Apple designs the ProRes 422 video format to work specifically with the Final Cut Pro editing program. However, it is possible to edit ProRes files using Adobe Premiere Pro. Because Adobe doesn't outfit Premiere Pro with everything it needs to work with ProRes, you must obtain additional software components and reconfigure the program's settings before you can begin editing.
Additional Software
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To work with a ProRes 422 file, you need the ProRes decoder. The best way to ensure you have this is to download the latest version of QuickTime to your computer. If you want to save your edited video to a new ProRes file, you need the ProRes encoder. If you have Final Cut Pro 6 or higher, or Motion 5 or higher installed on your computer, you already have the encoder. If not, must purchase one of these two programs. However, if you just want to open and edit a ProRes file, and you don't mind saving to a different format, you don't need the encoder.
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Import
Before you can bring a ProRes file into the Premiere Pro timeline, you need to know the pixel dimensions and the frame rate of the clip you wish to edit. You need this to make an input preset that will open the file properly. To create this preset, start a new Premiere Pro project, select the Settings option and set the editing mode to Custom. Then you can enter the pixel dimensions and frame rate in the appropriate fields. For all ProRes presets, enter 1.0 (square pixels) under Pixel Aspect Ratio; No Fields (Progressive Scan) under Fields and 48000 Hz under Audio. Clicking the Save Preset option makes the preset available on the Sequence panel, allowing you to select it when you open your ProRes file.
Export
When you finish editing your video, Premiere asks you what format you want to use for export. If you want to use a format other than ProRes, simply select that format from the list Premiere provides. If you want to export the video as a ProRes file, you need to create a ProRes output preset. You can create this preset by selecting Export from the File menu, choosing Media, setting the format to QuickTime and clicking on the Video option. This provides you with a series of fields that allows you to specify the preset. Enter the exact same values you entered for your input preset. Under audio, set the sample type to 24-bit.
Tips
When creating presets that you plan on using multiple times, it helps to include key information in the preset name, such as the pixel dimensions and frame rate. This is especially helpful if you work with ProRes files that have different dimensions and frame rates, as you will need to create separate presets for each of these. If exporting your video as a new ProRes file, you can click Use Previews under the Video tab. This speeds up the export process, but can result in a loss of quality.