Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0
When we reviewed the Adobe Production Suite we found there was just so much in the program that its strength was in some way its weakness. It’s a powerful, yet pricey, package – perhaps too much for some of us. At the time, we voiced the hope that Adobe would target a different market sweet spot. Happily, it has now done so with Premiere Elements 3.0.
Premiere Elements 3.0 comes with enough added new features and enhanced functions to make it just about the best package available for home-based digital imaging creation, production and delivery.
If you want, it’s two simple clicks to capture video from a Mini DV camcorder and then to burn it on a DVD, complete with menu and scene index!
On the other hand, you can click to your heart’s delight and edit high definition video with creativity and sophistication, adding effects, titles and soundtracks to your HD masterpiece. Create and view videos in the normal TV ratio (4:3) or in the newer widescreen (16:9) format. As well, a single click converts video to NTSC or PAL for that worldwide audience!
The new package comes with hundreds of preset templates, including those for DVD menus, with backgrounds, overlays and navigation buttons. It comes with templates for text and title sequences that can be superimposed over video. There are special effects and visual transition templates, so you can creatively move from one shot to the next using wipes, fades, dissolves or other special techniques.
Adding templated TV-like effects can be done in just one or two clicks, or you can go further into the program by customizing and adjusting one of several parameters (such as size, font and shadow for program titles, speed and direction of video transitions, colour or image on DVD menu screens) on each.
Transitions and other special effects can be previewed before they are applied by clicking thumbnails. Full screen video previews are also available with one click, so you can easily check your creative progress and make adjustments as necessary. Creative experimentation is quite safe, as the program has a protective Auto Save function, multiple Undos and a History panel so you can always get back to a previous version of your show.
These are handy, familiar functions found in many Adobe programs, but what is really cool in the new PE are features like HDV capture and editing in its native, widescreen high-resolution format. This means you’re right up to date with the latest HDV camcorders, so you can create visually stunning programs for home video theatre and DVD presentations.
PE3 also has expanded its export or output options, letting you send edited programs not only to videotape, but DVD, hard drive and even portable devices like mobile phones, Sony PlayStations and Apple iPods!
There’s a really cool new stop motion tool too, great for making animated sequences and “clay-mation” or “time-lapse” videos. Capturing through a webcam (also newly supported in PE3) or camcorder, you can create custom animations easily using the handy “Onion Skin” command. It shows a transparent version of the “before” and “after” scene, so you can position animation elements properly while you watch the progression of movement frame by frame.
Scene I: Getting Around the User Interface
The program opens into a new and completely customizable GUI, with resizable and scalable windows, drag-and-drop positioning of key work areas and command menus, as well as other user-preferred settings.
Being able to zoom in on specific work areas means you can manage the editing environment more productively, keeping clutter or confusion to a minimum – there’s no more hunting around and clicking to open and close unwanted panels.
Front and centre in the UI is a new Monitor window, in which basic editing techniques can be easily executed (trim and split clips right here, for example). It’s also where video clips and special effects (including picture-in-picture, scene transition and text titles) can be previewed. Familiar tape-transport controls (stop, pause, forward, rewind, etc.), along with program time and other clip properties, are displayed here.
To the right of the Monitor window is the Media work area, from which media assets like audio and video clips are accessed. You can import media directly from attached camcorders (be they tape, hard drive or memory card based), VTRs, DVDs, card readers, even compatible mobile phones. Of course, media already on your computer can be included, as well as assets created in other programs (Photoshop is a drop-down media source choice).
Simply click on the Camera icon for importing video from a camcorder, or select Get Media from… to select from other devices, sources or file folders.
At the left of the Monitor window is the Properties panel, where you can see, change and reproduce the filters and effects you may have applied to a specific clip. Found here are commands for opacity, position, rotation and scale, and for moving images, graphics and text around the screen over time with keyframes.
Many video editors (both the people and the programs) are accustomed to using the horizontal “Timeline” metaphor, where video clips are represented graphically on separate “tracks.” Timeline editing is often preferred when precise control over clips, timing, positioning and sequencing are desired, and PE 3’s Timeline is no different (it’s found along the bottom of the main UI screen.) With up to 99 audio and video tracks available, clips can be positioned using clock time or visual cues. Split edits (where either the audio or video from a particular clip is split apart, then re-combined with video or audio from another shot for dramatic or visual impact) are usually created in this view.
But with one mouse click at the far right of the Timeline window, it switches to the new storyboard-like view, called the Sceneline. Here, thumbnail representations of captured media are more easily seen and clearly represented. Shots can be quickly dragged and dropped in an assembly-like fashion, or a number of shots can be group selected, dragged to the Sceneline and sequenced automatically in their chosen order.
Remove one scene, and the entire Sceneline adjusts itself, closing up the space and re-sequencing the program automatically for you. Transitions and titles can be added right from the Sceneline in a fashion that’s more like making a slide show than a video program – it’s that fast and easy.
