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Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Update Premiere Pro
Text-based editing needs a recent version. The video says you need version 23.4 or newer. Open the Creative Cloud app, find Premiere Pro in the list of installed apps and click Update if one is available. If the app says Up to date, you are ready.
Step 2: Open the Text-Based Editing workspace
Open the workspace menu at the top right of Premiere Pro and choose Text-Based Editing. This layout puts the Transcript panel next to your Program Monitor and timeline.
You can also open the panel on its own through Window > Text.
Step 3: Transcribe your clips
In the Text panel, make sure the Transcript tab is selected. Premiere Pro tells you that your source clips have not been transcribed. Click the blue Transcribe button and wait while Premiere Pro turns the speech into text. The more footage you have, the longer this takes.
Step 4: Read and select the transcript
When it is done, the transcript appears as blocks of text with timecodes. Click a word and the playhead jumps to that moment in the video. Click and drag across a sentence to highlight it, and the matching section is marked on your timeline.
Step 5: Delete text to cut the video
With a passage highlighted, press Delete. The text and the matching video and audio are removed from the timeline, leaving a gap where it was. If you want to close the gap as well, press Backspace instead, which does a ripple delete.
Changed your mind? Press Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z on a Mac) to undo it and bring the passage back.
Step 6: Insert passages from the transcript
You can also build an edit from the text. Highlight a passage and press the comma key to insert it at the playhead on the timeline. Press Backspace to remove a passage again. With a few keystrokes you can rearrange sentences just like you would in a text document.
Tips
- Cut the umms. Use the transcript search to find filler words and delete them quickly.
- Work on a copy. Try text-based editing on a duplicate sequence first so your original edit stays safe.
- Combine with the basics. You can still use normal cutting at any time. See how to cut video in Premiere Pro.
FAQ
Which Premiere Pro version has text-based editing?
The video says version 23.4 or newer. Update Premiere Pro in the Creative Cloud app if you do not see the Text panel.
Where is the Transcript panel in Premiere Pro?
Open Window > Text, or switch to the Text-Based Editing workspace. The Transcript tab is inside the Text panel.
Does deleting text delete my footage?
No. It only removes that part from your sequence. Your original source clips stay untouched in the project, and you can undo with Ctrl + Z.
Want to speed up the rest of your edit? Try the free Mako panel for Premiere Pro.
