Starting your project in Adobe® Premiere Pro®

This page details how to set up a Premiere Pro project that will work well with Singular Software Presto™. We assume that you are already familiar with using Premiere Pro.   

The figure below illustates how the the sample project is set up:

 

Follow these steps in setting up your Premiere Pro project for use with Presto:

1. Create a new Premiere Pro project, and import or transfer in the screen video and presenter video, as well as any additional media you may have for the project such as independent audio or b-roll video.  You do not need to add the slide images to the project yet; you will do that in Presto.
   
   
2. Arrange the tracks as follows:
   • Place the  presenter video on the first video track (Video 1)
   • place the screen video on the second video track (Video 2)
   • place any b-roll video on higher tracks (NOTE: if any b-roll clips do not have audio, add them after synchronizing)
   • if you have any independent audio, you can place that on any audio track that suits you
     
     
   • Advanced tip — track order: if for some reason you would prefer to have the tracks in some other order, that's no problem.  Just remember that after you bring the sequence into Presto you will need to adjust the track settings from their defaults on Presto's first wizard tab (Assign Roles), so that Presto knows which tracks contain the screen and presenter videos.
     
     
   • Advanced tip — multiple presenter cameras: Presto supports projects with more than one camera angle on the presenter. Place each camera angle on a separate track below the screen track. After you bring the sequence into Presto you will need to adjust the role settings from their defaults on Presto's first wizard tab (Assign Roles), so that Presto knows which tracks contain the additional presenter video camera angles.
     
     
   • Advanced tip — applying effects prior to Presto: Presto does not import effects from Premiere Pro. So if there are any effects that you need to apply before importing to Presto (such as color correction or noise reduction), you must render the effected items with the effects applied prior to using them in a sequence bound for Presto.
     
     
3. Make sure the clips are synchronized.  You can sync the clips quickly and accurately using PluralEyes.
   
   
4. Trim off any video (typically from the start and end) that you don't want included.  Presto supports some limited clip editing, but the best time to do this editing is prior to exporting the project to Presto.
   
   
   • Advanced tip — multiple presenters: if there are parts of the presentation where there is more than one person visible in the video for more than a few seconds (such as during a panel discussion), split the clips so that these parts of the video with more than one person are separate clips.  Then within the Presto app, you will be able to tell Presto to ignore these clips during its automatic presenter tracking.  Presto does not support tracking multiple presenters in the same shot.
     
     
5. Be sure to save your Premiere Pro project.
   
   
6. Export your project as a Final Cut Pro XML file by choosing File > Export > Final Cut Pro XML...
   
   
7. Now you are ready to work with Presto.  Start the Presto application. From the Premiere Pro import tab, press the Import FCP XML... button. Presto will open a new Presto project window containing your project.
   
   
8. Check that the correct sequence is selected from the sequence pop-up menu on the first wizard tab (1. Assign Roles).
   
   The Presto wizard will then lead you through the steps of adding your slide images, applying Presto's automatic processing, and fine-tuning the appearance of the presentation.