by 
The answer: Mako
If you cut YouTube videos in Premiere Pro 2021, the best free panel you can install is Mako. It puts 13 everyday jobs into one small panel next to your Tools panel, and each one takes a single click.
Mako works in Premiere Pro 2021 (version 15) and later, on Mac and Windows. It is free for good: no account, no license key and no trial.
Why YouTube editors pick Mako
A YouTube edit is a stack of cuts with a look on top. You grade the whole video, punch up single shots, and drop a flash or a whip on the cuts that need energy. In Premiere each of those starts with a menu, a new item and a lot of dragging and trimming.
Mako turns that into one button. Click Adjustment Layer and the layer lands exactly where you need it: over the clips you selected, on the first free track above them, cut to fit. Mako never overwrites a clip, and if there is no free track, it adds one.
Premiere Pro 2021 is a great home for this kind of channel work. Version 15.0 brought a new captions workflow that connects captions to the Timeline and the design tools in the Essential Graphics panel, so your subtitles and your Mako layers live side by side in the same timeline.
Everything in the panel
- Adjustment Layer, three ways. A click covers the whole selection, a Shift-click gives every clip its own layer, and a Cmd-click (Ctrl-click on Windows) puts a short layer on every cut.
- Color Matte. Pick a color and the matte drops over your selection, ready for a title card or an end screen background.
- Freeze Frame. A still of the playhead's frame on the track above the clip. Shift-click for a 3-second still from the playhead.
- Staircase and Unstaircase. Each selected clip steps up a track for overlaps and picture in picture, then drops back down in one click.
- New Sequence. An empty sequence with your current sequence's settings, opened in its own tab, perfect for a Short or a teaser cut.
- Seven more tools. Fit to Frame, Clear Effects, QC Check, Transparency Grid, Nest, Unnest and Delete Empty Tracks.
- A key for every button. Give any button, and each of its extra clicks, a keyboard shortcut of its own.
- Updates itself. Mako installs new versions quietly in the background, so you never download it twice.
Step 1: Install Mako
Add Mako to your cart and check out for $0. No card is needed, and your download appears on the order confirmation page.
On a Mac, open Mako.pkg. On Windows, run MakoSetup.exe from the zip, no administrator needed. Restart Premiere Pro 2021, open Window > Extensions > Mako and dock it next to your Tools panel.
Step 2: Grade the whole video in one click
Select every clip of your A-roll and click Adjustment Layer. One layer covers the full selection, so a single LUT or Lumetri look now sits over the whole video. With nothing selected, the layer covers five seconds from the playhead instead.
Want a different look per shot, like a punch-in on the talking head and a warmer grade on the B-roll? Shift-click the same button and every selected clip gets an adjustment layer of its own.
Step 3: Put a layer on every cut
Cmd-click (Ctrl-click on Windows) Adjustment Layer and Mako places a short 0.4-second layer on every cut, all on one track. Add a flash, a blur or a shake to the first one, copy its effects to the rest, and every cut in the video hits at once. You can change the length in Settings.
Not sure which effect to use? Our flash transition tutorial is a great match for these layers. When the edit is done, follow our guide to the best export settings for YouTube. For a full tour of every button, read the Mako panel overview.
FAQ
Does Mako work with Premiere Pro 2021?
Yes. Mako works in Premiere Pro 2021 (version 15) and every later version, on macOS and Windows. Install it once and open it from Window > Extensions > Mako.
Is Mako free for YouTubers?
Yes, for every editor and every channel. There is no license key, no account and no trial. Check out for $0, download it and it is yours, updates included.
How do I add an adjustment layer to every cut in Premiere Pro?
Select your clips and Cmd-click (Ctrl-click on Windows) the Mako Adjustment Layer button. A short layer lands on every cut, all on one track, ready for a flash or a whip.
Can I use Mako with keyboard shortcuts?
Yes. Right-click any button and choose Keyboard Shortcut, then press a modifier and a key, like Option + 1, or an F key on its own. Shift-clicks and Cmd-clicks can get shortcuts of their own too.
Make your next upload faster with one-click adjustment layers. Get Mako for free.
