FREDDIE’S CUSTOM KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

FOR EDITING AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT

WHAT EXACTLY ARE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS?

Keyboard shortcuts (also called “hot keys”) assign the actions or tools of your editing program to specific keys
on your keyboard. This allows you to access them instantly. Most editing programs already have default
keyboard shortcuts programmed in, but allow you to customize them to your liking.

SO WHAT ACTIONS AND TOOLS SHOULD I ASSIGN?

Actually, this is up to you and what tools you use most as an editor. In our tutorial, Freddie goes over the
actions and tools he uses the most, and assigns them to keys that make sense to him. Create a set of keys that
make sense to you! We list what keys Freddie programs to each tool, and what each tool does, below.

CAN I DO THIS IN MY [DIFFERENT] EDITING PROGRAM?

Most editing programs share the same, if not very similar, tools for editing. If you’re using a software that
allows you to program or assign shortcuts, this should work fine! Even if the program doesn’t have the exact
same tool or has it listed under a different name, you can substitute whatever works the best. Here are some
start points for locating your program’s default keyboard:

• In Premiere, choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (Premiere Pro > Keyboard Shortcuts if you’re on a Mac)
• In Final Cut Pro 7, choose Tools > Keyboard > Customize
• In Sony Vegas Pro, choose Options > Customize Keyboard
• In Hitfilm, choose File > Options > Shortcuts (Preferences if on a Mac)
• When in doubt, use Google

WHY DO I EVEN WANT TO DO THIS?

There are multiple benefits from customizing and using keyboard shortcuts:

It allows you more precision.

Using a mouse to navigate the timeline and your tools makes it both slower and more difficult to find where
exactly you want to place your cut or transition, or replay a cut quickly.

It makes you more efficient.

Keyboard shortcuts reduce the amount of right hand movement from keyboard to mouse. Instead of clicking
and dragging or scrolling, you can quickly control your timeline from one place. The less you have to move
your hands, the less time you will spend clicking around your project looking for the right tools.

Why is efficiency important? It’s the difference between making or breaking it as an editor when suddenly you
have to edit six episodes of a show in the amount of time it normally takes you to edit three… and you have to
edit them well!

It helps you become a better storyteller.

Programming your keyboard and being able to edit quickly is not just about speed, but about not having to
think about the technicalities or getting bogged down in the tools you are using. You can have a thought,
immediately put it into place, then see immediate results. It allows you to focus on telling the story well, rather
than navigating your software, ultimately helping you become a better editor.
TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Timeline – Where you assemble your clips to build your scene or movie

Playhead – The vertical line that shows where you are in your timeline

Tracks – Rows in your timeline where you can place your clips and layer them

Cut – When you cut or slice a clip into two clips, creating an edit point

Edit Point – The place where two different clips meet

Source Monitor – The viewer where you can play back individual, unedited clips from your footage

Program Monitor – The viewer where you watch your assembled and edited timeline

Select Tool This default tool allows you to select clips on your timeline

Track Select Tool This selects all the clips on a track from your cursor onward

Ripple Edit Tool This automatically closes the gaps in your timeline, or creates more
room in your timeline, whenever you trim or extend a clip
Blade/Razor Tool Cuts/slices a clip into multiple clips

Zoom Tool This magnifies your timeline by zooming in, or widens your view of
the timeline by zooming out

Rolling Edit Tool This moves the location of an edit point between two clips without
adding or subtracting from the overall length of the timeline
NAVIGATION (MOVING AROUND YOUR TIMELINE)

KEY ACTION / TOOL DESCRIPTION

Zooms into your timeline at the position of your

Z Zoom In
playhead

Zooms out of your timeline at the position of your

SHIFT + Z Zoom Out
playhead

Go to Previous Edit Your playhead will automatically jump to the previous

A
Point edit point from its current position

Your playhead will automatically jump to the following

S Go to Next Edit Point
edit point from its current position

Moves the playhead backward along your timeline one

E Step Back 1 Frame
frame at a time.

Moves the playhead forward along your timeline one

R Step Forward 1 Frame
frame at a time.

