Premiere project setup

The end-to-end editing guide for the video team. It covers opening a production, configuring Premiere, importing assets, building the timeline, the After Effects round-trip, audio, and export. Review happens in the shared Iconik review loop; file and folder naming live in Reference.

Hold Premiere at v25.3

Stay on Adobe Premiere Pro v25.3 through end-of-year. Patch updates (25.3.1, 25.3.2, etc.) are fine. Upgrading the minor version can corrupt timelines and break After Effects dynamic links.

Rename media first

Before you import, rename your media files with the Media File Renamer tool (MacOS or Windows builds are linked from the team’s tools list). It applies the footage naming standard quickly and painlessly.

1. Open the production

1. Connect to the Lucid video-working.wac filespace.
2. In Premiere, choose File > Open Production, then browse to Lucid > production > year > production_name.
3. Always open via Premiere’s Open Production menu. Never open a production by double-clicking files in Explorer or Finder.

Where is “Lucid”?

Lucid is your OS’s default LucidLink mount point: C:\Volumes\video-working on Windows, /Volumes/video-working on MacOS.

2. Set the scratch disk

In Premiere, open File > Project Settings and set the scratch-disk paths to Lucid > adobe > year > scratch_disk.

3. Match preferences

Open Edit > Preferences and match the reference settings for each section.

1. Audio - match the reference audio settings.

   

2. Collaboration - enable project locking and add your lowercase username.

   

3. Media - untick all boxes as shown.

   

4. Media Cache - point cache files to Your SSD > disk_cache > media_cache.

   

5. Disable importing coworkers’ workspaces - in Window > Workspaces, untick Import Workspace from Projects.

4. Import assets and MOGRT templates

The asset bin holds the MOGRT overlays.

1. To register the shared templates, open the Essential Graphics panel, click the hamburger menu, choose Manage Additional Folders > Add, select the shared templates folder, and confirm with OK.
2. For brand-specific MOGRTs, browse to assets > brands > [brand] > [product_type] > mogrts.
3. Always update the MOGRT fonts to match the brand (see Fonts).

5. Folders and footage placement

A production file is a container for all assets related to that project. Footage lives under the per-SKU 01_footage directory, which holds the automation-linked crew folders /amc, /usa, /cgi, and /360.

Inside each crew folder:

• First-round footage goes in the existing first_shoot subfolder.
• Reshoots go in a new rs01 folder alongside first_shoot; additional reshoots are rs02, rs03, and so on.
• Unusable footage goes in an _old folder to keep the workspace clean.

CGI assets live directly under /cgi and follow their own animation naming format.

For the full layout and the case-study / live-footage locations, see Folder structures. For every filename pattern, see Naming conventions.

6. Timeline color coding

Color-code clips by element so the timeline reads at a glance:

Element	Color
Dialogue / VO	Iris
Footage PW or audio-synced	Iris
Footage AMC or no audio	Violet
Nest	Forest
Images	Lavender
Dynamic Link	Rose
Animation / CGI	Magenta
Music	Caribbean
VO punches / SFX	Cerulean
Outros / Intros	Blue
Motion BG	Teal
Adjustment layer	Yellow
Solids	Brown
Project bins	Mango

7. Fonts

Brand fonts live in assets > fontfaces > [brand]. Use the correct face per brand:

Brand	Font
WAC	Myriad Pro
Modern Forms	Walkaway Bold
dweLED	Museo Slab 500
AiSPIRE	Open Sans
Schonbek	Century Old Style Std
Schonbek Forever	Futura PT Light

Contact a graphic designer for font questions.

8. Intros, outros, and transitions

1. Start - open with a slow 2-second fade-in plus a smooth zoom-in.
2. Music timing - bring music in 1 to 1.5 seconds before the VO.
3. Transitions - use a dip to black between shots; reserve hard cuts for interviews or presentations only.
4. Brand fades - Modern Forms always fades to black; other brands fade to black, or to white if the background is bright.
5. Chyron - place bottom-left by default, sized per spec.

