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Chapter 5: Capturing, digitizing, and
importing
Collecting assets
About capturing, digitizing, and importing
To bring media files (assets) into an Adobe Premiere Pro project, you can capture, digitize, or import them,
depending on the type of source material:
Capture
You capture digital video files from tape. That is, you transfer them from the source videotape to the hard
drive. All digital camcorders and decks record video in digital formats, but it must be captured (transferred to disk)
before Adobe Premiere Pro can use it in a project. Adobe Premiere Pro’s capture function, in conjunction with a
digital port or capture card (for example, IEEE 1394 or SDI), can capture digital video from tape and save it to disk
as files that you can then add to your project.
Digitize
You digitize analog video. Analog video is recorded by analog camcorders and decks. The data must be
digitized (converted to digital form) before a computer can store and process it. Adobe Premiere Pro’s capture
function, in conjunction with a digitizer card—or a device that can convert analog video to digital—can convert
analog video to digital files readable by Adobe Premiere Pro.
Import
Use the Import command to bring files—for example, still images or audio you’ve downloaded—that are
already on your hard drive into your Adobe Premiere Pro project. Adobe Premiere Pro lets you import numerous
types of digital files.
Capture panel
Use the Capture panel (choose File > Capture) to capture digital or analog video and audio. This panel includes a
preview, which displays video being captured, controls for recording with or without device control, a Settings pane
for editing your capture settings, and a Logging pane for logging clips for batch capturing. For convenience, some
options available in the Capture panel are also available in the Capture panel menu.
You can control certain source devices, such as camcorders and decks, directly from the Capture panel, provided
your computer has an Adobe Premiere Pro-compatible IEEE1394, RS-232, RS-422, LANC, or Control-M controller.
If your source device lacks any of these interfaces, you still use the Capture panel, but you must cue, start, and stop
your source device using its controls.
Note:
When not capturing in Adobe Premiere Pro, close the Capture panel. The Capture panel assumes primary focus,
so leaving it open while editing or previewing video disables output to the source device and may decrease performance.