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Tip #853: Hidden Access to Photoshop Layers

… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #853: Hidden Access to Photoshop Layers

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Merge All Layers is easiest, Sequence, though, tends to be more flexible.

The Import Layered File window in Premiere.

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When importing Photoshop images into Premiere, you are given four choices. Here’s a description of what each of these mean.

At the top of the Import Layered File window (which is most often used for importing Photoshop documents) is a menu with four choices:

  • Merge All Layers. This converts the separate layers in the document into a single, flattened PSD image. This is a good choice when you need to be sure that the entire image is displayed.
  • Merge Layers. Like Merge All Layers, this creates a single, flattened PSD image, but you chose which layers will be combined. This is a good choice when multiple versions are stored in the same image.
  • NOTE: Most Photoshop images contain dozens of layers. The buttons on the right simplify checking, unchecking or resetting the status of all the layers in the image.

  • Individual Layers. This imports each layer as a separate image into a bin containing one clip for each source layer. This is a good choice when there is no relationship between the layers and you need to manipulate each layer separately.
  • NOTE: When you import one layer as a single clip, its name in the Project panel consists of the layer name followed by the original filename.

  • Sequence. This imports the image as a sequence where each Photoshop layer is a separate layer in the sequence and stored in its own bin. This is a good choice when you want to adjust timing or animation of each layer separately, while still keeping them together in a single place.
  • NOTE: You enable or disable the display of a layer by checking the appropriate box in this window.

EXTRA CREDIT

Once an image is flattened, it can’t be “un-flattened.” Your only alternative to regain control over individual layers is to reimport it.

Here’s a tutorial with more details.


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