Yes, we are a site about Final Cut Pro, but it doesn't do any harm to look at other NLEs out there. Especially when an update comes out with new features.
Tuesday the 15th of June brought the latest update to the range of Adobe applications that come under the Creative Cloud subscription. From Photoshop to Premiere, they've all had new features added. We are of course more interested in Premiere so we thought that we would put the new edition up against FCPX.
'Dramatically simplified color workflows The new Lumetri Color panel provides powerful color corrections using intuitive sliders and other simple controls.'
We like the new look of the colour controls in Premiere. Although there are a few third-party plugins that give control of curves within FCPX, they don't match up to having this depth of colour correction built into the application. Adobe look to have spent quite a bit of time redesigning the functionality. Out of the big three, FCPX has probably now got the weakest set of colour tools.
Apple also need to implement the importing of LUTs. Again, there are some very successful third party LUT tools, but this functionality needs to be within the application.
'Smooth out jump cuts in interviews Morph Cut makes it easier to deliver polished interview content by smoothing out jump cuts in talking-head shots to create a cohesive, polished sequence.'
A clever way of getting around a jump cut in an interview although it does open up the possibility of completely rearranging somebody's words on screen. Not too sure what would happen if the background moved subtly or if you morph between one interviewee and another.
A nice trick, can't see how often we would use this and we know that some news outlets would frown on making 'frankenquotes' If you do a lot of corporate interviews then this could be a lifesaver.
FCPX doesn't have any morphing facility and the two frame optical flow trick in Motion cannot be published as a transition.
'Creative Cloud Libraries integration Premiere Pro now has Creative Cloud Libraries, giving you in-app access to all of your assets.'
Not too sure of having to be connected to the internet to get your assets. We have trouble uploading to YouTube sometimes let alone doing a 10GB WeTransfer.
'Enhanced Premiere Clip support Capture and assemble video wherever inspiration strikes you using Adobe Premiere Clip, then step up to the full creative power of Adobe Premiere Pro. Clip projects now open directly in Premiere Pro, a seamless transition from your mobile editing experience to the power of a professional desktop NLE.'
iMovie on the iPad or iPhone and iMovie projects on the Mac can be imported into FCPX. For a few years now as well, so nothing new here, just Adobe catching up.
'Time Tuner Deliver content that is the right duration without time-consuming micro-editing. Adjust the length of your video with new Adobe magic that automatically adds or removes frames at scene changes, in sections with still images, or low visual activity, or during quiet audio passages. Time Tuner is a feature of Adobe Media Encoder, which is included with Adobe Premiere Pro.'
Again, not too sure about this one. Will there be any visual artefacts in the shortened clip? Also you will see in the video below that the demo guy never does a render so we don't get to see how long shrinking that timeline down to a minute actually takes.
So, some great new features and a few 'meh' ones from an FCPX editor's standpoint. A few things to take away from the Adobe video below that demonstrated the new version Premiere & After Effects.
Jason keeps mentioning 'Uninterrupted Preview' This is where FCPX and Motion scores. never mind toggling a colour effect on and off, in FCPX you can move a file right under the play cursor without stopping playback! We also have 'track fright.' Looking at his timeline, although Premiere seems to have some good tools, we have said goodbye to tracks a long time ago.
As an FCP.co contributor keeps saying 'they all cut pictures and sound together.' He's right and everybody has their favourite tool. Certainly in the colour section, Adobe has just sharpened theirs.
Checkout more on the Adobe blog when it gets published here and the official press release here.