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Putting it all together – Project Stonehenge!

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Overview

Putting it all together: Project Stonehenge!

Creative theme: Video editing

Software used: Premiere Pro

User level: BEGINNER

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

This series includes:

1. Create a project, import video clips and save the project
2. Sequence video clips and render an mp4 file
3. Trim video clips, add fades and cross-fades
4. Add text and music
5. Putting it all together: Project Stonehenge!

The Software

This series of beginner explainers uses Adobe Premiere Pro. You can download a free 7 day demo version from the Adobe website.

Premiere Pro is a PAID app, often purchased as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud ‘All Apps’ subscription. It can also be subscribed to on its own. Here are example monthly pricing options:

Premiere Pro has a ‘baby brother’ editing application called Premiere Rush, which is a simpler video editor designed to work well on mobile devices as well as laptops and desktops. It offers a ‘quick and simple’ workflow with a cut-down feature set. Premiere Rush is part of Adobe’s ‘Creative Cloud Express’ bundle which may be suitable for content creators working between mobile and desktop devices. It’s worth trying out a free demo to see if it includes the features you need.

Please review all subscription options before committing to a purchase, bearing in mind the various bundles and pricing plans. Also look for special subscription offers which last between 1 month and 12 months depending on the option you choose.

This month we’re also running an explainer series for Vegas Pro (paid as a one-off fee or by subscription) as well as offering a single full-workflow explainer for Premiere Rush. Check them out!

The project brief

For this fifth and final entry in the Premiere Pro series, it’s over to you as we go exploring at Stonehenge! We supply the video assets (below) and you supply the video editing skills! Here’s how your short video could look…

Use the video resources in the section below to create a one minute marketing video or documentary video about Stonehenge, just as we have above! Your final video should include:

• Appropriate introductory / title text
• Appropriate informational text
• A single background soundtrack
• Fades and transitions

Stretch goal: Record your own audio voiceover and add it to the sequence!

Your final file should be rendered in FULL HD (1080p) with a framerate of 24 FPS.

Project resources

Here are the Stonehenge video clips for you to work with. Download them individually then import them into a new Premiere Pro project. For help with importing please see Premiere Pro explainer one. These files may only be used for your own personal projects and must not be redistributed or sold.

For your soundtrack, search for an appropriate audio file at freemusicarchive. You could try the ‘instrumental’ or ‘historic’ music sections to get started. Download the file and import it into your Vegas project:

Here are three commentary/narration paragraphs in case you’d like to record your own voiceover:

Stonehenge is an ancient monument located in Wiltshire, England. It is believed to date back to the Neolithic period of around 3000 BC, with the stones being set in place in the late Neolithic to early Bronze Age period. The purpose of Stonehenge is still unknown, although it has been speculated that it could have been an ancient astronomical calendar or a temple to honour the dead.

The origins of the stones used to build Stonehenge are still largely a mystery. Some of the stones are believed to have come from the Preseli Hills in Welsh Wales, which are about 150 miles away from Stonehenge. It is thought that the stones were brought to the site using a type of sled and then erected in place using a combination of rope, levers and wooden frames.

Visitors to Stonehenge are able to explore the ancient monument and nearby visitor centre, which offers interactive displays and artefacts. There is also a cafe and gift shop at the site, as well as an audio tour which guides visitors through the history and mythology of Stonehenge. For those wanting to experience Stonehenge in a more unique way, there are also a number of special events and tours which take place throughout the year, such as sunrise and sunset tours and full moon ceremonies.

Like to try adding some AI-generated narration? See what you think of this audio clip and feel free to download it!

Where to next?

Here are two useful workflows to help improve your videos:

Stabilise video clips

The clips supplied for this project are fairly shake-free, but for extra professionalism you’ll want to remove any slight wobbles. Here’s the quickest method in Premiere Pro:

1: On the timeline, select the clip you’d like to stabilise. We’re using the ‘henge 05’ clip where the horizontal pan could benefit from a little smoothing out.

2: In the ‘Effects’ panel, search for ‘stabilize’. Drag and drop the ‘Warp Stabilizer’ effect on to the clip in the timeline:

3: The clip is analyzed before being automatically stabilized:

4: Play the clip back to see the result. If the automatic result is not to your liking, double-click the clip on the timeline then select the ‘Effect Controls’ tab to make additional manual adjustments:

The warp stabilizer is a professional-level tool. For more information about the individual options shown in the screenshot above, see Adobe’s official guide:

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/premiere-pro/using/stabilize-motion-warp-stabilizer-effect.html

Adjust Colours

The Stonehenge clips are quite muted, which may be ideal for this subject matter. But what if you want your colours to ‘pop’?

1: Go to Window, Workspaces, and select ‘Color’

2: On the timeline select the clip you’d like to adjust the colors for.

3: In the ‘Lumetri Color’ panel, click on ‘Basic Correction’:

4: Click the AUTO button for a quick color fix!

If you don’t like the results of the automatic color adjustment, use the sliders as shown above to manually adjust attributes including the saturation and contrast. For more help with color correction have a look at Adobe’s official guide:

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/premiere-pro/using/color-correction-adjustment.html

Thanks for joining us for video editing month! This is the tenth and final entry in our explainer series for Vegas Pro and Premiere Pro. We wish you well as you continue your creative journey!

Notes and updates

There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in March 2023. This page was last updated in March 2023.

We at pixels.cool are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the team. Modern software gives users many ways in which to accomplish the same task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to reference multiple options. All computer users should run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise risk.

If you’d like to follow our explainers using the actual assets demonstrated, you can download them using the link below. Not only do you receive the logos and images used in this series – You also gain access to versions of the videos without the background music. Nice!

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This is number 10 of 10 explainer videos for video editing month. Make sure you check out the others!