Classroom in a book

17
The workspace layout
If you’ve never seen a nonlinear editor, the default workspace might overwhelm 
you. Don’t worry. A lot of careful consideration went into its design and layout. 
The principal elements are shown here.
Tools Panel
Project Panel
Sequence
Audio Master Meters
Timeline
Tracks
Clips
Source Monitor
Effect Controls
Audio Mixer
Program Monitor
Media 
Browser
Info Panel
Effects Panel
History Panel
Each workspace item appears in its own panel. You can dock multiple panels in a 
single frame. Some items with common industry terms stand alone, such as Timeline, 
Audio Mixer, and Program Monitor. The main workspace elements are as follows:
t
Timeline
: This is where you’ll do most of your actual editing. You create 
sequences
(Adobe’s term for edited video segments or entire projects) in the Timeline. 
One strength of sequences is that you can 
nest
them—place sequences in other 
sequences. In this way, you can break up a production into manageable chunks.
t
Tracks
: You can layer—or 
composite
—video clips, images, graphics, and titles 
in an unlimited number of tracks. Video clips in higher-numbered tracks cover 
whatever is directly below them on the Timeline. Therefore, you need to give 
clips in higher-numbered tracks some kind of transparency or reduce their size 

---

ptg
18
LESSON 1
Touring Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
if you want to let clips in lower tracks show through. We’ll cover compositing in 
several upcoming lessons.
t
Monitors
: You use the Source Monitor (on the left) to view and trim raw clips 
(your original footage). To place a clip in the Source Monitor, double-click it 
in the Project panel. The Program Monitor (on the right) is for viewing your 
project in progress.