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1 April 2014
As broadcasters prepare for the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas next week, Adobe revealed the enhancements to its Creative Cloud video production suite it plans to roll out over the next few months. We attended a briefing with the product managers of a number of those applications a few days ago.
Product managers for Premiere Pro, After Effect, SpeedGrade, Audition, Prelude, Media Encoder, Story and Anywhere made themselves available from locations all over the world (including Munich, Montreal and the West Coast) during the briefing.
ECOSYSTEM
Bill Roberts, senior director of product management for Creative Cloud video, described today's video production environment, saying, "Editing really is the hub function of the video world." All the tools are spokes that tie into the editing hub with more technology cross-pollinating into that hub.
With Adobe Anywhere, a collaborative workflow platform for Creative Cloud applications, production companies can built teams based on talent rather than location, he said. Ultra HD video can be shared and edited in a file-less workflow using optimized methods to output media that is tailored for any screen.
And that ecosystem extends beyond Adobe. Creative Cloud video applications can host content panels that allow some 200 companies to include features in them.
Creative Cloud features like Typekit for fonts and Kuler for color schemes are integrated into this video ecosystem, he added, to name just two.
ANYWHERE
Michael Coleman, Adobe Anywhere product manager, discussed the company's "collaboration infrastructure" as a new platform for creativity. Anywhere is the key to Adobe's push into commercial video production.
Using the Mercury streaming engine, Anywhere avoids transmitting proxy files. Instead of files, a database of media references and metadata is shared. Small screens, tablets and laptops can be served with nothing more than gigabit Ethernet and WiFi networks.
Available with any of the Creative Suite video applications, Anywhere allows deep integration between tools and applications in the broadcast workflow.
Among the new features coming in the next few months, he cited:
- Hot backup while working without interruption
- The return of Premiere Pro full export options to be executed on the server side
- Open Media Framework export
- A new rough cut workflow that can incorporate a Prelude rough cut in Premiere Pro
- The return of the After Effects to Premiere Pro dynamic link for multiuser dynamic links
TOP NEW FEATURES
A brief outline of the major new features introduced by the various product managers follows.
Premiere Pro demonstrated by Al Mooney
- Support for camera Raw formats (Canon and Sony, for example) now includes debarring RED media up to 6K on a MacBook Pro, allowing you to work on Ultra HD as if you were on a workstation
- Master Clip Effect allows mixed media (integrating dSLR, video camera clips) intercut to be corrected just once on the master clip to apply to each cut
- Masking and Tracking enhancements allow a mask to track with an object and is editable in After Effects
- Live Text templates can be edited in either After Effects of Premiere Pro now just as a non-craft operator might expect to edit a layer
After Effects demonstrated by Steve Forde
- Mask Enhancements preserve editable Premiere Pro masks, allow multiple effects on one mask with composite effects and per mask effects simplifies the interface for non-craft personnel
- Live Text Templates provide locked composition layers so other editors can't manipulate them
- Keylight editing enhancements to avoid reshoots with advanced spill surpressor
- Content Panels to bring in features from many third parties
- Media Browser
- Mercury Transmit to preview on an external monitor
SpeedGrade demonstrated by Patrick Palmer
- Easy Primaries and Approachability with new controls for infrequent users using a mouse, trackball or a tablet
- DirectLink 2.0, Adjustment Layers now editable
- Master Clip Effects apply edits globally across various cuts from the master clip
- MacPro OpenCL
- Improved Scopes with reasonable broadcast defaults
Adobe Media Encoder demonstrated by Patrick Palmer
- AS-11 plus DCP Creation with open standards for enhanced digital packaging
Audition CC demonstrated by Durin Gleaves
- Improved Usability in Multitrack with better color coding, track thumbnails on the right and minimimized tracks to prevent resizing when you resize other tracks
- Dolby Pro Plus support
- Bug Fixes
Story CC demonstrated by Michael Lewis
- Live Entertainment Window
Prelude CC demonstrated by Michael Lewis
- Enhanced renaming of camera files during ingest with custom auto-increment so the filenaming count can be continuous card after card
- Rough cut improvements to make it easier for non-craft editors to make rough cuts with bin creation, subclip filter, rough cut creation and ripple trims
- Tag Panel to add and share custom metadata tagging for files
More details are in the news release that follows this story.
FOOTNOTE
Between its small refinements and whirling big picture), it can be hard to put today's announcements in perspective. But let's try anyway.
