Premiere Pro Beginner Workflow: Creating Sequences the Right Way

A sequence is your editing “container”: it defines the timeline’s technical rules (frame rate, frame size, audio rate, preview format). Clips can be almost anything, but the sequence is what determines how Premiere Pro plays back, renders previews, and exports. Getting sequences right early prevents common problems like choppy playback, unexpected scaling, or export settings that don’t match your deliverable.

Two correct ways to create a sequence

Method A (fast and usually correct): New Sequence from Clip

Use this when your deliverable should match your primary camera footage (common for YouTube, interviews, events, most “edit what you shot” projects). Premiere Pro will copy key properties from the clip into a new sequence.

• Project panel: Right-click a clip → New Sequence from Clip.
• Or from the Source Monitor: Open a clip, then drag it to the New Item icon (depending on workspace/version).
• Name the sequence clearly (example: YT_16x9_Main_23.976).

What it matches automatically (typical): timebase (fps), frame size, pixel aspect ratio, fields/progressive, and often audio sample rate expectations. This is the safest choice when you’re unsure, because it aligns the timeline to the footage that will drive the edit.

Method B (intentional deliverable): manually create a sequence

Use this when the sequence must match a specific output format that is not the same as your camera originals—especially for social vertical, square, or when you must deliver a strict broadcast/house spec.

How:

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• Go to File → New → Sequence.
• In the New Sequence dialog, choose a preset close to your target (for example, an H.264 DSLR/AVCHD preset for 1080p timelines), then adjust settings as needed.
• Name it by deliverable (example: IG_Reels_9x16_30 or YT_1080p_16x9_23.976).

Why manual matters: If you cut a vertical deliverable inside a horizontal sequence (or vice versa), you’ll fight constant reframing and scaling, and exports can be inconsistent. A deliverable-first sequence makes reframing predictable.

Sequence settings you must recognize (and where to verify them)

Open Sequence → Sequence Settings to confirm what you’re actually editing in. The most important fields to recognize:

Preview settings: what beginners should actually do

Preview settings affect rendered previews (the files created when you render the timeline for smoother playback). They do not lock your final export quality unless you intentionally export using previews.

• If playback is struggling, rendering previews can help: Sequence → Render In to Out.
• In Sequence Settings, note the Preview File Format and Codec. Use an editing-friendly codec if available (commonly ProRes or DNxHR on many systems) rather than a highly compressed delivery codec.
• Keep preview frame size matching the sequence frame size for predictable results.

Mixing frame rates: what happens and how to decide

It’s common to mix 24/25/30/60 fps clips. The key is: the sequence timebase is the boss. Anything that doesn’t match will be conformed (frames duplicated or blended) to play at the sequence fps.

Practical rules of thumb

• If most of your footage is one fps: make the sequence that fps (often via New Sequence from Clip using your main camera clip).
• If you have 60 fps for slow motion: keep the sequence at your main delivery fps (e.g., 23.976 or 29.97) and interpret/retime the 60 fps clips for slow motion rather than making the whole sequence 60.
• If you must deliver a specific fps: set the sequence to that deliverable fps and accept that other fps clips will be conformed.

How to interpret common warning dialogs (frame rate)

When you drop a clip into an empty sequence or a sequence with different settings, Premiere may warn you that the clip doesn’t match the sequence. The wording varies by version, but the decision is usually:

• Change sequence settings to match the clip: choose this when you are building the sequence around that clip (especially at the start of an edit).
• Keep existing sequence settings: choose this when your sequence is already set for a deliverable (e.g., vertical 1080x1920 at 30 fps) and you’re adding mixed footage.

Tip: If you see motion that looks slightly “stuttery” after mixing fps, check whether the clip fps differs from the sequence timebase, then decide whether you need different retiming, different sequence fps, or to use footage that better matches the deliverable.

Mixing resolutions and aspect ratios: scaling and reframing without surprises

Mixing 4K and 1080p, or vertical and horizontal, is normal. Again, the sequence frame size defines the canvas. Premiere will scale clips to fit based on your preferences and your manual adjustments.

Key behaviors to understand

• Higher-res clip in lower-res sequence (4K in 1080p): you can zoom/reframe with less quality loss because there are extra pixels.
• Lower-res clip in higher-res sequence (1080p in 4K): scaling up can look soft. Consider keeping the sequence at 1080p if 4K delivery isn’t required.
• Vertical clip in horizontal sequence (or the reverse): expect black bars or heavy cropping unless you reframe (position/scale) intentionally.

Warning dialogs (frame size) and what they mean

If Premiere warns that the clip’s frame size doesn’t match the sequence, it’s the same decision pattern:

• Change sequence to match clip: good when the clip represents your intended deliverable orientation/size and you’re starting the edit.
• Keep sequence settings: correct when the sequence is already set to your deliverable (e.g., a vertical social sequence) and you’re bringing in horizontal footage to reframe.

Practical check: After placing a mismatched clip, select it and look at its Scale and Position in the Effect Controls. If you see unexpected scaling (too zoomed or too small), you’re likely mixing aspect ratios and need to reframe intentionally.

Practical exercise: build two deliverable sequences and verify settings

You will create two sequences: one vertical for social and one horizontal for YouTube, then confirm the critical settings in Sequence Settings.

Exercise A: Social vertical sequence (9:16)

1. Go to File → New → Sequence.
2. Pick a preset close to your target (any 1080p preset is fine as a starting point), then click the Settings tab (or equivalent) to customize.
3. Set Frame Size to 1080 (horizontal) by 1920 (vertical).
4. Set Timebase to a common social rate (often 29.97 or 30.00). If your main footage is 23.976 and you want a cinematic vertical deliverable, you may choose 23.976—the key is to be intentional.
5. Set Audio Sample Rate to 48000 Hz.
6. Check Preview Settings and keep them reasonable for your system (editing-friendly codec if available).
7. Name the sequence Social_Vertical_1080x1920_30 (adjust fps in the name to match what you chose) and click OK.
8. Drag a horizontal clip into this vertical sequence. When warned about mismatched settings, choose Keep existing settings (because the deliverable is vertical).
9. Reframe: select the clip, then adjust Scale and Position so the subject fits the vertical frame.
10. Verify: go to Sequence → Sequence Settings and confirm Timebase, Frame Size, Audio Sample Rate, and Preview Settings.

Exercise B: YouTube horizontal sequence (16:9)

1. In the Project panel, find a representative clip from your main camera (the one that best represents the majority of your footage).
2. Right-click it and choose New Sequence from Clip.
3. Name the sequence YouTube_Main_FromClip.
4. Verify: open Sequence → Sequence Settings and note the Timebase and Frame Size that were inherited from the clip.
5. If your intended YouTube deliverable is different (example: you shot 4K but want a 1080p timeline for speed), decide now: either keep the inherited settings, or create a separate manual YouTube sequence at the deliverable size and edit there.
6. Drag a clip with a different fps or resolution into this sequence. When warned, choose Keep existing settings (because this sequence is already defined by your main footage/deliverable choice).

Quick self-check checklist (use Sequence Settings)

• Vertical sequence shows 1080x1920 (not 1920x1080).
• YouTube sequence shows 1920x1080 or 3840x2160 as intended.
• Timebase matches your plan (deliverable or primary footage).
• Audio sample rate is 48000 Hz.
• Preview settings are noted (so you understand what “rendering previews” will create).