Step 2: Getting Started in Premiere, Importing Your Video Files

This is what you see when you bring up the software:

I know it looks pretty terrifying, but it's really not that bad.

This is a copy of what you're seeing above, with my notes about terms used for the different segments.

Now, I'm actually going to add some video files to my project. I've taken the card out of my camera and put it in a card reader attached to the computer. After a few seconds, I see this in the Media Browser:

Yes, my media disk has a fancy name: NO NAME.

I click on the arrow to the left of the NO NAME disk and I see what's inside. 

Getting through the disk structure for your particular camera can be strange, but I know where my files are and I know they should end in .AVI. The .JPG are pictures, not video. If I had used VLC to convert my files to MP4, it would be even easier for me to find what I need.

Now that I've found them, all I need to do to import my files is drag and drop them into the Bin. After a few seconds (or minutes, depending) it will then look like this:

Next Up: Preview, Review, and the Timeline.