How to freeze frame in Premiere Pro – ULTIMATE guide!

Freeze frames as a video editorThe person responsible for piecing together the film's footage, working closely with the director to achieve the desired final cut. are incredibly useful in many situations. It’s something that becomes an important part of your skillset. But when starting out, we get asked the question often “how to freeze frameA technique where a single frame of film is repeated to create the illusion of a still photograph, often used for dramatic effect. in Premiere Pro”. 

It can be for a variety of reasons, for instance, you may want these as screenshots from your Timeline or even time-remapped still images that you may want to re-use throughout your edit. 

Either way, learning how to freeze frameA single image or still in a sequence of images that make up a film; also refers to the edges of the visible area on screen. in Premiere Pro is an important skill, and there’s plenty of ways to achieve it in Premiere Pro. So, we thought we would show you how to do this with these simple steps. 

Let’s get straight into it!

How to set Frame Hold settings 

This is useful information when using the below four methods to create freeze frames in Premiere Pro. Let’s see how to set the correct frame holdA direction in the script or from the director to maintain a specific position, action, or expression for a set duration. settings below: 

Frame holds are essentially whichever frame you stop on and choose to export. You can use the frozen frame to either drag to your Timeline, or even extend the duration – it really depends on what you’re using it for. There are so many reasons to use a freeze frame in Premiere Pro. 

Before you begin creating freeze frames in Premiere Pro, you should decide on how you wish the frame hold to actually work. 

To do this select any clip at any point on your Timeline and go to:

Clip > Video options > Frame Hold Options.

Make sure you select the “Hold On” option. If you forget to check this, it will remove any of the holds on your chosen frames. 

Now, this is decided, scroll down to our guide on how to freeze frame in Premiere Pro.

The four Frame Hold options are as follows: 

• Source Timecode – The source timecode will allow you to hold any frame throughout the media duration. You basically add the exact timecode for your frame into this, and this will choose the specific frame ready for you to export. 
• Sequence Timecode – The sequence timecode does the same as above but only allows you to choose a point within the sequence in your Timeline. Drag or change the numbers to get to the exact frame ready to export it. 
• In Point – Not to be confused with the In Point within the playback feature, but this In Point is the clip’s first frame. When editingThe process of selecting, arranging, and assembling the visual and audio components of a film to tell a coherent and compelling story. or trimming the clip, the In Point moves with the first frame. 
• Out Point – Similar to the In Point, the Out Point is the last frame of the clip. So trimming the end of the clip or cutting it down will alter the Out Point. 

Once you’ve decided your preferred option, simply select “OK”. The frame hold will turn the section into the entire frame. You can change to a different frame using the Slip Tool by pressing “Y”. 

You can then just drag to your preferred frame. 

To remove the hold, simply Right-Click on the freeze frame and go to the Frame Options and then uncheck the “Hold On” box. 

Our guide on how to freeze frame in Premiere Pro

Here’s our guide on how to freeze frame in Premiere Pro and the different ways you can achieve this. 

Let’s dive straight in. 

Export a frame – Freeze frame

Exporting a frame is one way to freeze frame in Premiere Pro. To export a frame in Premiere Pro, simply – select the frame you wish to export. 

When selected, click the Export Frame button; this is a little camera icon (See the below image). 

Once selected, a box will pop up, you will see the name of the image with the timecode stamp attached. You can change the name to something better suited. 

Now set your preferred file type and the location you wish to save it to. Make sure before clicking the OK button that you have selected the “Import Into Project” box. 

This will then send your frame straight back into the project you’re working on. The exported frame will sit within your Timeline but will be a different colour to your other files to make it easier to spot. It’s now ready to use!

Adding a frame hold – Freeze frame

Creating a freeze frame in Premiere Pro without moving anything is simply just adding it. 

To do this, simply place your Playhead where you want to freeze frame in Premiere Pro and right-click on it and choose “Add Frame Hold”. 

A freeze frame will then be created and added at that point on the clip. 

You may also be interested in reading Playback Speed in Premiere Pro: Everything you need to know

Inserting a frame hold segment – Freeze frame

Now, you can create a freeze frame in Premiere Pro without bringing up the options every time, using the hold segment. 

To do this, simply find the frame you wish to freeze and set the playhead there. Right-click on the frame and select “Insert Frame Hold Segment”. 

Now a two-second frame will appear; you can edit and later this to your preferred time.

Time remapping – Freeze frame

The final way to create a freeze frame in Premiere Pro is using the “Time Remapping” method. 

To do this, simply Right-Click on the FXVisual or audio effects used to create illusions or enhance scenes, including practical effects and computer-generated imagery (CGI). and click “Time Remapping”. A band appears in the middle of the clip on the Timeline. 

Now create a new KeyframeA specific frame in animation or video editing that marks the start or end of a transition or movement, used to control changes in position, opacity, or other attributes. by clicking Control (Command) on the frame you want to freeze. Now click Control + Alt, then click or for Mac, “Option + Command”, then click and drag the keyframe to where you want the freeze frame to end – you’ll see this marked using vertical lines. 

If you wish to move the keyframe, you’ll need to create a Ramp. To do this, simply select the left keyframe and drag it to the left, then the right half to the right side to the keyframe you want. 

Now, click on the keyframe until the grey section appears and drag to your left or right depending. 

Remember dragging the first keyframe will change the held keyframe, and dragging the second keyframe will change the frame’s duration. 

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There you have it; that’s all the different ways you can create a freeze frame in Premiere Pro. Try each method out, and stick with the one that suits your editing style best. Like with everything, practice will help you hone your skills, and the freeze frame method is something you’ll frequently need when editing in Premiere Pro.

We hope this article on “How to freeze frame in Premiere Pro” was useful to you. Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments. 

Happy editing, guys!