Adobe at the NAB

Premiere & After Effects

One of the most important innovations in Premiere Pro is text-based editing, which represents a completely new variant of the editing workflow. Text-based editing means that you edit the automatic transcription, just like in a Word document. With text-based editing supported by Adobe Sensei, clips can be automatically analysed and transcribed so that editors can simply copy and paste sentences in any order, which is immediately displayed in the editing window. In addition, transcripts can be searched in the transcription window to identify exact words and phrases.

Another important new feature is automatic tone mapping and log colour detection, which allows editors to mix and match HDR footage from different sources in an SDR project to achieve great looking, consistent colour. This eliminates the need for editors to use look-up tables (LUTs) or manually match footage to achieve pleasing images.

Premiere Pro also offers significant detail improvements and presents the fastest version ever released. In addition to improved performance, new features include automatic background saving, system reset options and an effects manager for plug-ins. GPU acceleration for AVC Intra and professional formats such as ARRI RAW, RED RAW and Sony Venice V2 as well as GPU-accelerated video scopes, transitions and title templates ensure responsive editing so editors can now work with 8K material in the timeline.

Collaborative editing enhancements include sequence locking, which allows active editors to lock a sequence so that it is uneditable by other editors until it is released. Presence indicators show who is working on released projects. In addition, “Work Offline” allows editors to continue working offline and publish changes after the fact without overwriting the work of others when they are back online. Frame.io support included in Creative Cloud enables secure sharing, collaborative review and project management for Premiere Pro edits, including direct export, upload and sharing capabilities.

Finally, Premiere Pro offers enhanced format support for RED V-Raptor X, ARRI Alexa 35 and Sony Venice v2 cameras, as well as expanded speech-to-text support for Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

And here’s what’s happening in After Effects:

• The Properties panel now provides quick access to important animation settings and displays the relevant controls in a context-sensitive way. This saves time and reduces the learning curve for new users.
• The new ACES and OpenColorIO features ensure consistent colours when sharing assets with other post-production applications. This makes it easier to create predictable and photorealistic images. You can read more about this in DP 22:06, where we spoke to Victoria Nece about the beta version.
• Other features include faster layer selection in the timeline, multi-frame shape rendering and new keyboard shortcuts for selectable track matting (i.e. coloured tracks).
• Plus a whole host of in-app bug fixes for potential workflow problems, system performance optimisations, simple interfaces for activating and deactivating plug-ins and diagnostic functions for resolving bottlenecks in caches and presets. This helps users to solve common problems themselves without having to rely on IT experts.

Firefly!

Adobe has also unveiled the beta version of Adobe Firefly, the first model of a generative AI product family designed to help users safely and quickly generate content for commercial use. Adobe is exploring a range of approaches for Firefly, including text-to-colour enhancements, advanced music and sound effects, fonts, text effects, graphics and logos, powerful scripting and B-roll capabilities, and Creative Guide features. By the way: you can find a first test of the beta version in next week’s DP 23:03!

Frame.io

Adobe has enhanced its video collaboration platform Frame.io to support photos and PDF documents. In addition, Frame.io offers advanced security features such as forensic watermarking to make the platform the most secure for creative collaboration. The platform is used by nearly 3 million creatives and allows content to be stored, managed, reviewed and shared in real-time in a secure cloud environment. New enhancements include support for PDF documents and the ability to transfer RAW photos from the camera to Frame.io’s cloud platform. The security features of Forensic Watermarking allow data leaks to be investigated with audits and guarantee the highest possible level of security for high-quality content.