Big Wheel - Premiere Pro Video Deck

Intro: Big Wheel - Premiere Pro Video Deck

Keyboards are the ultimate controller for video games (fight me, console peasants) but Premiere Pro demands a power level for which 104 buttons is not enough. We must Super Saiyan into a new form - we need KNOBS.

This project takes big, big influence from MattRHale's glorious Elite Dangerous control pad, a project that would make nine-year-old Zack Freedman flip his metaphorical pogs. I also encountered HappyThingsMaker's Premiere Pro Edit Dial Controller while researching the project, which almost certainly influenced this project.

The Big Wheel was built in one weekend (and a bit of Friday) for the attached YouTube video, but that video focuses on the development process. You handsome intellectuals get the part that's too cerebral for the drooling masses of YouTube - instructions to build your own.

The Big Wheel brings the knobs, baby. It's half mechanical keyboard, half DJ deck, half fidget spinner. You get 14 hotkeys, three knobs, and one more really big knob, to assert your dominance over industry-standard video-editing software.

I suppose you could also use this to control DaVinci Resolve, iMovie, Final Cut Pro X, Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, and other searchable keywords for video editors. For that matter, you could use this as a MIDI deck if you reprogrammed it. I'm not gonna judge. You do you.

You'll need a 3D printer, ideally but not necessarily a laser cutter, a soldering iron, the ability to read schematics, and the Arduino IDE with Teensyduino installed. Mac people, you're gonna need to jump through some hoops. I used to love OSX; it treated us like developers instead of bumbling doofuses who aren't educated enough to understand the implications of modifying their binaries. Dammit, Tim Cook, I'll monkey-patch whatever I want.

Files are attached in their respective steps, but for the definitive version, download it off GitHub.

STEP 1: Fabricate Custom Parts

Print the following:

• Big Ass-Wheel.stl
• Body.stl
• Wheel Insert.stl

If you have access to a laser cutter:

• Print Support Waffle.stl
• Cut Big Wheel Baseplate.ai from 1/8" (3mm) acrylic. Red lines should be cut, black shapes should be etched.

If you don't have something that can open Illustrator files, I've attached DXF files - cut the outer lines and small circular holes, and etch the inner lines.

Glue the Support Waffle onto the Baseplate, lining it up with the etched guideline.

If you don't have a laser:

Don't worry! I just split this up because solid flat objects like to curl. Just make sure your 3D printer's bed/print adhesion is good, and print Waffle Baseplate Combo.stl. Keep an eye on it to make sure it ends up perfectly flat!

STEP 2: Build the Switch Matrix

Snap the keyswitches and encoders into the Body.

Using the wiring diagram, build the switch matrix. Take care to route wires away from any surface on the switches or encoders that contacts the Support Waffle. Be careful about the orientation of the diodes!

Continuing to refer to the wiring diagram, solder the switch matrix and encoder outputs to the Teensy.

Finally, slide the Teensy onto its rails. It should fit snugly - if it's loose, add a bit of electrical tape to tighten things up. The reset button should face upwards, away from the keys.

STEP 3: Firmware

Connect the Teensy to your computer. If anything catches fire, put it out and replace it.

Open the firmware, select your Teensy board, navigate to Tools --> USB Type, and pick Serial + Keyboard + Mouse + Joystick. Check the switchAssignments and topKnobAssignments matrices in actions.h and compare with your preferred layout. The matrix lists the controls as they appear on the board, from left to right, top to bottom.

You may need to implement key combos yourself; the code has plenty of behavior you can modify. It's easier than it looks. Consult the Teensy Keyboard documentation to see the available keycodes.

Upload the firmware.

Test each control by entering a text editor, pressing each button, and turning each knob. The wheel should move the cursor left and right, the lower-left button should act like CTRL, and other buttons and knobs should all fire different keystrokes.

STEP 4: Close the Enclosure

Using a soldering iron, sink the heat-set inserts into the bosses on the Body.

Mount the Waffle and Baseplate combo to the Body using the screws.

Apply rubber feet to the Baseplate.

STEP 5: It's Straight-Up Knob Time (and Keycaps)

Attach a knob to the three encoders on the right side. Make sure they have enough headroom to click!

Slip a nut into the slot on the Big Ass-Wheel and insert a screw through the side of the wheel. Tighten the screw until it protrudes into the central cylindrical hole.

Glue the Wheel Insert onto the recess in the wheel.

Mount the Big Ass-Wheel on the center encoder. Make sure it's bottomed out against the three nubs on the Body, and tighten the screw.

