Adobe makes home movies easier
Stop the digital video cams. Adobe, a heavyweight in digital image editing, has released Premiere Elements, video-editing software based on Adobe's high-end Premiere Pro.
Aimed at novices and advanced users who have outgrown basic home movie editing programs, Premiere Elements offers a lot of bang for the buck ($99). I recently test drove this new entry into the crowded home video editing arena and was impressed with its ease of use and advanced features.
While a novice could certainly turn out a decent movie without too much muss or fuss, this package appears to have the most to offer to advanced hobbyists looking for more bells and whistles who have balked at spending hundreds of dollars for professional software.
Premiere Elements sports an interface with a row of buttons that step you through the process of capturing and editing video, adding special effects and titles, and outputting to DVD, tape, or web and e-mail formats.
The program's main screen changes when you click each button. For instance, clicking the Edit button brings up the Media window, a list of the video clips and other media (still photos, music, etc.) that you've imported into your project, a monitor to view your video, and a timeline for editing video and audio. It also pops open a great guide for new users, a "How To" palette that offers tips on how to complete various tasks. Content in this help palette changes to match the button you've clicked.
Novices and advanced users will appreciate time-saving features such as:
One-click video capture. The program automatically detects and saves clips as individual scenes and pops them all onto a timeline for editing.
Real-time editing. As you edit you can see the changes without waiting for the program to render the file. And when you trim or delete clips from the timeline, Premiere Elements automatically fills in the gaps so you don't have to spend time rearranging clips.
History palette. The history palette allows you to quickly undo/redo changes. You can step back or forward several changes with a single click.
Templates and presets. Premiere Elements comes with an extensive list of themed graphical templates for adding titles and credits, and transitions and audio special effects. They can be applied with a simple drag-and-drop. Matching themes can be used to quickly customize menus and scene indexes to create DVDs.
Create automatic slideshows and videos. Although the process is a little clunky, you can use the Media window as a sort of storyboard to arrange still pictures, video, audio, titles, etc., then automatically generate a slideshow or movie.
Advanced users will be happy to see features such as:
Advanced audio controls. Add up to 99 audio tracks, easily cut video clips to match music, use pitch control to match audio speed to the video when you create slow or fast-motion clips.
Live TV preview. Attach a television set to your DV camera and see how your video looks as you edit.
Widescreen support. Export to 16:9 aspect ratio for playback on widescreen displays.
Premiere Elements supports standard media file formats including: DV, AVI, MPEG 1 and 2, Windows Media 9 and QuickTime for video, JPEG, TIFF, and PSD, for still images, and WAV, WMA, MP3, AIFF, for audio.
The program will only capture video from cameras connected to your computer using an IEEE 1394 port (FireWire or iLink). If you own an older analog camera you'll need to digitize your video using an analog to digital conversion device.
In addition to Premiere Elements, Adobe has also released an upgrade of Photoshop Elements, another program retooled for the home market that's for editing still images and creating graphics. Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Premiere Elements can be purchased as a bundle for $149. Graphics created in Photoshop Elements can be transferred to Premiere Elements with a single click.
Adobe's lineup for home users also includes Photoshop Album, a program that organizes digital images and offers limited editing features.
Michelle Johnson is a freelance writer. She can be reached at mijohn@mail-me.com.
