Why more filmmakers are editing with Adobe Premiere Pro

By Anita Engelman
Adobe Professional Video team

Recent innovation in cameras has changed the fundamental ways in which movies are being produced. Now it is possible to capture gorgeous, high-resolution digital cinema footage at a much lower price point than in the past. Recently, a couple of new and exciting digital cinema cameras were unveiled – Canon debuted their Cinema EOS C300, and RED Digital Camera Company introduced their 4K-capable Scarlet-X camera – both of which shoot to formats which are already natively supported in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5.

These latest camera announcements from Canon and RED are aimed squarely at a new breed of filmmakers who are changing the rules for film production and distribution. Defying the big, bloated movie budgets of the past, today’s digital mavericks are making their films fast and with surprisingly low budgets. But make no mistake; the caliber and quality of these films is right up there with the best of the best.

One of these trailblazers is award-winning filmmaker Vincent Laforet, who’s using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 software to edit footage from the latest cameras from RED and Canon. Laforet previously relied on a workflow involving Apple Final Cut Pro in combination with tools such as Adobe After Effects and Photoshop software, but switched to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 due to its native editing support for RED and DSLR camera formats. Plus, the depth and integration of Adobe software transformed the leading image-maker and director into an enthusiastic convert to an all Adobe video production workflow.

“Native support for the 5K RED EPIC and Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR camera formats in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 led me to try Production Premium initially,” says Laforet. “That feature alone was well worth making the switch. Then I saw the integration among all the components of Adobe’s video tools and the virtually endless number of features — these factors made the move to an all Adobe workflow the clear way forward.”

Laforet’s latest film “Mobius” was shot entirely with the new Canon EOS C300 camera and edited with Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. Post-production was simple and straight-forward because they didn’t have to transcode the XF files first, and were able to start editing right away.

These new cameras from Canon and RED shoot to formats which are already natively supported in Adobe Premiere Pro. Every camera has nuances, however, so while we’re pretty confident that there won’t be major issues, we aren’t claiming ‘full’ support for these cameras until we’ve had the chance to fully test them. Files from these cameras can be imported, edited, and played back in Adobe Premiere Pro, and we’ll be working hard to formally support them in the near future.

• The Canon Cinema EOS C300 camera shoots to the Canon XF codec, which Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 natively supports.

• Download the RED Epic plug-in on Adobe Labs to edit media shot on the RED Scarlet camera in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. Some of the resolutions will need new sequence settings but RED plans on posting those.

Native support right out of the gate for the latest cameras highlights the advantages of Adobe Premiere Pro. In addition to saving valuable production time by not needing to transcode or rewrap files (which takes extra steps and adds complexity to media management), you can work with a wide range of formats. This means you don’t have to compromise your workflow. You always have access to the original file’s pristine quality and camera metadata, and can check your shots directly off your card when you’re in the field or at the shoot. Import and export major video, audio, and graphic file formats, and combine them all in the Adobe Premiere Pro timeline.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 is native 64-bit, optimized for multicore systems, and is GPU-accelerated to provide real-time effects, color correction/color grading, accelerated rendering, and superior multilayer performance. Now you can open projects faster and work more smoothly at 4K and higher resolutions – on both laptops and workstations. Additionally, you can utilize all the system resources on modern Macs; Thunderbolt, 64-bit, and multicore CPUs for increased performance. Adobe Premiere Pro also supports a wide range of hardware, so you can build the editing system that meets your needs and budget.

For customers who use other editing programs, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 includes Final Cut Pro project import and export so projects can be shared between both applications without conversion or re-rendering. We’ve spent a lot of time with folks who used to use other NLEs, and have added features that make working in Adobe Premiere Pro more familiar, such as ability to use Final Cut Pro and Avid keyboard shortcuts.

The world of video and film production is changing rapidly, with new and exciting options appearing thick and fast. And as more and more filmmakers and editors rely on Adobe Premiere Pro for their demanding workflows, Adobe will continue to strive to offer what they need – quick, native format support, in a fast, powerful NLE.

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Thinking about switching to Premiere Pro? Download a free 30-day trial here, and check out free tutorial videos on Adobe TV. Many more resources designed to smooth your transition to Adobe Premiere Pro can be found on the Switch to Premiere Pro webpage.

Learn more about Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium, Adobe’s suite of software that includes Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, and other award-winning tools for high performance video production.

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