The Adobe Creative Cloud update announced today adds and enhances features that give video content creators a plethora of tools with which to work. For example, motion graphics artists can create eye-catching animations with Adobe After Effects. Video editors can quickly thread a narrative together with Adobe Premiere Pro and Audition. Animators can bring characters to life in a snap with Character Animator. While these programs are powerful alone, the real strength shines through when using them together.

The latest release of Creative Cloud reflects this fact, with improved interoperability between programs and a plethora of new tools for both amateur and professional video content creators. Let’s take a closer look at some of these new video features inside of Adobe Creative Cloud.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC Updates

The latest release of Adobe’s popular nonlinear editing software is full of new features. These include new color matching options, improved audio tools, and a totally overhauled Essential Graphics panel. The Timecode panel has also been updated, along with new controls for editors working in VR, streamlined collaboration with Team Projects, and support for additional formats. Heck, you can even copy and paste markers now.

Comparison View and Apply Color Match

Premiere’s main update is the new Color Matching and Comparison View features. Editors can now quickly compare two clips via a side-by-side or split screen view within the Program Monitor. The Color Wheels section of the Lumetri panel has now changed to Color Wheels and Match. Here you can switch to Comparison View and apply a color match. Face Detection intelligently adjusts for skin tones when matching a shot.

Premierepro_color_match Courtesy of AdobeCredit: https://www.adobe.com/

Auto Duck Audio

A popular feature in Audition, Adobe has now added this tool to Premiere Pro. Directly access Ducking in the Essential Sound panel. Note whether you want to duck your audio against a specific audio type, or if you want to duck against everything. Further, refine the ducking process by adjusting the sensitivity, reduce by, and fades properties.

Premierepro_auto_ducking Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Enhanced VR Workflow

Make your way through VR space with all new controls that let you rotate your view without having to move your head. Floating panels show your position in time and space. Use handset controls to change your orientation or move on the Timeline. Use the best headset with the new support for the Windows Mixed Reality platform, expanding the range of available head-mounted displays for VR work in Premiere Pro.

Premierepro_adobe_immersive_environment_timeline_and_navigator_2 Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Essential Graphics Panel Upgrade

Adobe has given the user interface of the Essential Graphics panel a complete makeover. New controls for 2D position, scale, and rotation give you more tools for customizing templates created in Adobe After Effects. Premiere Pro is now tightly integrated with content from Adobe Stock. Search and preview both free and premium Adobe Stock motion graphics templates directly within the Essential Graphics panel. You can also now update .mogrt files in your sequences with new versions, retaining settings and customizations from the originals.

Premierepro_new_controls_improved_ui_motion_graphics_templates Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Adobe After Effects CC Updates

Updates for After Effects focus on better organization and more efficient workflows. The new master properties feature revolutionizes how post professionals will work with compositions and versioning. Data loving designers can now quickly import JSON and CSV files and dynamically animate them. Other big updates include advancements to the popular Puppet Tool, an enhanced disk cache management system, and a new shortcut for cycling through mask modes.

Master Properties

Add the properties you care about the most to the Essential Graphics Panel in Adobe After Effects to help streamline your workflow. Nearly every property is now supported in the panel, allowing you to keep an eye on only the properties you specify. Control these properties in parent composition’s timelines. Use master properties to push individual values to all versions of the composition or pull selected changes back to the master. This workflow allows you to nondestructively create numerous versions of your composition. These properties will show up in Premiere once you export as a motion graphics (.mogrt) template file.

After_effects_-_master_properties Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Advanced Puppet Engine

The new Puppet tool allows users to create smooth, organic movements with the drop of a few pins. Use the Puppet tool to drop pins and define motions with a dynamic mesh. Apply the Starch tool to reduce movement in selected areas with the new Advanced Puppet Engine.

After_effects_-_advanced_puppet_tool Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Data-Driven Animations

Combine the precision of data with the creative power of After Effects. That means less time spent on repetitive tasks. Import JSON and CSV data files and view their contents on the timeline. Drag and drop properties into the composition window to display them as text, or use the Pick Whip to link layer properties to data values. Create reusable graphics that respond to data, and invent new ways of viewing information.

