Some time has passed since our first report on “The Element” – at least in the fast-moving world of software. But now version 2.0 is available for download – and here is an excerpt of the latest features – whether it was worth the wait or whether you should simply switch your asset management to this system now is up to you.

Together what belongs together!

The outstanding feature of the 2.0 release is that the element now brings together all parts of a 3D asset – not just the geometry, but also textures. In everyday life, this means that searching for textures and their maps is now done in seconds.

Even if assets from other sources are used, they can be organised and found in a clear standard – and nobody has to try to assign sloppily named folders any more! But not only textures – render layers, normals and roughness files are also combined, categorised and made searchable.

And just to remind you: the element manages, indexes, analyses, searches and presents images, icons, image sequences, 3D assets, 3D SceneFiles (Houdini, Maya, Blender …), project files (Nuke, After Effects, Photoshop …), HDRI images, 360° videos and even PDFs.

Infinite scroller

In principle, there are not “too many assets” – but it can be difficult to find them. The new element offers a corresponding view for this: In the “infinite window” you can simply browse through everything without distraction – also good if you don’t know exactly what you want yet and just want to have a look at what’s available in the library.

As everything is AI-based nowadays, the element naturally also includes this – here in the variant that similar assets are found – be it to tidy up the database, for variations of a shot or simply because you can’t get enough of a motif, it’s up to you!

Users who have footage and plates with different elements that are similar in their initial state – I’m just saying explosions – will find the new video player handy. Within the element, you can see what happens beyond the preview frame – and rotate, flip or fold the image with just one click – and see whether the plate is suitable for the special “upside down” application.

Anyone who collects HDR spheres – and let’s be honest, who doesn’t – needs a preview where you can see exactly what is happening – which is why there is now an exposure slider for quickly adjusting the brightness. Handy for everyday use, but why don’t the other tools have this too?

Other features, such as an enhanced ingest for all possible formats, a tidier (or customisable by you!) interface, as well as better error descriptions for ingest and pipeline, and lots of bug fixes and minor adjustments are of course also included.

If you’re feeling nostalgic or want to get an overview, you can download the first article from DP 22:02 as a free PDF here . And if you want to give it a try, have a look here: das-element.com

The post A new element is here! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Shot Matching & Scene Comparison aka. grading-as-you-go

With what is probably by far the biggest update for Premiere Pro CC, Adobe really does have a make-awesome button to present at NAB. The AI-driven engine Sensei is going full throttle and, with Shot to Shot colour correction and Scene Comparison, enables a much more pleasant way to achieve a consistent look between shots in different day and lighting situations. The entire process is non-destructive – nothing is baked until it has been rendered. And anyone who is still not satisfied with the result after a click can tweak the individual parameters afterwards.

Auto-ducking

There was also a lot of demand for auto-ducking, which Adobe was happy to fulfil in this update. Automatic audio ducking, i.e. the process by which audio levels are kept lower in order to emphasise voice tracks properly, is now an integral part of the Essential Sound Panel in Premiere Pro CC. Users can select the sound source to which the auto ducking should be orientated. After setting the sensitivity, dB reduction and time for the modified transition, Sensei can then work its magic again. Fine-tuning for all settings can also be carried out here afterwards.

Do not forget: Adobe Audition CC

Despite the new auto-ducking in Premiere Pro CC, we must not forget our actual audio editor. After all, it is still the preferred choice when it comes to audio clean-up or score manipulation.

Dynamic linking?
Especially since Adobe has also greatly improved the interaction between the two programmes with its latest update. In the past, the two programmes used to “kind of get along”. In the past, exporting from PPro to Au required many cumbersome intermediate steps, which took time and nerves and also meant that the general overview of your own project suffered. With the latest release, it is now possible to open a Premiere Pro project (.pproj) directly in Audition CC. The whole thing only works in one direction so far (unfortunately there is no single audio track from Au for PPro), but there is a good chance that it will not remain a one-way street.

These are just a few of the enhancements that Adobe is presenting at NAB. All programmes have also received further additions that will make life easier for all video experts in the future, such as Canon CRM support (for C200/C700). Of course, there are still points on the wish list that Adobe could fulfil (will the PPro Project Manager ever work?). However, the improvements made so far point in the right direction.

The post Adobe CC2018 NAB April Release first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Alexandra Kaschny.