[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello,

It sounds like you simply want to see V1 underneath while adjusting a mask on V2 (a temporary “see-through” reference).

If you’re masking in the Color page (Power Window): a Power Window doesn’t make the clip transparent. Quick workaround: go to the Edit page, select the V2 clip, Inspector, Opacity and lower it (e.g. 50%) while you position the window, then set it back to 100%.

If you’re masking in Fusion: make sure you’re viewing the composite (a Merge node with V2 as Foreground and V1 as Background) and adjust the mask while looking at the Merge output.

Best,

 

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hi, your screenshot actually clears up the confusing part.

Your file really is 720×486, 29.97, ProRes 422. The reason QuickTime is showing 1440×972 is because it’s reporting the “current size” after display scaling, not the stored pixel dimensions. You can even see it in the Inspector: it says “Current Scale: Double,” so QuickTime is basically just presenting it at 2x. Nothing about that means your media is secretly higher res or that Resolve is changing it.

In Resolve, the main thing is to avoid putting SD footage into a default HD project and then wondering why it scales. Project settings do affect what you render, so for this kind of archive job you want the timeline to match the clip: set the timeline frame rate to 29.97 and set the timeline resolution to a custom 720×486. Once the timeline matches the source, you can do your simple split or join and you won’t trigger any unwanted resizing.

On the Deliver page, keep it simple as well: export QuickTime, Apple ProRes 422, and don’t override the resolution to something else. The “constant bitrate vs VBR” question doesn’t really apply to ProRes the way it does to H.264 or H.265. ProRes is profile-based (422, 422 HQ, LT, etc.), so you’re basically choosing the ProRes flavor rather than tuning a bitrate mode.

For levels, Auto is the safest choice here since this is standard SD video (your Inspector even shows BT.601 and SMPTE-C style metadata). Forcing “Full” is where people accidentally shift levels, so I’d avoid that. Same idea with Color Space and Gamma tags: don’t try to reinvent them, just leave them on Auto/same-as-project so the file stays consistent. Burn-in should be off unless you want text baked into the image, and Flat Pass should be off since you’re not doing any special color-managed bypass.

If you match the timeline to 720×486/29.97 and export ProRes 422 without overrides, you’ll get a clean archive export that doesn’t uprez or downrez.

Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello Ellis!

If the project’s due soon and you already know your way around Premiere, I’d stay in Premiere for this one, especially since the footage is already sitting in Rec.709 and “balanced.” Resolve is better when you’ve got log/RAW, messy exposure, mixed cameras, or you need serious secondaries and cleanup. But for Rec.709 material that mostly needs a creative push, Premiere (plus Lumetri) can absolutely get you over the line fast, and the biggest risk right now isn’t “wrong color science,” it’s losing time fighting a new workflow.

Also, don’t overthink the “Rec.709 profile” part. If it was truly captured/processed as Rec.709 (i.e., it’s already in a display-referred space), you’re not doing a technical transform anyway — you’re just grading on top. In Resolve, that means you’re basically skipping the whole “input transform” phase you’re used to with S-Log, and you’re straight into creative work. That’s fine, but the advantage you’d normally get from Resolve only matters if you’re comfortable moving quickly in it.

If you want to try Resolve without risking the deadline, keep the edit in Premiere and only round-trip to Resolve for grading if you truly need its tools: export an XML, grade in Resolve, then render graded clips (ProRes/DNxHR) and relink them back in Premiere. Just be aware that round-tripping is where people lose hours (timecode, scaling, mixed frame rates, and Premiere effects/graphics can get messy) so it’s only worth it if your timeline is simple.

So my practical answer: if the grade is mostly “make it feel nicer” (contrast, saturation, gentle curves, a look LUT if appropriate, maybe a couple of power windows), do it in Premiere and deliver. Then duplicate the project after delivery and rebuild a few key scenes in Resolve as a learning exercise. You’ll learn faster because you’re not under pressure, and you can compare your Premiere result side-by-side.

Good luck with your project,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello Adam!

In the Keyboard Customization window, the first thing you should do is use the command search on the right-hand column of the panel. Search for the command that currently has the S key assigned. In most default layouts it’s usually Toggle Slip / Slide Mode (wording can vary slightly by version).

