Adobe Premiere Pro's New Features Revolutionize Color Grading and Video Editing

New Adobe Premiere Pro upgrade changes the game for colour grading

Regular updates have kept Adobe Premiere Pro at the top of our pick of the best video editing software for years now, and the creative software giant has just dropped another big raft of upgrades (and, no it's not the generative were were promised earlier in the year, although that's still in the works). Coming ahead of IBC 2024 in Amsterdam, Adobe's launched a brand new colour management system for Premiere Pro. And it's aimed particularly at the many non-colourists who increasingly have responsibility for colour in the projects they work on (see our Premiere Pro review to learn more about the software) The new Premiere Pro colour management system can automatically transform raw and log footage into HDR and SDR video without requiring LUTs using either Rec 709 or the ACEScct colour space for improved dynamic range. At a launch event, Senior Product Marketing Manager Jason Druss described the addition as a "generational shift in video quality with no messing in advanced settings" and part of a new commitment to improving how video editors work with colour in the software. The system will automatically tone map raw and log footage from most cameras, while the new gamut-wide presets can use raw and log data, providing higher fidelity image processing with more dynamic range and lattitude. Effectively, editors will be able to see higher fidelity footage in their timeline, with all that log detail in highlights, without requiring transfer LUTs. Effects like Lumetri colour correction are now colour-space aware, and there's also also now more accurate colour when working between Premiere Pro and After Effects using Dymanic Link. The move is a recognises the fact that today many people creating video are no longer working in silos, and many editors now have to do their own colour grading, from YouTubers to professional video editors working on their own. Adobe's aim is to make colour management more invisible and automatic for the non-colourists, making it easier for any video editor to get the look they want from the vast array of raw and log formats available without having to dive into complex colour grading Crucially, it's still possible for those working with custom LUTS to disable colour management and use their own workflow. Other Premiere Pro updates include tweaks to make the software faster to use for both experienced pros and easier to learn for new users. The most frequently used tools for any selected item now appear in a new context-sensitive Properties panel, reducing the time spent hunting through panels. Meanwhile, crop is always present in program monitor, with controls for direct crop manipulation that avoid having to go to properties panel. You can also now adjust the properties for multiple clips at the same time. The UI has also been tweaked for a more modern look, now with rounded corners. It also updates faster and is more customisable. And generative AI? There's still no firm news on when Adobe will be adding text-to-video generation in Premiere Pro, but it says it's in dialogue with customers and is still committed to adding the feature, stressing that it's "important to get this right". That suggests plans may have been put back a little since the tease were were given earlier in the year, but a careful implementation is crucial given the potential controversy around a proposal to integrate third-party tools like Sora, which would seem to possibly contradict Adobe's previous stance on only using AI models whose training respected copyright. Adobe has also announced new Adobe Firefly speech services for Enterprise customers, including a dubbing and lip sync API. As well as revealing new 3D tools and features for After Effects and connectivity to the Emmy Award-winning Adobe Substance 3D Painter. See below for the best prices if you're don't yet have access to Premiere Pro. We also have a guide to how to download Premiere Pro and a full Adobe software list.

New Adobe Premiere Pro updates will make your video content pop

Adobe rolls out new color management tools and more for Premiere Pro and After Effects Adobe has announced a series of updates for Premiere Pro and After Effects designed to add studio-style polish to video content for beginner and experienced editors. Ahead of IBC 2024, the company is beginning to roll out a set of beta tools and features that will enhance editing workflows and streamline post-production processes. Highlights include all-new color management tools and improved UI and navigation, as the company aims to make one of the best video editing software tools even better for new and existing users. In addition to super-charging Pro's color management system, users can also expect to see better integration with After Effects and Substance 3D. With on-going collaborations with editors and content creators, the company also teased generative AI video editing tools coming to the software in the future. A new color management system is the headline update in this beta release. Letting editors take control of on-screen colors, the new tools offer end-to-end color processing in the video editing app without requiring LUTs. With six presets available, the company was keen to note that it's "invisible and automatic", with operations occurring in the background, making it more accessible to those who need color correction tools but lack the experience. And for the first time, the software will also boast a wide gamut working color space. Users will also find greater format support for RED, ARRI, Sony, Canon, and ProRes RAW videos, and log format support for RED, ARRI, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, Leica, DJI, and GoPro. For those concerned about legacy projects being affected, Adobe has stated the default preset mirrors the standard Premiere Pro setting, so older projects still look the same. In a similar vein, color accuracy will be maintained across Premiere Pro and After Effects using Dynamic Link. With the new Properties panel, editors of all skill-levels are able to access all of Premiere Pro's most popular tools, effects, and quick actions without fumbling through menus and panels and disrupting the editing flow. As part of this update, Adobe has now directly built the Crop tool into the program monitor. And, for rapid adjustments at scale, the tool supports the adjustment of multiple clips at once. Users familiar with the video editing tool will notice a few changes to the software's appearance, with rounded corners and cleaner, clearer fonts. This refreshed UI is, according to Adobe, designed to make it more comfortable sitting inside the program for hours at a time. And just as comfortable is the inclusion of two dark modes, a light mode, and a more accessible high-contrast mode. Alongside this, the beta also brings performance improvements including faster and more responsive media playback, hardware-accelerated AVC and HEVC, and three-times faster exports when rendering ProRes footage. Premiere Pro isn't the only tool to get updated, with After Effects - our pick for best VFX software - also receiving the same UI improvements. However, it's also improving 3D workflows, with AE now natively supporting 3D models with embedded animations, more realistic shadow casting, and over 30 animation presets for speeding up production (and letting creators create). Performance has also been improved and users will also find it easier to send files directly from the company's 3D modeling software Substance 3D, which now boasts over twenty-thousand fully licensed assets. During a demo of the new tools, we were impressed to see how animations can be used and re-used whether it's for a five-second clip or a thirty-second commercial. In the example we saw, an animated mobile phone cover opened and closed - rapidly in a five-second slot. By extending the required length of the footage, simply by dragging the handles in the timeline, the same animation was repeated to fill the longer time-frame, smoothly and without loss of frame-rate. Businesses keen to make use of Adobe's enterprise-focused AI tools will find a few video production extras coming online. The Enhance Speech API, which will be familiar to some, is now available via Firefly Services, cleaning up audio, repairing speech, and removing unwanted background noises. Meanwhile, the Dubbing & Lip Sync API is tailored to global businesses who need to localize content for different territories. Effectively, this tool automates translation and alters a subject's lip movements to match the language.