to play and stop the video.
8. The vertical blue line shows you where you are in the video. Use it to skip around the video, and place it exactly where you want the video to start.
9. Use Step Back 1 Frame and Step Forward 1 Frame to get the very exact starting point you want.
10. Click Razor Tool.
11. Click on the blue line to cut where you want the clip to start. Repeat steps #8—#11 for where you want the clip to end.
12. Click Selection Tool.
13. Click the parts of the video you don’t want and press delete. *Make sure you’ve used the Razor Tool on the video’s beginning AND end, because you don’t want to delete what you meant to keep.*
14. Repeat steps #6—#13 for each video clip you want in your reel.
15. Drag your trimmed clips in the order you want them to play, with no room in between them.
16. Use the bottom slide bar to zoom in and out of your video to see it better.
17. Drag the Mark In bracket to the very start of your video, exactly where you want it to start playing. Then drag the Mark Out bracket to the very end of your video, exactly where you want it to stop playing. To know where the Mark In and Mark Out brackets are, put the blue line in or near your video (it doesn’t matter where as long as it isn’t too close to the start or end) and hit Mark In. Then, move the blue line a little to the right of that and hit Mark Out. Now you can see where Mark In and Mark Out are.
18. Click File, then Export, then Media…
19. On the “Preset:” drop down menu, click “YouTube 1080p HD“.
20. Click the blue “Output Name” to rename it.
21. Click “Export”.
You’re done!
That wasn’t too bad, was it? But, if you do have questions and something isn’t clear, make sure to comment below with your question and I’ll answer it to the best of my ability.
If you’ve mastered this simple reel-making technique and are ready to add some sound, video, and transition effects to make everything look smoother and more professional, an article will be released soon! To know exactly when, Email Subscribe below and I’ll put you in the loop. That’s all it takes!
And as always, please check out our Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for some fun goodies. Have a great week!