Also displayed at the bottom of the Timeline/Sceneline window are specific tracks for adding externally sourced sounds, including music or voice narration (this is in addition to tracks reserved for audio from video). In fact, as with video, up to 99 audio tracks are available.
Added control over your soundtrack comes from audio adjustment tools (you can easily raise and lower the volume of existing audio and blend it with imported background music). Precise waveform controls are available for manipulating sound qualities and volumes, and a new function allows you to add spoken narration in real-time as you or your narrator actually watches the video playing in the Monitor window. Editing to the beat of imported music is easy too, with the ability to mark or identify with a keystroke audio beats as places for video cuts.
Scene II: Display and Delivery Options Abound
As easy as it is to get video into Premiere Elements, and to manipulate it once it’s there, it’s just about as easy to get it out.
Of course, output to tape devices (Mini DV or VHS decks, for example) is supported. As well, a built-in DVD creation and burning engine lets you output to DVD, with menus created from scratch, or customized from one of several templates (you have control over backgrounds, fonts, buttons, text and so on). Automatic scene index marks can be added, or you can create your own custom DVD chapter stops that link to specific video scenes.
The entire DVD build can be previewed (on your TV, which is a great bonus) before committing to it disc. The program supports single- or dual-layer DVDs, so you can accommodate lots of video material at the best compression quality, optimized for the available media.
Interesting, too, are the new output choices for online Web-based delivery, and even portable media devices. Contained on the drop-down Export menu are selections appropriate for mobile phones, video iPods and PlayStation Portables. Built-in compression tools will encode your video as Adobe Flash Video, or you can select QuickTime or Windows Media, as well. Export presets are included, but again, there can be manual control over the encoding process, and parameters like frame rate, data rate and window size best matched the target presentation screen.
Adobe Premiere Elements 3 is available for Windows PCs only; it will take advantage of Dual Core and Hyper-Threading Technology processing, and works well with the latest Intel Pentium-based Windows XP systems. (If you plan to work with HDV, more powerful processing, more RAM and more storage space will help performance.)
Depending on your system, you may encounter somewhat long rendering times. For example, exporting a 10-12 minute video to MPEG-2 (DVD) format takes 20-25 minutes. That’s a little slower than some other programs – but they do not have the many included features and options that Adobe is offering.
Nor are they available at the same bundled price – less than $150 (at press time, there was a manufacturer’s rebate available, lowering the price some $30) for Premiere Elements 5 and Photoshop Elements 3.
If you’re looking for a capable and accessible digital media manipulation package, the choice is elementary!
When we reviewed the Adobe Production Suite we found there was just so much in the program that its strength was in some way its weakness. It’s a powerful, yet pricey, package – perhaps too much for some of us. At the time, we voiced the hope that Adobe would target a different market sweet spot. Happily, it has now done so with Premiere Elements 3.0.
Premiere Elements 3.0 comes with enough added new features and enhanced functions to make it just about the best package available for home-based digital imaging creation, production and delivery.
If you want, it’s two simple clicks to capture video from a Mini DV camcorder and then to burn it on a DVD, complete with menu and scene index!
On the other hand, you can click to your heart’s delight and edit high definition video with creativity and sophistication, adding effects, titles and soundtracks to your HD masterpiece. Create and view videos in the normal TV ratio (4:3) or in the newer widescreen (16:9) format. As well, a single click converts video to NTSC or PAL for that worldwide audience!
The new package comes with hundreds of preset templates, including those for DVD menus, with backgrounds, overlays and navigation buttons. It comes with templates for text and title sequences that can be superimposed over video. There are special effects and visual transition templates, so you can creatively move from one shot to the next using wipes, fades, dissolves or other special techniques.
Adding templated TV-like effects can be done in just one or two clicks, or you can go further into the program by customizing and adjusting one of several parameters (such as size, font and shadow for program titles, speed and direction of video transitions, colour or image on DVD menu screens) on each.
Transitions and other special effects can be previewed before they are applied by clicking thumbnails. Full screen video previews are also available with one click, so you can easily check your creative progress and make adjustments as necessary. Creative experimentation is quite safe, as the program has a protective Auto Save function, multiple Undos and a History panel so you can always get back to a previous version of your show.
These are handy, familiar functions found in many Adobe programs, but what is really cool in the new PE are features like HDV capture and editing in its native, widescreen high-resolution format. This means you’re right up to date with the latest HDV camcorders, so you can create visually stunning programs for home video theatre and DVD presentations.
PE3 also has expanded its export or output options, letting you send edited programs not only to videotape, but DVD, hard drive and even portable devices like mobile phones, Sony PlayStations and Apple iPods!
There’s a really cool new stop motion tool too, great for making animated sequences and “clay-mation” or “time-lapse” videos. Capturing through a webcam (also newly supported in PE3) or camcorder, you can create custom animations easily using the handy “Onion Skin” command. It shows a transparent version of the “before” and “after” scene, so you can position animation elements properly while you watch the progression of movement frame by frame.
