Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 14, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
64-bit support and the Mercury Playback Engine are key elements in Adobe’s Creative Suite upgrade. DP readers can read about the associated performance boost in our upcoming DP issue 3:10. Other aspects will also be improved with the new version, as Michael Mörtl of the DP editorial team explains in the following interview.
DP: What were the main objectives in the development of Creative Suite 5? Was NAB deliberately the target date for the announcement?
Michael Mörtl: I’m pleased that the announcement and presentation of Creative Suite 5 overlaps with this year’s NAB in terms of our video products, but it’s more of a coincidence. Three goals were at the forefront of development: Genuine cross-media design, productivity and the optimisation of existing processes. The first point is that this time we not only offer our customers high-quality tools for their creative projects, but also provide them with opportunities to increase the reach of their content. This means that designers can now create interactive content without any programming knowledge. When it comes to productivity, the focus is on 64-bit support and the resulting speed gains for the user. Processes such as the coordination of design drafts, the testing of websites or the integration of script creation into existing video production workflows are a third topic that our new CS Live Online Services address.
DP: What specifically has happened with the products in the video area?
Michael Mörtl: I see three main areas here. Firstly, the topic of performance, which is closely linked to native support for 64-bit systems. This gives video professionals the opportunity to work faster and more smoothly. Secondly, the area of tapeless formats. With the new version of Premiere Pro, we natively support a wide range of tapeless formats, making them directly available for editing in the application without any loss of time. The third point is the integration of Adobe Story into the suite. We are expanding the existing video workflow so that the script information is available to our users in the form of metadata throughout the production process.
DP: What has been improved in terms of product performance? Adobe is increasingly focussing on 64-bit systems?
Michael Mörtl: Premiere Pro now uses the Mercury Playback Engine. This offers native 64-bit support and utilises the computing power of the latest Nvidia graphics cards. Thanks to 64-bit support, users can work more smoothly, especially with HD and other high-resolution projects, while GPU acceleration has a positive effect when rendering and calculating effects and helps to reduce CPU utilisation. In places where you had to wait for feedback from the software in the past, responsiveness has increased. Complex projects can be opened more quickly, working with sequences rich in effects is smoother and more stable at the same time.
Regardless of the Mercury Playback Engine, After Effects, Premiere Pro and Photoshop can make optimum use of the system’s available RAM thanks to native 64-bit support. This increase in performance pays off with large files and projects, where previews can now be generated more quickly. As a result, our users increase their productivity.
DP: Are there any further developments in the Media Encoder?
Michael Mörtl: We have optimised the user interface. Users can now efficiently set up multiple versions of their sequences and encode them in batch processing. The new “Automatic” settings option allows properties such as TV standard, frame rate, field sequence and pixel aspect ratio to be adjusted automatically. These settings can even be changed directly when importing into the media encoder using the “Interpret Footage” command. Templates can be used to ensure that the final content is provided with the appropriate metadata.
DP: What else is the situation with After Effects? Is there an innovation here that you think is a real highlight?
Michael Mörtl: A highlight for me is definitely the Roto Brush with the ability to mask objects extremely quickly. For example, when it comes to separating an actor from the background of a scene so that he can then be placed in a different environment. Previously, you had to go frame by frame and mask the person manually. With the new Roto Brush, all you have to do is make a few brush strokes in the object to be isolated in the foreground and the Roto Brush takes care of the rest.
DP: A preview version of Adobe Story has been available to view and test on the Adobe Labs website for some time. How has this scripting tool been integrated into CS5 Production Premium?
Michael Mörtl: By integrating Adobe Story into the existing suite, we are expanding the existing workflow. Users can now benefit from synergy effects when creating screenplays and film scripts together and access this information throughout the entire production process. Specifically, the information contained in these scripts is available throughout in the form of metadata – be it for shot lists in OnLocation, as an aid for editing the material in Premiere Pro or for creating chapter designations for DVD and Blu-ray authoring with Encore.
DP: What role does metadata play within the suite?
Michael Mörtl: Metadata fulfils a whole range of tasks. It helps to manage assets, contributes to making production processes more efficient, optimises archiving and restoration and makes it possible to create appealing and searchable content. Within Creative Suite 5 Production Premium, for example, OnLocation can generate necessary metadata such as information on scenes, cast and locations of a film based on a script imported from Adobe Story. The individual programmes in the suite support XMP metadata. This allows titles, keywords for searches or copyright information to be captured and embedded in a format that users, software and hardware can easily understand.
DP: It has long been possible to import projects created with Avid or Final Cut Pro into Premiere Pro. What will this integration look like in the CS5 version and what strategy is Adobe pursuing in terms of interoperability?
Michael Mörtl: In general, we want to give all members of a production team the opportunity to work with the editing solution that they know best. At the same time, however, they should also be able to benefit from the advantages of Adobe Creative Suite 5 Production Premium. We therefore rely on an open workflow that enables the exchange of project files in such a way that frequently used effects and transitions are retained without intermediate rendering. Projects created with Final Cut Pro or Avid can be imported directly into Premiere Pro in order to add the relevant metadata information there with the help of Speech Search, which is then transferred to Encore for DVD authoring. It is also possible to import a Final Cut Pro sequence into Premiere Pro and send it directly to After Effects via Dynamic Link. Incidentally, the reverse is also possible, i.e. projects from Premiere Pro can be exported for further editing with Final Cut Pro or Avid.
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