Adobe Audition CC Updates

Video editors working with the latest version of Adobe Audition will find an entirely new way to work with sequences from Premiere Pro, as well as a shiny new Tracks panel. A new clip spotting feature updates video previews in real time for a frame-accurate editing experience with video. Harness the power of scripts to automate functions like loudness normalization, QC validation, and others. You can now even embed album artwork in your mp3 files.

Enhanced Premiere Pro Workflow

Editors can now open a Premiere project directly in Audition to select and import a sequence. Find specific files you need quickly with the new compound media import option. Select specific audio and video tracks to work on or import the entire file, including container formats like MXF. Monitor video as you edit the audio in Audition with video previews that update in real time when clips are added, moved, or trimmed.

Audition_import_premiereprosequence Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Tracks Panel

It’s now very easy to work on large multitrack projects with Audition’s new Track panel. This tool gives users the ability to quickly isolate and view exactly what they’re working on. Show or hide single tracks or groups of tracks, and create presets to reuse common setups.

Audition_trackspanel_menu Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Adobe Character Animator CC Updates

Character Animator is a revolutionary program that uses facial performance capture to bring life to 2D vector graphics. The latest release includes improvements to the puppet tools, more refined animation features, and increased workflow efficiency.

Improved Puppet Tools

Animate more effectively with a personalized library of behaviors and custom triggers. Drag layer groups from the Puppet panel to drop zones in the Triggers panel to swap sets or create new triggers. Quickly change or reorganize all of the layers in a trigger by simply highlighting them. You can now add behaviors directly from the Puppet panel for a more simplified animation workflow. Pose and animate characters faster than ever with improvements to the Controls panel and user interface.

Characteranimator_puppetpanel-improvedtriggers Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

More Refined Animation

Use the new scene snapshots feature to quickly align and compare frame-by-frame movements to fine-tune animation. Improved particle physics add dynamic elements to your stories, such as snowfall causing an avalanche, or stacked bricks collapsing into a pile. You’ll be animating in no time with additional in-app puppet templates and expanded puppet behaviors. New animation aesthetics include hand-drawn characters and stop-motion style claymation figures.

Characteranimator_scenesnapshot Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

Workflow Efficiency

Easily reuse takes with a simple copy/paste between puppets and projects. Use the keyboard shortcut editor to customize shortcuts and speed up your animation workflows. New refinements to the user interface allow for better quality control for Adobe Illustrator files, Scene Frame exports, and JPEG support for puppets and cycles.

Characteranimator_countdown-to-record Credit: https://www.adobe.com/

The latest Adobe Creative Cloud update is available today, so you can download and play with these new features yourself!

All images courtesy of Adobe.

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Mark Duplass Has Some Thoughts on Sundance Acceptance

Mark Duplass Share His Thoughts on Sundance Acceptance

The Calvary King delivers a hopeful message to filmmakers who didn't get into Sundance.

Mark Duplass has always been a filmmaker's filmmaker. He famously delivered his "The Cavalry is Not Coming" speech at SXSW as a call to action for independent filmmakers to stop waiting and start shooting. Duplass also historically creates and works on small-budget indie projects, including being a key member of the lo-fi, bare-bones mumblecore movement. He's also a charismatic actor who brings a relatable ethos to every role he plays—not to mention seems like an overall cool dude.

We love Mark Duplass.

All the above considered, it's no surprise to see Duplass take to social media with an encouraging statement following the recently announced 2025 Sundance lineup this past Wednesday. Duplass, hot off positive reviews for the recently released The Creep Tapes on Shudder, warmly comforted filmmakers that if you happened to apply to Sundance and weren't selected, hey, that's okay. They curate 15,775. It happens.

We all know rejection sucks, but don't sweat it. Be proud of your project no matter what. And watch Mark Duplass's full snippet of encouraging wisdom below.

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