With its latest release of the Creative Suite, Adobe has introduced a number of exciting new programs and features that allows even the home filmmaker the power behind the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
Adobe CS5
Adobe’s newest version of its Creative Suite , Adobe CS5, was unleashed in May, 2010. Unleashed might seem like an odd word to use when talking about software, but in the case of the newest version of Adobe video editing software, it’s more than justified.
The Adobe Creative Suite software is bundled into different combinations. The ones that contain the core Adobe video editing products, Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects, are found in both the Production and Master bundles of the CS Suite.
From its humble beginnings as a tool for multimedia artists, Adobe Premiere is now used by major Hollywood productions. Director David Fincher incorporated Adobe Premiere, as well as several other products in the CS5 suite, in his latest production, The Social Network.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
Premiere Pro is the workhorse of the Adobe video editing software suite. Premiere supports a wide range of DV, HDV and AVHDC formats for capturing. Once footage is imported into Premiere, it is edited on a linear timeline that allows the user to manipulate the length and order of footage at the click of a mouse. Effects, music and titles can be added. The footage can then be exported in a number of formats, or opened in another part of the Adobe Suite, Adobe Media Encoder for uploading to the web, mobile phones or personal media devices.
Integration with Adobe Story and On Location
These two packages enable real-time rich media collaboration between authors and storytellers. Write your storylines with Adobe Story , check your shot lists and footage on set with Adobe On Location and then import everything in to Adobe Premiere to make editing even easier.
Support for DSLR camera
DSLR cameras are the newest technology shaping the independent filmmaking world. These cameras were meant to be used for taking pictures, but more and more filmmakers love the addition of the great lenses with the hi def capabilities of these cameras. Adobe Premiere Pro now includes native support for DSLR cameras.
Increased integration with Adobe Media Encoder
Produce content in virtually any format, including DPX, FLV, F4V, H.264, MPEG-2, QT, WM, and more.
Metadata is king
Metadata allows you to store searchable data along with your shots. With Adobe CS5 software, you can run facial detection algorithms to determine what your actors are saying in each shot and encode that in the metadata.
Adobe After Effects CS5
Adobe After Effects is the motion graphics package of the Adobe video editing software suite. As with Premiere Pro, footage can be edited and exported in After Effects, but that isn’t where it’s forte lies. Motion graphics software allow the user to manipulate footage frame by frame, adding effects, lighting changes, 3D backgrounds, smoke and enough effects to make a Hollywood effects artist blush. Adobe After Effects and other programs like this are also called “composting” programs. They can take several disparate elements, such as an actor standing in front of a blue screen, combine it with another shot, such as a fire breathing dragon, and combine them into one seamless whole.
These are just two of the new features introduced in Adobe After Effects CS5:
Roto Brush
Roto Brush takes the drudgery out of rotoscoping . This process normally involves drawing on each frame by hand, but with the Roto Brush tool, Adobe After Effects does all the work for you.
Color Finesse
Color Finesse was a standalone color correcting program that has been integrated into After Effects. Adjust hue, saturation, luminance and a number of factors for every shot. Preview what your correction is going to look like and make adjustments as needed before wasting valuable editing time.
Those are just two of the new features built into After Effects. As with Premiere, this new package also includes built-in support for the new generation of Hi Def technology cameras, including Red and the Red R3D format.
