How to Automate a Premiere Pro Sequence From a Template

You can't make Premiere Pro build a sequence from a template out of the box, but you can get close. Build the intro and picture-in-picture (PIP) once, then swap in each new image with Replace With Clip > From Bin, which keeps every keyframe and effect.

This suits any repeat format, like a monthly batch of album reviews where every video gets the same animated intro and a PIP of the cover. These steps are for Premiere Pro on desktop (Windows or Mac).

How to reuse a template sequence with Replace With Clip

1. Build the template sequence once. Make the intro and the PIP with one placeholder image. Add all the motion, keyframes and effects you want.
2. Save it as a template project. Go to File > Save As and save the project under a name like Intro Template.
3. Import the template into your new project. Go to File > Import, pick the template project and bring in the template sequence.
4. Duplicate the sequence for each image. Right-click the template sequence in the Project panel and choose Duplicate. Do this once for every image.
5. Import the new image. Use an image with the same size and aspect ratio as the placeholder, so it sits in the frame the same way.
6. Select the new image in the Project panel. Click it once so it's highlighted.
7. Replace the placeholder. Right-click the placeholder image on the timeline and choose Replace With Clip > From Bin.
8. Repeat for the PIP and the other sequences. Swap the PIP image the same way, then move on to the next duplicated sequence.

The new image takes the old one's place and keeps all its motion, keyframes and effects. With 10 images, that's a few clicks per video instead of rebuilding the animation each time.

If you plan your videos in batches like this, batching vs posting daily covers how to plan a whole filming and editing day around it.

Build the workflow with Automation Blocks

If you want Premiere to do the swapping for you, try the Automation Blocks extension. You build a workflow out of blocks, such as "for each image in this folder, duplicate the sequence and replace the cover", without writing ExtendScript yourself.

It takes some setup, and you'll need to test whether it handles your exact template. Once it works, you run it once per batch.

Write your own script with ExtendScript

Premiere Pro runs scripts written in ExtendScript, Adobe's version of JavaScript. A script can loop through a folder of images and build a sequence for each one from your template.

This is the most flexible option and the hardest. You'll need to learn ExtendScript and Premiere's scripting API first. The NT Productions channel on YouTube has tutorials on writing Premiere scripts from scratch.

Speed up the manual steps with macros

If full automation is more work than it saves, record the repeat clicks as a macro. Keyboard Maestro (Mac) can replay keystrokes and menu clicks. Excalibur, a Premiere extension from Knights of the Editing Table, lets you run Premiere commands by typing their names.

Combine either one with the template method above and the per-video work gets very short.

FAQ

Can a script build all the sequences at once? Yes, but you have to build that script yourself in ExtendScript, Premiere's scripting language, or put it together in an extension like Automation Blocks. For around 10 videos a month, the Replace With Clip method is usually fast enough.

Do I need to know how to code to automate Premiere Pro? Not for the template method or for macros. Automation Blocks also lets you build workflows from blocks without writing ExtendScript. You only need to code if you write a script from scratch.