Premiere Pro Import and Project Organization Guide

Bring media into Premiere and organize it so editing is efficient. Here’s how to do it in Premiere Pro on macOS, step by step — part of the free Premiere Pro beginner curriculum.

Lesson 2 of the Premiere Pro curriculum. Next up: Timeline Editing.

What you’ll do

• Import media with Cmd+I (File > Import) or by dragging files directly into the Project panel
• Understand the Project panel — it contains all imported clips, sequences, and bins; it does NOT move or copy your source files
• Switch between List View and Icon/Thumbnail View in the Project panel using the icons at the bottom left of the panel
• Create Bins (folders) in the Project panel: right-click empty space > New Bin, or click the New Bin button at the bottom of the panel — organize by type: Video, Audio, Graphics, Sequences
• Double-click a clip in the Project panel to open it in the Source Monitor for preview
• Create a new sequence that matches your footage: drag the primary footage clip onto the New Item icon (film strip icon) at the bottom of the Project panel — Premiere auto-creates a sequence with matching settings
• Understand what a Sequence is: the container for your edit, with its own frame size, frame rate, and audio settings
• Preview a clip in the Source Monitor using Space to play/stop, and J/K/L for shuttle control

Do it hands-free with Skilly

Reading steps is one thing; doing them while the menus are in front of you is another. Skilly is a voice-first tutor for macOS: you ask out loud — “where’s the import panel?” — and it answers while moving your cursor to the exact button, watching your actual Premiere Pro window. It’s the same Premiere Pro curriculum these lessons come from, taught live instead of read. Free to start.

Keep going

This is one stage of the full Premiere Pro beginner curriculum. Continue with Timeline Editing.