In this tutorial you’ll learn how to change the thumbnail of a clip in a bin in Premiere Pro using Set Poster Frame. You’ll also learn how to clear the thumbnail.
Using Set Poster Frame to Change the Thumbnail of a Clip in a Bin in Premiere Pro
Clips in bins in Premiere Pro by default display the first frame of the clip when in Icon View. But what if that’s not good enough for you? What if the first frame is something random and not the slate or the main action of the shot that you want to see as the thumbnail? No problem! You can change the thumbnail of the clip in Premiere using the Set Poster Frame action.
First, set the bin to Icon View. Then hover your cursor over the clip and move it across the clip. The clip will scrub through as you move the cursor across it. When you find the frame you want to set as the thumbnail, right-click on the clip. A menu will appear.
In the menu, click Set Poster Frame. Set Poster Frame is towards the bottom of the menu (at least in CC 2023). Now when you scrub over a different clip the thumbnail of the original clip will revert to the “Poster Frame” that you set.
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Removing Set Poster Frame
You can clear the Poster Frame thumbnail that you set if you don’t like it. Right-click on the clip again and from the menu choose Clear Poster Frame.
If you’ve now gone through this tutorial and you still need help, please leave a comment and I’ll do what I can to help troubleshoot it. But if you can change the thumbnail of a clip in Premiere Pro, I hope you stick around and check out some of the other Premiere Pro tutorials on my website or consider signing up to get notified about new blog posts and happenings around EVF.
– Josh
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