Scene I: Getting Around the User Interface
The program opens into a new and completely customizable GUI, with resizable and scalable windows, drag-and-drop positioning of key work areas and command menus, as well as other user-preferred settings.
Being able to zoom in on specific work areas means you can manage the editing environment more productively, keeping clutter or confusion to a minimum – there’s no more hunting around and clicking to open and close unwanted panels.
Front and centre in the UI is a new Monitor window, in which basic editing techniques can be easily executed (trim and split clips right here, for example). It’s also where video clips and special effects (including picture-in-picture, scene transition and text titles) can be previewed. Familiar tape-transport controls (stop, pause, forward, rewind, etc.), along with program time and other clip properties, are displayed here.
To the right of the Monitor window is the Media work area, from which media assets like audio and video clips are accessed. You can import media directly from attached camcorders (be they tape, hard drive or memory card based), VTRs, DVDs, card readers, even compatible mobile phones. Of course, media already on your computer can be included, as well as assets created in other programs (Photoshop is a drop-down media source choice).
Simply click on the Camera icon for importing video from a camcorder, or select Get Media from… to select from other devices, sources or file folders.
At the left of the Monitor window is the Properties panel, where you can see, change and reproduce the filters and effects you may have applied to a specific clip. Found here are commands for opacity, position, rotation and scale, and for moving images, graphics and text around the screen over time with keyframes.
Many video editors (both the people and the programs) are accustomed to using the horizontal “Timeline” metaphor, where video clips are represented graphically on separate “tracks.” Timeline editing is often preferred when precise control over clips, timing, positioning and sequencing are desired, and PE 3’s Timeline is no different (it’s found along the bottom of the main UI screen.) With up to 99 audio and video tracks available, clips can be positioned using clock time or visual cues. Split edits (where either the audio or video from a particular clip is split apart, then re-combined with video or audio from another shot for dramatic or visual impact) are usually created in this view.
But with one mouse click at the far right of the Timeline window, it switches to the new storyboard-like view, called the Sceneline. Here, thumbnail representations of captured media are more easily seen and clearly represented. Shots can be quickly dragged and dropped in an assembly-like fashion, or a number of shots can be group selected, dragged to the Sceneline and sequenced automatically in their chosen order.
Remove one scene, and the entire Sceneline adjusts itself, closing up the space and re-sequencing the program automatically for you. Transitions and titles can be added right from the Sceneline in a fashion that’s more like making a slide show than a video program – it’s that fast and easy.
Also displayed at the bottom of the Timeline/Sceneline window are specific tracks for adding externally sourced sounds, including music or voice narration (this is in addition to tracks reserved for audio from video). In fact, as with video, up to 99 audio tracks are available.
Added control over your soundtrack comes from audio adjustment tools (you can easily raise and lower the volume of existing audio and blend it with imported background music). Precise waveform controls are available for manipulating sound qualities and volumes, and a new function allows you to add spoken narration in real-time as you or your narrator actually watches the video playing in the Monitor window. Editing to the beat of imported music is easy too, with the ability to mark or identify with a keystroke audio beats as places for video cuts.
Scene II: Display and Delivery Options Abound
As easy as it is to get video into Premiere Elements, and to manipulate it once it’s there, it’s just about as easy to get it out.
Of course, output to tape devices (Mini DV or VHS decks, for example) is supported. As well, a built-in DVD creation and burning engine lets you output to DVD, with menus created from scratch, or customized from one of several templates (you have control over backgrounds, fonts, buttons, text and so on). Automatic scene index marks can be added, or you can create your own custom DVD chapter stops that link to specific video scenes.
The entire DVD build can be previewed (on your TV, which is a great bonus) before committing to it disc. The program supports single- or dual-layer DVDs, so you can accommodate lots of video material at the best compression quality, optimized for the available media.
Interesting, too, are the new output choices for online Web-based delivery, and even portable media devices. Contained on the drop-down Export menu are selections appropriate for mobile phones, video iPods and PlayStation Portables. Built-in compression tools will encode your video as Adobe Flash Video, or you can select QuickTime or Windows Media, as well. Export presets are included, but again, there can be manual control over the encoding process, and parameters like frame rate, data rate and window size best matched the target presentation screen.
Adobe Premiere Elements 3 is available for Windows PCs only; it will take advantage of Dual Core and Hyper-Threading Technology processing, and works well with the latest Intel Pentium-based Windows XP systems. (If you plan to work with HDV, more powerful processing, more RAM and more storage space will help performance.)
Depending on your system, you may encounter somewhat long rendering times. For example, exporting a 10-12 minute video to MPEG-2 (DVD) format takes 20-25 minutes. That’s a little slower than some other programs – but they do not have the many included features and options that Adobe is offering.
Nor are they available at the same bundled price – less than $150 (at press time, there was a manufacturer’s rebate available, lowering the price some $30) for Premiere Elements 5 and Photoshop Elements 3.
If you’re looking for a capable and accessible digital media manipulation package, the choice is elementary!
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