Adobe Premiere Pro is a fantastic video editing application with a wide range of functions, including multi-camera sequencing, color grading, and warp stabilization.

But there are times where you may need to rely on external video and audio software with advanced capabilities to achieve the results that you want. Here, we will show you how to easily migrate your Premiere Pro project to other applications.

Why Should You Migrate Your Premiere Pro Project to Other Applications?

It's already possible to link your Premiere Pro and After Effects projects with Dynamic Link. Think of the process of exporting your Premiere Pro timeline to other applications as a more simplistic version of this, without being limited to Adobe software.

For example, if you are handing a project over to an editor who is cutting in Final Cut Pro X, you will need to ensure your timeline can be reassembled on their end. This allows for further editing and amends to be carried out.

Adobe Premiere Pro video editing

If it suits your workflow, you may simply want to export your timeline as a mixdown video file, allowing you to apply further video effects before bringing an exported file back into Premiere Pro.

This runs its own risks, however, from loss of quick amends, and the danger of degrading footage quality through multiple encodes. Sometimes, you need to be working with the original rushes, without conversion.

That said, your timeline should be exported into a file that will allow an application to reconstruct your project within its own systems and workflow. It will either draw on the same assets, video footage, and audio that your Premiere Project uses, or it will convert your files and trim them down, depending on your requirements.

How to Transfer Your Premiere Pro Project to Other Applications

The process of migrating your Premiere Pro project to other applications does run its own risks and is not always smooth. Compatibility issues can often arise, especially when working with multiple video and audio formats.

However, with proper media management and practice, the process of moving your timelines across different applications becomes much clearer.

Related: Ways to Keep Projects Organized in Adobe Premiere Pro

Given the various compatibility problems that can arise when exporting your timelines across software, it's good to know how to produce a variety of deliverable formats. Even if you have no success importing your timeline as one format, you may have more luck with another.

Depending on which software you are sending your timeline to, there are different file types that you will need to use. Below, we'll cover AAF, OMF, and XML, as well as which applications work with these file types.

Using AAF Files

The AAF format offers a high degree of customization to help you migrate edits and timelines across various video and audio editing software. This includes Premiere Pro, Da Vinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Audition, Adobe After Effects, Avid ProTools, and Apple Logic Pro.

When you want to start migrating your timeline, hit File > Export > AAF. After that, you'll see a popup window with a range of settings. Let's go through these.

AAF Export Settings
  • Mixdown Video will render all of your video tracks as one single video file, alongside your AAF file. If this is not selected, all of your individual video files will be linked to instead.
  • Breakout to Mono is a setting designed for better compatibility with dedicated audio editing software. If not selected, all of your individual audio files used in your timeline will be linked to. If the setting is enabled, any stereo audio files will be converted into two split mono files, for the right and left channels.
  • Embed Audio appears when you select Breakout to Mono. This gives you the option to either embed audio or keep it separate. Essentially, you can either have the audio files from your project packaged inside the file itself, or separately in a directory next to the file. Embedding can make transporting the files easier, but may create compatibility issues with larger timelines.
  • Render Clip Effects will render any effects you have added to audio clips in Premiere to your new audio files.
  • Include Clip Copies Without Effects lets you keep copies of your original files.
  • Format will allow you to choose to export the new audio files as AIFF or WAV.
  • You can set the Sample Rate and Bit Rate of your project, depending on your preferences and source file settings.

Finally, you have the option to copy your audio files or trim them, with an option to set handles. If you are working with large files that you are only taking small segments from, this may be advisable to keep your file size smaller for an easier transfer.

Using OMF Files for Audio Workflows

If you run into compatibility issues with an AAF file, the OMF format is an audio-only option for audio software, including Adobe Audition, Avid ProTools, and Apple Logic Pro.

Once you have a timeline ready, hit File > Export > OMF. Doing so will open up a new dialog box where you can set additional options for your output file.

OMF import settings

The settings here mirror the audio settings for the Breakout to Mono setting in the AAF export process described previously.

You can now import your OMF file into your audio software. If the process goes smoothly, it should import your timeline and audio.

Exporting Final Cut Pro XML Files

If you want to get your timeline into Final Cut Pro, the custom XML export function is the best setting to use. The XML format also works with applications, including Premiere and Da Vinci Resolve.

Hit File > Export > Final Cut Pro XML.

Final Cut Pro XML

Pick the filename and location where you want to save the file, and click Save.

Save as XML

And that's it! The file doesn't convert or embed any media inside itself—it simply acts as a replication of your timeline, which will relink to your original media once brought into Final Cut Pro.

Transfer Your Premiere Pro Projects With Ease

Hopefully, you're now familiar with the options and formats you'll have to work with if you ever need to move your Premiere Pro project into another application.

Remember that when creating these files, you may run into issues converting certain formats of video and audio, corrupt files, or settings mismatches. Premiere Pro will give you error codes and logs when this happens, allowing you to troubleshoot any problems.