How to use Adjustment Layers in Premiere Pro

Published on July 1, 2020

Sequences

adjustment layers, black bars, cinemascopes, Colorgrading, sequence

How to create an adjustment layer

It’s super easy to add an adjustment layer to your sequence. With the project panel selected, you can either head over to the file menu and create a new one or in the project panel itself you can click on the new icon button. A window will open where you can choose the desired size. If you already have a sequence this will be the same size as your sequence by default.

But what is an adjustment layer?

Adjustment layers are transparent non-destructive layers that can be edited. This means that the layer itself has no purpose of itself. But once you place it on top of other layers you can apply effects to it, now these effects will be visible on all the layers beneath the adjustment layers but they will not apply to that video layer itself. It’s a super useful tool for colorgrading your videos because your not destroying your video itself. So you can apply a master colorgrade or color correction on the adjustment layer and tweak the underlaying videoclips seperately if needed.

You can also create cinemascopes (or black bars) by using the crop effect on your adjustment layer. This is super easy! Other stylistic effects can also be applied on this layer so I highly recommend working with these to keep your edit and the effects organized.

Skillshare

If you love making videos but have no clue how to color correct or colorgrade your footage, have a look at our Lumetri Class on Skillshare. You will learn everything about the lumetri panel in Adobe Premiere Pro in no time. And if you already know all the basics have a look at our BRAND NEW Advanced Editing class! The first two months on Skillshare are completely for free so definitely worth checking it out.