by 
The short answer
Want Un-PreCompose-style results inside Premiere Pro? Mako releases a nested sequence back into your timeline with one click, effects and keyframes intact, and it's free on Mac and Windows.
Mako is a small panel with 13 one-click tools. For anyone who thinks in comps and precomps, it makes Premiere feel familiar fast.
Precomps, the Premiere way
In After Effects you group layers into a precomp, work inside it and release the layers again when you need them. Premiere Pro has the same idea with nested sequences. Mako turns each part of that routine into a single button.
- Nest puts the selected clips into a sequence of their own, with no dialog.
- Unnest opens a nest back onto the timeline, every clip on its own track, in place.
- New Sequence makes an empty sequence with the settings you're already in and opens it in its own tab.
- Transparency Grid shows the checkerboard in the Program Monitor in one click.
- Fit to Frame scales an oversized clip to fit the frame. Shift-click fills it instead.
Step 1: Install Mako
Add Mako to your cart and check out for $0. No card is needed, and your download is ready on the order confirmation page, with a copy of the link by email.
Run Mako.pkg on a Mac or MakoSetup.exe from the zip on Windows. Restart Premiere Pro, open Window > Extensions > Mako and dock it where you like. It works with Premiere Pro 2021 and later and keeps itself up to date.
Step 2: Group clips with Nest
Select the clips you want to treat as one unit, such as a logo build, a B-roll run or a stack of layers for a lower third. Click Nest. They become one nested sequence on the timeline, right where they were.
Now you can move, trim or grade the whole group like a single clip. Double-click it to work inside, just as you would open a precomp.
Step 3: Release the clips with Unnest
When you need the individual clips back, select the nest and click Unnest. Every clip returns to its own track at its own time.
The details you spent time on come back with them: effects, keyframes, speed, clip names and on/off state, with linked audio still linked. If a clip can't be rebuilt, such as a title or a multicam clip, Mako leaves the nest as it is. Each step can be undone.
Step 4: Start a fresh sequence with matching settings
Need a clean sequence for the next version, a test or an alternate cut? Click New Sequence. Mako makes an empty sequence with the same settings as the one you're in and opens it in its own tab, so there are no presets to match by hand.
It's the Premiere version of making a new comp from an existing one, without the settings dialog.
Step 5: Check transparency in one click
Motion designers live with the checkerboard on. Click Transparency Grid and the Program Monitor shows it, so you can see exactly where a lower third, a cutout or a logo is transparent.
When the graphic is ready to leave Premiere with its alpha channel, see how to export transparent video in Premiere Pro.
Built for people who switch apps all day
If you move between After Effects and Premiere Pro, Mako keeps the Premiere side quick. Pair it with Dynamic Link between Premiere Pro and After Effects and you send heavy motion work over while the edit stays fast.
- A key for every button. Right-click any button and choose Keyboard Shortcut, or set them all on the Shortcuts tab in Settings.
- Never overwrites a clip. Adjustment layers, color mattes and freeze frames go on the first free track above, and Mako adds a track if there is none.
- A tidy project. Adjustment layers and freeze frames land in a Mako bin.
- Your layout. Hide the buttons you don't need, color the rest and choose 1 to 4 columns. It wraps like the Tools panel.
- Free for good. No account, no license key and no trial, with updates that install themselves.
Our complete Mako guide covers all 13 buttons.
FAQ
Is there an Un-PreCompose for Premiere Pro?
Yes, Mako. Select a nested sequence and click Unnest. Its clips go back on their tracks in place, with their effects, keyframes and speed.
What is the Premiere Pro version of a precomp?
A nested sequence. With Mako, select the clips and click Nest to make one without a dialog, and click Unnest to open it back up.
Does Unnest keep keyframes and effects?
Yes. Effects, keyframes, speed, clip names and on/off state all come back, and linked audio stays linked.
Can I see the transparency grid in Premiere Pro?
Yes. Click Transparency Grid in Mako and the checkerboard appears in the Program Monitor, so you can check your cutouts at a glance.
Nest, release and start fresh, one click each. Get Mako for free.