Once you find it, click that command. You’ll see its assigned shortcut next to it, and right beside the S binding there should be a small X. Click that X to remove the shortcut and free up the S key.

After you’ve cleared it, then you can search for the command you actually want, click it, and assign S right there in the same command list.

Good luck with your project!
Best,

Ivan Eldredge

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hi!

For PC playback, don’t overthink it, export an MP4 using H.264 video and AAC audio. That combo plays nicely basically everywhere on Windows (VLC, the built-in player, browsers, TVs… all good). Keep the same frame rate as your timeline so you’re not accidentally adding weird motion, and set a bitrate that isn’t tiny.

If it’s 1080p, something in the 10–20 Mbps range usually looks clean without making the file huge. If it’s 4K, bump it up to something around 35–60 Mbps depending on how much movement/detail you’ve got.

For Instagram Stories, shape/dimension is the main concern. Usually you want to have it on a vertical format. So export 9:16 at 1080×1920, still MP4/H.264 with AAC audio. 30fps is the common standard. Bitrate doesn’t need to be aggressive because Instagram is going to compress it no matter what, but around 8–12 Mbps is a solid “looks good / uploads fast” sweet spot.
.
In Resolve, the easy workflow is: queue your PC export first (H.264 MP4), then add another one and just change it to 1080×1920 for Stories. Same codec, same audio, just a different canvas.

Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello Fahim!

Premiere has always been “backwards compatible,” meaning you can open a project created in an older version with a newer version of the software without issues. What you can’t do is the other way around: a project created in a newer version won’t open in an older version, which is exactly the error message you ran into.

If that’s your situation, the usual workaround is to run the file through a “Premiere Pro Downgrader.” A quick Google search will bring up several sites that do this for you: you upload the project, and they’ll give you back a version saved for an older release. Just keep in mind that this only works reliably with the basic stuff—if the project uses newer features that don’t exist in your version, those parts will either be missing or won’t work properly.

That’s really the only way to force compatibility backwards if you can’t install the latest version because of hardware or system limitations.

Good luck with your project!
Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello Anthony!

This isn’t a mistake on your part, it’s just how captions work. Formats like SRT or VTT only store text and timing, not styling (position, shadows, backgrounds, etc.). Vimeo then applies its own default look to all sidecar captions, which is why yours always appear centered with a black background.

If you want your custom style from Essential Graphics to show exactly as you designed it, you’ll need to burn the captions into the video when exporting. The trade-off is they’ll always be visible, not toggleable. If you need them as optional captions, you’ll have to use Vimeo’s default style.

Good luck with your project!

Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hi there!

If you’re working in After Effects daily and churning out a high volume of 4K videos, adding a second drive specifically for your disk cache (and optionally for AME temp files) can be a good idea. Your current drive is fast, but splitting the load between two drives and having one just for apps and the operative system and the other one just for video tasks (Media and projects used by After Effects, Premiere Pro, AME, etc.) is always recommended on any dedicated video workstation.

Even with “simple” projects, caching 4K comps adds up fast. A dedicated cache drive keeps your system drive lean and helps AE/AME run more smoothly. Just make sure the second SSD is also NVMe to match the speed. A 1TB drive would be more than enough for cache unless you’re dealing with massive comps.

So: not mandatory, but highly recommended. It’ll give you faster previews, less system strain, and a more responsive overall workflow.

Good luck with your projects!
Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hey there! Not sure if this is helpful in your case, but in Premiere Pro’s Keyboard Shortcuts panel, there are commands called “Select Next Camera” and “Select Previous Camera”. You just need to assign them to a key of your choice to make them functional. That might do exactly what you’re trying to achieve — cycling through all your camera angles without mapping each one individually.

Hope that helps!

Cheers 🙂

Ivan Eldredge G.

[Ivan Eldredge]

Hello and Welcome back to Premiere! 😄

To insert still photos into a sequence, just do this:

1. Import your photos into the Project panel (File > Import or drag them in).
2. Drag them to the timeline like you would with a video clip — Premiere treats them like clips.
3. If needed, adjust duration: go to Preferences > Timeline and change the default still image duration.
4. Use the Fit/Fill adjustments on the Properties panel to make them fit on your sequence.

Good luck with your project!

Best,

Ivan Eldredge G.