Is there any way to add a time remaining (.e.g. from 30 seconds to 1 second) clock to Premiere Pro 2018?

Question

I'm trying to figure out how to add a time remaining clock to Premiere Pro 2018. My school's TV program recently switched over from AVID to Premiere and - while that's great for students who are editing - none of us can figure out how to find a time remaining function for the control room, which is an issue.

I don't think this is the right place to ask this question, but I can't figure out how to do anything like this on Google myself.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

[I know that APP has third-party plugin support, but I wasn't able to find any that serve the purpose I want. If anyone can think of one that adds a reverse-timecode or time remaining clock where the normal sequence timer would be, that would be greatly appreciated.]

Answer 1

If you're looking to have the GUI Timecode display a reverse timecode (time remaining), that feature isn't possible. You can create a positive offset by clicking the timeline panel icon (upper right), and add positive time to the timeline/sequence. But it doesn't allow for negative values.

Burned in/visible on screen reverse timecode is possible.

Simply setup a new sequence. Create a new transparent video clip. Add the timecode filter.

Set the transparent video clip length to the exact countdown length you need for your program time. Adjust the timecode filter for position/opacity/size.

Return to your program sequence. Nest the "timecode" sequence you've just created within your program sequence on the very top track, or better add a few video tracks and hide it a few tracks above (to give you working room).

Right click the nested sequence clip -> click speed -> check reverse speed.

This will give you an on screen burned in timecode that counts down.

You can adjust the position of the TC display using the effects window.

If used only for editing purposes / pacing, you can use this sequence to reference time left within a given program, then simply disable visibility of the track to render out.

But as for a GUI / Worldclock display of TRT, that's not possible.

Answer 2

I just made a fairly general web-based timer/clock animator that outputs WebP animations which you can then import into Premiere Pro (or Rush or anything else that supports animated WebP). E.g., to display numbers from 30 seconds to 1 seconds, set the start time to 30, the end time to 1, and change the line 1 format dropdown to "SS" to count 30,29,...,02,01, and to "S" to count 30,29,...,2,1. Adjust font, size and color to taste. Set background opacity to 0 if you want a fully transparent background. Click Generate and once it's done, you can download the WebP, and add it to a new track in Premiere.

If you want some text with the number, choose "Custom formatting" instead and then put something like "{S} seconds remaining".