Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve have taken the upper hand in usability among pro video editing software, but Adobe product designers are working hard on changing all that. Premiere Pro's new Import and Export designs take top billing among the changes. The program will also now sport a consistent header, with Import, Edit, and Export modes as the default.
In a prebriefing for members of the tech media, Adobe reps said that the interface updates comprised the first phase of a redesigned Premiere Pro aimed at making social video producers more productive and more differentiated. Adobe is taking baby steps so as not to alienate longtime users of an app that’s been around for nearly 30 years. As a matter of fact, the actual editing interface hasn’t changed yet—just the aforementioned functions.
Instead of the text-heavy dialog full of technical format options when you start a project, you’ll now see a grid of thumbnails with source icons along the left—somewhat resembling the import experience in a photo app like Lightroom. You’ll be able to select the media and immediately create a sequence.
Compare that with the current dialog you see when starting a project:
Likewise, the Export dialog has been made friendlier, with simple output choices like Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter. Premiere Pro will output your project to an optimal format for your target. The panel lets you set options relevant to each endpoint; for example, the privacy level for a post; for example, Public, Unlisted, or Private. You’ll also be able to schedule posting times. You can even output to multiple targets in a single operation—note the toggles in the screen below.
Note that you can set quality and create your own export presets in the new interface. The new workflow doesn’t remove the option to export using Media Encoder if you prefer, for batch processing and advanced settings. And for even quicker exporting, the up-arrow Quick Export feature is still an option.
These updates will be available for testing today for Creative Cloud subscribers whose plans include Premiere Pro, with more changes coming later this year. For more info, check out Adobe’s page about these Premiere Pro updates.