Best Practice

3. Premiere Frame Rate Settings

  • New Sequence
  • Preferences Default Interpretation
  • Changing Frame Rate Interpretation

A step-by-step guide how to set up a new 25 fps project in Adobe Premiere correctly, setting the default preferences and how to change the frame rate interpretation of source footage

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New Project

Leave defaults and continue

Unless you already want to specify the project location and name

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New Sequence

Use the preset DSLR 1080p25

All the right settings are already there

Sequence settings can't be changed later

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Preferences Default Interpretation

Edit > Preferences > Media

Set Indeterminate Media Timebase to 25

This defines how image sequences are interpreted by default. Very important to set this correctly, or else you need to change for every image file sequence footage

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Import Sequence

File > Import

Tick Image Sequence

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Check the Frame Rate

Great! Imported image sequence is 25 fps

Because we set Indeterminate Media Timebase in Preferences correctly

Image file sequence and Edit Sequence match: All Good!

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Frame Rate Mismatch

This source clip video is 24 fps

Source and Edit Sequence mismatch: Danger!

24 fps source in 25 fps edit sequence will cause stutter

We will change the interpretation of the source clip

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Changing Frame Rate Interpretation

Right-click on footage clip > Modify > Interpret Footage

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Specify Interpretation

Set Assume this frame rate to 25

We're specifying a new frame rate for the source clip

Works for video and image file sequences

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Check the Frame Rate

Source clip has changed to 25 fps

Source and Edit Sequence match

Now we're all good, go edit!