When you lift frames in Premiere, what happens to the timeline?

When frames are lifted in Premiere, the timeline will indeed reflect an absence where those frames were removed. This action creates a gap where the lifted frames previously existed. The lift function effectively removes the selected frames but does not fill in that space, allowing for greater control and precision in editing.

This behavior is particularly useful for maintaining pacing and timing in a sequence, as it allows the editor to create pauses or breaks in the timeline deliberately without automatically compressing the surrounding clips. As a result, editors can carefully manage transitions and the flow of the video content, ensuring that the intended emotional or narrative beats are preserved.