D.L. Watson: The Most Efficient Way to Trim Content to a Specific Length in Premiere Pro

Ever in a situation where your client wants you to cut your video down to a specific timecode? Ever try it and cut too much out? This quick tip will hopefully help you cut out the perfect amount every time! —D. L. Watson

Independent filmmaker, D. L. Watson shares his own innovative technique for cutting down an edit to a specific length. The scenario in this tutorial is D. L. needs to cut a 48-minute TV episode down to 44-minutes. How do you keep track of how much content you need to cut?

At 0:35 D. L. adds a timeline marker at the required 44-minute mark. Next he adds a Transparent Video clip starting at the 44-minute marker, and stretches it to the end of his program. The Transparent Video clip is now the exact length of content that he needs to cut to meet his 44-minute total runtime. 

When D. L. finds filler content that he can cut at 0:56 he slides the Transparent Video clip over the area and makes the edit. As he continues to make edits, the Transparent Video clip gets smaller and smaller indicating he's getting closer to his 44-minute total runtime.