Outros: end on a product shot fading to black, avoid zooming out on the last shot, and sync the VO product name with the on-screen text.

9. After Effects: dynamic links and Render & Replace

New AE project

Open the AE template at adobe > templates > after_effects > ae_project_template_2025.aep.

Sending clips to After Effects

1. Duplicate the clip directly above the original in the Premiere timeline.
2. Right-click the duplicate and choose Replace with After Effects Composition. The clip turns Rose.
3. Save the dynamic-link AE project at a path relative to your project: video-working/media/year/brand/type/sku/project_files/after_effects/dynamic_links.
4. Name the AE project per the After Effects naming pattern, e.g. pd25516-bk-ab_20240527_nlg_stab_sh01_v01.aep.

Not every clip is a dynamic link. Save a regular AE project under .../project_files/after_effects/saved_files, using the same naming pattern.

Exporting clips from After Effects

Output paths are relative to the project and always inside ../03_vfx/. The pd25516-bk-ab_20240527_nlg_stab_sh01_v01.aep example renders to video-working/media/2025/modern_forms/luminaires/pd25516-bk-ab/03_vfx/, into bins such as dynamic_links, ae_rendered, or gen_ai. Create new bins inside ../03_vfx/ as needed for new asset types (for example gen_ai for generative AI or Topaz-upscaled videos).

Render & Replace and revisions

1. After the AE work, in Premiere right-click the AE clip and choose Render & Replace.
2. Set the export: format QuickTime, preset Apple ProRes 422 LT or 4444 (alpha), destination the dynamic_links folder, handles 30 frames.
3. The clip turns Violet; move it to its shot-type folder.
4. For revisions, restore the unrendered clip, edit in AE, save, then re-render.

10. Motion graphics

• Alternate left-to-right and right-to-left text MOGRTs across multiple lines.
• Avoid placing text over the product.
• Balance font size for smartphone viewing.
• Always add a slow push-in animation.
• Use the prescribed specs for finishes and color temperatures.
• Organize nests by type (for example sound effects, color temp).
• For time remap plus stabilization, stabilize first, then remap the nest.

11. Voiceovers and audio

• Clean the VO: remove clicks, pops, breaths, and similar artifacts.
• Add 4-frame crossfades at cuts.
• Pull music from Storyblocks; gain music to between -24dB and -18dB; keep VO between -4dB and -2dB.
• Fade music slowly and keep 1 second of silence on black before a cut.
• Use used and unused bins to track music usage.

12. Export and deliverables

• Edit timelines at 30fps; interpret AMC 50fps footage down to 30fps. Animations are often 24fps - adjust accordingly.
• Use the provided export presets.

To build deliverables:

1. Duplicate the latest approved sequence and clean the timeline.
2. Nest the motion graphics as a single layer.
3. Duplicate the cleaned sequence into two versions: with and without the CTA outro.
4. Rename the sequences: modelNumber_productName_cta (with CTA) and modelNumber_productName (without CTA).

Tip

Remove the finish information from the model number when prepping for Vimeo, YouTube, and similar destinations.

13. Review and delivery

Exports flow into the shared Iconik review loop. LucidLink mirrors uploads to Iconik automatically, transcoding generates a share link, and the link pushes to the Monday Product Planning board, which advances the SKU status and notifies the team - all automatically. Do not duplicate that process here; see The Iconik review loop for the full review cycle and reshoot handling.

Final approved deliverables land in media_files > year > deliverables > brand > product_type > sku.

Naming and folders

Naming and folder layouts are the single source of truth in Reference - do not copy the tables here:

• Naming conventions - footage, reshoots, live footage, After Effects projects (and shot-type codes), and final deliverables.
• Folder structures - the LucidLink layouts, including 01_footage and the crew folders.