Before learning Premiere Pro, it is helpful to have some prerequisite skills and knowledge, including familiarity with computers, video formats, codecs, video editing terminology and concepts.
All Premiere Pro users should have a basic understanding of file management and be comfortable working on either a Mac or Windows computer. File management is important with Premiere Pro to avoid issues with importing footage or losing track of files used in projects. Understanding file management and basic computer skills helps you to locate and relink offline clips in projects, keeping media from going missing.
It is also useful for Premiere Pro users to have some familiarity with video formats and codecs before creating a project. While a detailed knowledge is not necessary, it’s important to know that video formats are how video files are encoded and data is stored, and codecs are used to manage the size and bitrate of a video file through compression and decompression. Both of these elements directly impact the quality of a video, so it's useful to have some understanding of these concepts to help with importing and exporting media. You can learn about supported file formats and codecs in the introductory Premiere Pro course.
Understanding basic video editing terminology is also helpful for learning Premiere Pro. Terms like aspect ratio, cutaway, B-roll, and three-point edit are fundamental to video editing and can help you make more informed decisions when assembling sequences. Concepts like pacing, rhythm, and framing are also essential to creating engaging and visually appealing videos. If you're looking to pursue a career in video editing, knowing about these topics will help you as you learn the tools, such as Premiere Pro.
Familiarity with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications is also helpful for video editors who use Premiere Pro. Although applications like Photoshop and After Effects are primarily used to create motion graphics, layers, and other visual media, these files can be exported and used in Premiere Pro projects to create more dynamic content.
Investing time and effort to become familiar with computers, video formats, codecs, video editing terminology and concepts, and the Adobe Creative Cloud can help you more efficiently navigate the Premiere Pro interface and create compelling video projects.