What's clear is that Adobe's move to subscription software has allowed it to release updates to its applications on an as-needed basis. The previous model was hampered by artifical restrictions (what could be delivered without acquiring a tax liability, for example). Premiere Pro, for example, has been updated four times in the past year, well eclipsing the 18-month product cycles of the past.
What's also clear is that Adobe has focused on the broadcast market. That's an exciting arena with Ultra HD resolution at 120 frames per second and with an expanded dynamic range which the company hopes to solidify in industry-wide standards.
And with Anywhere, the company has also made virtual collaboration possible in an industry where collaboration has always been the only way things got done. That's an impressive achievement. In fact, w can't think of any other company that could have done it.
Should the little guy -- the wedding photographer who has to put out a DVD -- be worried?
On the one hand, the same tools tailored for big budget video production are available and affordable to the little guy. And the interfaces simplified for the non-craft practitioners will certainly be welcome.
But with all the king's horses and all the king's men chasing Ultra HD, things like DVD production, which is not dead in the wedding videography market, are being neglected. Without updates to authoring software like Encore some costly production problems remain. Take chapter markers. Please.
Who's going to bridge those small but troublesome gaps in video production? Some third party with a content panel plug-in for Premiere Pro?
This is a very large space to corner, in short. Adobe has built a platform it won't be the only one to build on.
Adobe Reveals Next Wave of Innovation for Creative Cloud Video Apps at NAB
Major Updates and New Features Turbo-charge Video Workflows, Outpacing the Competition
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- April 2 -- Adobe has announced plans to significantly update all the video apps in Adobe Creative Cloud and will showcase these innovations at the NAB 2014 show in Las Vegas next week. Milestone feature additions, expected to ship in the next coming months, include major updates to Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Adobe After Effects CC, designed to make everyday tasks easier and faster, enabling video professionals to create stunning videos, TV shows, films and commercials more efficiently. At NAB Adobe is also unveiling new features for Adobe Anywhere, the collaborative workflow platform that empowers teams using Adobe professional video apps to work together as they access and manage centralized media and assets across virtually any network.
Underscoring the rapid adoption of Adobe Creative Cloud tools in the broadcast and film industries, Adobe is also proud to announce that two-time Academy Award-winning editor Kirk Baxter A.C.E. is cutting David Fincher's upcoming feature film "Gone Girl" exclusively with Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
Revealing the Future of Adobe Video
At the NAB 2014 show, Adobe will provide a sneak peek of the innovative magic coming soon to the company's professional video apps. Key updates include:
- Time-saving editorial features in Premiere Pro CC. New features include Live Text Templates that let users edit text in After Effects CC compositions directly in Premiere Pro CC; Autosave to Creative Cloud for automated backup of projects; and a new Masking and tracking feature that provides accurate masks that follow subjects and blur out faces and logos, crucial for newsroom editing. In addition, the new Master Clip effect in Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade, changes the effects applied to original clips and ripples down through all instances of the clip.
- Powerful new updates to After Effects CC include Keying effects to provide better keying results with compressed footage; and Typekit integration with Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC provides users with access to a growing library of fonts worth $30,000 that can be used on the desktop.
For more information on the new features coming to the Creative Cloud video apps, please go to http://adobe.ly/1hucPrO
Collaborating in Real-Time with Adobe Anywhere
Adobe today also announced important updates to Adobe Anywhere, the modern collaborative workflow platform that empowers users of Adobe professional video solutions such as Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Adobe After Effects CC to work together using centralized media and assets across standard networks. Adobe Anywhere complements Creative Cloud applications and enables deep collaboration for large organizations working with video, including broadcasters, educational institutions and government agencies. New features for Adobe Anywhere, include: Hot Backup, which provides real-time back up of projects; Rough Cut Support to start editing rough cuts in Prelude CC and finish sequences in Premiere Pro CC; and After Effects CC media processing for direct integration between Anywhere and After Effects CC.
Adobe will demonstrate these new solutions for the first time at NAB at its booth #SL3910, in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 7 to 10. Adobe will also highlight key customer and partner-focused initiatives at its booth and will have its professional video and broadcast apps presented in nearly 100 partner booths throughout the NAB exhibition.
Availability
At NAB, Adobe is previewing the next major updates to its professional video and audio products that are not yet publicly available. These updates are expected to ship in the next couple of months, along with other major updates to Creative Cloud.
Learn more about the forthcoming video updates at: http://www.adobe.com/go/nab_reveal. To be among the first to know when these and other Creative Cloud updates are available, follow Adobe on Twitter @creativecloud or join Adobe on Facebook.