Test the knobs to make sure they turn smoothly. Lubricate, loosen, and tighten as necessary.

Add some keycaps. The switches may press down into the Body as you do - this is fine.

STEP 6: Project Is Done!

You've built a Big Wheel Video Deck! You rule!

You'll notice that every control except the big wheel is mapped onto a button. Every knob turn or keypress types a key into Premiere Pro, which are set to the hotkeys I use most often.

The wheel has special behavior. When you turn it at a slow speed, it types left and right arrow keys, to move one frame at a time. Turn it at a faster speed, and it starts typing J and L, so the shuttle can smoothly run through the video at high speed. Hold CTRL (the bottom-left key) while turning the wheel to lock the shuttle, so you can take your hand off the wheel and watch your video at normal speed.

This project is an entry to the Instructables Remix contest, and your vote can make a massive difference. Let's push the Big Wheel to the front page!

I love seeing people build my projects - if you did, send me a picture! If you enjoyed this 'ible, make sure you watch the video - it goes deep into the challenges I faced trying to design, develop, and build this project in one weekend.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the future!

STEP 7: Step 2:

Comments

[FunkyJ]

Does this need to be done with a teensy? Can I use an arduino?

[Evgen_Zh89]

Hello!
Can you post Fusion_360 files?

[valerioparis]

How come you did not use a custom designed PCB or a Perforated PCB to put the buttons and wirings on? From what I see you do have the tools at hand and it would probably take you just a little more time to do it this way and everything would be infinitely more stable at the end. Great video and style of presentation. Most other youtubers just share a polished version of whatever they do without sharing their thought process...

[ttrold]

Please help. Cant find the "PEC12-compatible rotary encoders with pushbuttons" on either Aliexpress or Banggood. I am just beginning with Arduino, and I have a Teensy 2.0++. I would like to just make "the big wheel" for a start, and then add on to it along the way. I have a few of these lying around, but I cant figure out if they will do: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32877949928.html?s...

[zackfreedman]

Those sites aren't always easy to search, and they load the product names with keywords that make it harder to figure its specs out. You're looking for something like this: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/bourns-...

I'd recommend buying from a more engineer-friendly reseller - these are just over a US dollar each on Digikey.

[ttrold]

Yes. My problem is that I am located in Denmark, therefore I can't order from Digikey. In fact we have very few sellers of this kind og technology, and that is the primary reason I use sites such as AliExpress. Can you tell me if I can make it work with my Teensy 2.0++ and the rotary encoder ec11 I have linked?

[throbscottle]

https://www.tme.eu
I order from them only occasionally because I can get free postage elsewhere. But I highly recommend them. They are based in Poland but have offices elsewhere. Very good range, ship all over the EU.

[zackfreedman]

They should be electrically compatible. Just download the model and compare the dimensions.

[doctor_g]

In the late 1980s I worked on the original random-access video editor, the Montage Picture Processor. One of our essential user interface elements was the pair of scroll wheels, which were massive and about 4" in diameter. Detents helped the editor scroll to the precise frame of video, while its weight allowed very satisfying spins. I would recommend adding as much mass to the wheel as possible for the best user experience!

[zackfreedman]

Oh, that's pretty rad. My original plan was to turn a wheel out of aluminum, but I couldn't get access to a metalworking lathe in time. I bet that was a pleasure to use.

[throbscottle]

If you can get hold of one, an old VCR head makes a good wheel. I used one recently to make a super-spinney mouse-wheel (loosely based on an instructable I saw years ago). Made an optical disk to go inside it, works well.
(voted, btw)

[zackfreedman]

That’s a neat idea, those are big chunks of metal!

[doctor_g]

The VCR heads have to have a lot of mass, since they must serve as flywheels to maintain a constant rotational velocity.

[doctor_g]

We used to say that turning the wheel should give the same sense of quality as shutting the door on a Mercedes!

[dasloki098]

G'Day Zack from "down under". Loved the project and can't wait to build this one. Just what I've been looking for to use with Premiere Pro, and with a bit of re-programming another interesting application.

[mikesmithfl]

YES!

Everything old is becoming NEW again! The Big Wheel allows SO MUCH finer control and in this format your 'workspace' for tools is soooo much easier to use. It does harken back to the days in the 70's & 80's when I was exposed to drafting equipment that was attached to a 'mainframe' that helped design several air traffic controller consoles. But this is much better laid out. oh - and a LOT smaller ;-)

Looks great!