Moves the playhead backward along your timeline

multiple frames at a time. You can set the number of
SHIFT + E Step Back Many Frames
frames when customizing your keys.
We usually set it at 5.
Moves the playhead forward along your timeline
Step Forward Many multiple frames at a time. You can set the number of
SHIFT + R
Frames frames when customizing your keys.
We usually set it at 5.

G Selection Tool Automatically equips the “Select” or Arrow tool

Track Select Forward Automatically equips the

SHIFT + G
Tool “Track Select” tool

COMMANDS (ACTUALLY DOING STUFF TO YOUR FOOTAGE)

KEY ACTION / TOOL DESCRIPTION

Wherever your playhead is in the timeline, this will
B Add Edit automatically create a cut/edit at that point on the
selected track

Wherever your playhead is in the timeline, this will

SHIFT + B Add Edit to All Tracks
automatically create a cut across all tracks at that point

This takes the clip you’ve selected from a piece of

footage and inserts it into your timeline at the playhead,
V Insert
moving forward all the existing footage past the
playhead to make room for the new clip
 This takes the clip you’ve selected from a piece of
footage and places it into your timeline at the playhead,
SHIFT + V Overwrite
replacing any existing footage of the same length in that
location (the remaining footage is not moved)
This trims the end of a selected clip, and automatically
Ripple Trim Next Edit to
F brings the next edit point to the playhead, closing any
Playhead
gaps left by the trim
This trims the beginning of a selected clip, and brings
Ripple Trim Previous
D the new trim and remaining footage to the previous edit
Edit to Playhead
point, closing any gaps left by the trim

FINE TUNING (FINESSING AND POLISHING YOUR EDITS)

KEY ACTION / TOOL DESCRIPTION

This automatically brings up the Trim Tool at the
T Trim Edit selected edit point in your timeline, as well as your
program monitor.

This allows you to toggle between the different trim tool

SHIFT + T Toggle Trim Type
options to select the one you wish to use

Once you’ve selected your trim tool, this moves the

Q Trim Backward
selected trim point backward by 1 frame

Once you’ve selected your trim tool, this moves the

W Trim Forward
selected trim point forward by 1 frame

This moves the selected trim point backward by multiple

SHIFT + Q Trim Backward Many
frames (you can customize the number)

This moves the selected trim point forward by multiple

SHIFT + W Trim Forward Many
frames (you can customize the number)

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to nudge an entire selected clip
X
Left One Frame backward along your timeline 1 frame at a time

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to physically nudge an entire selected
C
Right One Frame clip forward along your timeline 1 frame at a time

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to physically nudge a selected clip
SHIFT + X
Left (X) Frames backward along your timeline multiple frames at a time

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to physically nudge a selected clip
SHIFT + C
Right (X) Frames forward along your timeline multiple frames at a time

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to move a selected clip to the track
SHIFT + A
Up above it

Nudge Clip Selection This allows you to move a selected clip to the track
SHIFT + S
Down below it
If you downloaded the Freddie’s Keyboard Preferences file for Premiere from our tutorial, here is how you install it:

Manually copy keyboard shortcuts

You can copy your customized keyboard shortcuts from one computer to another computer, or to another location on
your computer.

1. Locate the keyboard shortcuts file (RJFS Keyboard.kys) that you want to copy to your
computer.

2. Paste the keyboard shortcuts file (.kys) into the required file location:

Signed into Creative Cloud Sync Settings

• Win: Users\[user name]\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\[version]\Profile-CreativeCloud-\Win\
• Mac: Users/[user name]/Documents/Adobe/Premiere Pro/[version]/Profile-CreativeCloud-/Mac/

Signed out of Creative Cloud Sync Settings

• Win: Users\[user name]\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\[version]\Profile-username\Win\
• Mac: Users/[user name]/Documents/Adobe/Premiere Pro/[version]/Profile-username/Mac/
[version] can be 7.0 or 8.0

To copy the keyboard shortcuts file to a location on a different computer, copy the .kys file to a removable drive, like a
USB thumb drive. Then, copy the .kys file from the removable drive to the appropriate location in the new computer.

3. Once in Premiere, go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Select “RJFS Keyboard” from the
Keyboard Layout Preset drop down menu, then hit “Okay.”

Here are the unaltered instructions on the Adobe Website:

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts-cc.html#Manuallycopykeyboardshortcuts