NEWS - November 1, 2021
Happy November 1! Two weeks ago, Apple made big news with the release of their new, high-power MacBook Pros. This last week was Adobe's turn, with their annual Adobe MAX conference, along with a slew of new product updates. 

While virtually all of Adobe's apps got updates, my lead story showcases the new features in Premiere Pro.


Just as a note, in the competition between Premiere and Final Cut, Adobe is clearly winning when it comes to developing useful features. More on this below.

In other news:

YAY UK (Young Animator of the Year - UK) announced the winners of their annual animation contest. Six animators were chosen, ranging in age from 14 - 17. As judge Will Becher commented: "I was so impressed by the variety and professional quality on display in all of this year’s young entries."


FilmLight is running a contest, the "inaugural FilmLight Colour Awards. From over 300 entries, the judging panel has announced a shortlist of 14 remarkable projects in four categories that feature talented productions and crews from across the globe." Categories include: Theatrical feature, television series and episodics, commercials and music videos, and the most innovative use of Baselight. Except for the last category, entrants did not need to use Baselight. Potential winners came from the US, UK, Belgium, Germany, Canada, UAE, and France. Winners will be announced in November.


OWC released SoftRAID 6.2. This high-performance, software-based RAID creation and management tool now supports APFS, the new storage file system from Apple. 


Cantemo, now part of Codemill, announced the latest version of its flagship Media Asset Management Solution. Cantemo 5.1 features a brand new panel for Adobe Premiere Pro, as well as updates to the user interface.


Smartsound announced their "Combat SFX" collection of sound effects. "From punches and whooshes to body falls and grunts, this body-slamming collection can be used as is or layered for even more combative depth."

Last week's webinar looked at the New Features in Apple's Media Software: Final Cut Pro, Motion and Compressor. These detailed tutorials give you a head start in including them in your workflow. Especially Compressor's new Watch Folders which can automate your workflow, regardless of what NLE you are using.


My next webinar will be next week and look at the New Features in Premiere Pro, Audition and other Adobe media software. Adobe is continuing to push the envelope on what video editing software can do. If you use Premiere, you need to watch this session. And, as always, registration to our live events is free.


Frankly, while new features are always nice, I was disappointed with Apple's implementation of object tracking. When compared to Adobe Premiere or Color Trix's Color Finale, the tracks created by Final Cut are far less stable and require much more tweaking. This much-needed feature has a clean interface, but Apple needs to spend more time getting it to work right. This short video illustrates what object tracking is, compares it to Premiere and explains the problems it still has.


In the latest version of Premiere, Adobe added an automatic way to clean up messy sequences: Simplify Sequence. Whether you are sharing a project with another editor, or just want to do some house-keeping, this is a very quick and simple way to clean things up.


Apple added a Neon text effect to Motion which makes you feel like you are living right next to a seedy motel. Very cool! But the interface is a bit tricky. Here's a short video that shows how this works and how to add a second behavior to make it even more effective.


Back to Premiere, as I was writing about the new features in Premiere introduced last week, I rediscovered several keyboard shortcuts that I had forgotten about - all revolving around editing and trimming. So, I collected fifty of them into a downloadable PDF. Here it is.


The new Watch Folders in Compressor are incredibly useful - first because they don't require an NLE, second, because they can process audio, video or still images and third, because they can easily be configured to accomplish highly complex tasks. Here's a short video that showcases how these work.


Finally, I stumbled across a piece of history recently - an 1897 camera lens test chart from Cooke Optics (then called Cooke Lenses). That put me in mind of a conversation earlier today with a reader depressed that her iMac Pro is not the speed demon it used to be. And THAT got me thinking about what it takes to do great work. Feel free to share your comments.


Fall is rushing on here in the north, days are getting colder and shorter. That means folks are outside less and inside more - which leads to more available time for viewing our work. Hopefully, also, this winter will see a continuing wind-down in this frustrating pandemic and a return to life, if not more "normal," at least more stable as we figure out what our new reality looks like.

We continue to be surrounded by challenges. The key is to find ways to overcome them, not become paralyzed by them. During this time, I hope you remain healthy and safe. And, until next Monday, edit well.
TUTORIALS & REVIEWS
» New Features in Adobe Premiere Pro (v22) (News)
   » Adobe continues pumping new features into Premiere

» New! Simplify Sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro (Tutorial)
   » This automated feature cleans up sequences in very flexible ways.

» 50 Hidden Keyboard Shortcuts in Premiere Pro (Tutorial)
   » Here's a downloadable PDF with shortcuts you can use every day.

» The New Watch Folders in Apple Compressor (Tutorial)
   » A much better way to automate media compression than droplets.

» The New Neon Text Effect in Apple Motion (Tutorial)
   » This creates a cool look - but the interface is tricky.

» The New Object Tracking in Apple Final Cut Pro (Tutorial)
   » This is a great new feature that needs a lot more work.

» A View of History - An 1897 Cooke Lens Test Chart (Reflection)
  » History surrounds us - in ways we don't often expect. 
New Features in Adobe Premiere Pro
Last week, at Adobe MAX, Adobe released updates for almost all their programs. This session - which runs NEXT WEEK, we will look at the changes in Adobe Premiere.

Everything you need - all in one place!
New Features in Final Cut, Motion & Compressor

Last week, Apple released significant updates to all three of their media applications: Final Cut Pro, Motion & Compressor. This week, we look at those features and how they work.

Everything you need - all in one place!
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