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The short answer
Want Sequence Layers-style results inside Premiere Pro? Mako steps every selected clip a track higher with one click and brings them back down with another, free on Mac and Windows.
The tools are called Staircase and Unstaircase, and they sit in a small panel with 11 more one-click jobs for your timeline.
What Staircase does
Select a row of clips on one track and click Staircase. Each clip moves one track higher than the one before it, so the clips climb like a staircase. They stay at their times on the timeline, so your cut doesn't change.
A stepped layout is the starting point for a lot of layered edits:
- Overlaps. Extend a clip into the next one for a soft crossfade or a long blend.
- Split screens and collages. Every clip on its own track, ready to scale and position. Here is how to build a split screen in Premiere Pro.
- Per-clip looks. Each clip is easy to select, grade or mask on its own.
- Clear reading. A busy montage is easier to scan when every shot has its own row.
Step 1: Get Mako for $0
Add Mako to your cart and check out. It's free, so no card is needed, and the download appears right on the order confirmation page. We email you the link as well.
Open Mako.pkg on a Mac or run MakoSetup.exe from the zip on Windows. Restart Premiere Pro and open Window > Extensions > Mako. It works with Premiere Pro 2021 and later.
Step 2: Select the clips you want to stack
Drag a box around the clips, or click the first and Shift-click the rest. Mako works on whatever you've selected, so you choose exactly which shots climb.
Step 3: Click Staircase
Click Staircase. The first clip stays put and every clip after it steps up a track. One click replaces a whole series of careful drags.
Now drag the edges to create overlaps, add an opacity fade or scale each layer into place. Every clip is on its own row, so nothing gets in the way.
Step 4: Flatten it again with Unstaircase
When you're done layering, or you simply want the clean single-track version back, select the stepped clips and click Unstaircase. They drop back onto one track.
It's a quick way to try a layered idea and step back out of it in seconds, without moving a single clip by hand.
Step 5: Tidy up and wrap the stack
Two more Mako buttons finish the job. Delete Empty Tracks removes every empty track at once after you flatten, with no dialog. Nest wraps a finished stack into one sequence of its own, so you can move or grade the whole build like a single clip.
Changed your mind about the nest? Unnest puts every clip back on its own track, in place, with its effects, keyframes and speed.
Make stacking a reflex
Staircase gets faster still when it lives on your keyboard. Right-click the button and choose Keyboard Shortcut, then press a modifier and a key, like Option + S, or an F key on its own. Give Unstaircase its own key next to it.
- Works the way Premiere works. Mako acts on your selection, at the playhead, on the first free track.
- Colored buttons. Tint Staircase and Unstaircase the same color so the pair is easy to spot.
- A lean panel. Hide the buttons you don't use. Hidden buttons keep their shortcuts.
- Mac and Windows. Free, with no account and no license key, and it updates itself.
Want to see all 13 buttons? Read the complete Mako guide.
FAQ
What is the best Sequence Layers alternative for Premiere Pro?
Mako. Select your clips and click Staircase to step each one a track higher, then click Unstaircase to bring them back to one track. It's free.
Does Staircase change the timing of my clips?
No. Each clip keeps its place in time and only moves up a track, so your edit plays exactly as before.
Which Premiere Pro versions does Mako support?
Mako works with Premiere Pro 2021 and later, on both macOS and Windows, and it keeps itself up to date.
Can I give Staircase a keyboard shortcut?
Yes. Right-click the button and choose Keyboard Shortcut, or set it on the Shortcuts tab in Settings. It works whenever Premiere is in front and the Mako panel is open.
Stack and flatten your clips in one click each. Get Mako for Premiere Pro.
