5 Video Editing Shortcuts That Pros Use

Reader beware: after you learn these five video editing shortcuts, you’re going to wonder how you ever survived without them, especially the last one.

Context is key, so I’ll present a real-world situation, first showing you how you might accomplish it without a shortcut, and then with a shortcut.

I’ll be working in Premiere Pro, but you should be able to find these shortcuts in most editing software.

 Scenario 1

Let’s say that you need to deliver a shot to your colorist so they can work some magic. You take a look at the file name. Go to your finder window, go to the right folder, look for the file name. Found it.

Now let's try again with a shortcut.

You select the clip, hit a hotkey, and there it is in the finder. In Premiere Pro this is called “Reveal in Finder” and I’ve mapped it to a custom hotkey combination.

Scenario 2

Let’s say you need to see all your audio stems in your bins. You go to your mix bin, click on stems, and there you are.

Now let's try again with a shortcut.

You select the clip, and boom. You go right to the file in the bin. This shortcut is called “Reveal In Project” and is particularly helpful when you have a ton of files.

Scenario 3

Let’s say you’re about to make a big change to your edit, so you want to duplicate your sequence. You check the sequence name, go to your sequence bin, and find the correct sequence.

Now let's try again with a shortcut.

You hit a hotkey, and boom. Your sequence is revealed in your bin, ready to duplicate. This is called “Reveal Sequence In Bins”. I use it all the time.

Scenario 4

You want to choose a different take from your raw footage. You open the sequence that has all of the raw takes (which I call a stringout) and you search around, trying to figure out what take you’re currently using and what the new takes are.

Now let's try again with two different shortcuts.

You bring up the take in the source window by using a shortcut called "Match Frame". You open the stringout and use the “Reverse Match Frame” shortcut and it takes you to the correct shot at the exact frame in the sequence.

This last one in particular ("Reverse Match Frame") was a real game changer for how I navigate my edits.

You’ll notice that these shortcuts have a theme—searching in reverse. When you want to find something, instead of going to a bin or a folder and searching around, go to your timeline and use a shortcut to reveal the file.

To map these shortcuts to your keyboard look for the Keyboard Shortcuts panel in Premiere Pro, the Keyboard Customization panel in DaVinci Resolve, or the Commands panel in Final Cut Pro. Search for Reveal in Finder, Reveal in Project, Reveal Sequence in Project, Match Frame, and Reverse Match Frame.

Austen is an ADDY award-winning film & commercial editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with global brands like Meta, KPMG, SAP, and Christianity Today. His PSA work has championed causes like school safety (with Matthew McConaughey), driving safety, and anti-tobacco. A thought leader in the editing field, his online lessons quickly amassed over 100K views after launch.