NAB 2023: Introducing Text-Based Editing in Premiere Pro, Properties panel in After Effects, and much more

NAB is always a highlight, but we’ve never been more excited about what we’re bringing to the show. We’re introducing Text-Based Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, an entirely new way to edit that makes creating a rough cut as simple as copying and pasting text. We’ve worked hard to make Premiere Pro today the fastest and most stable version we have ever released, and we’ve added dozens of improvements that editors have been asking for, like automatic tone mapping, background auto save, enhanced collaboration tools, and more. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Adobe After Effects and the new Properties panel means working on compositions is way faster — and makes the application more welcoming for the next generation of motion designers. Here’s what we’ll be showing during NAB at the Adobe booth N2438.

New in Premiere Pro

Text-Based Editing transforms rough cut workflows and opens up new ways of working with video. Powered by Adobe Sensei, Text-Based Editing in Premiere Pro uses the latest AI to automatically transcribe your source media. Instead of watching hours of footage just to find the right sound bites, now you can skim through transcripts, search for keywords, and add them to the Timeline to start your rough cut. Premiere Pro generates a transcript for your sequence as you build it. So, once you’ve got a few clips on the timeline, you can copy and paste phrases in the sequence transcript and watch the edits in the Timeline automatically change to match them. Text-Based Editing is like having a “paper cut” of your transcript, except it’s built into your NLE. And, when your edit is complete, Text-Based Editing gives you a ready-made transcript that can be used to quickly generate captions.

Automatic tone mapping makes it easy to work with different media and color spaces in the same timeline, without requiring LUTs or custom color settings. Today’s cameras record an amazing amount of color and detail, so usage of log and other HDR formats is growing. Automatic tone mapping converts the wider color gamut of HDR files, like iPhone HLG, and popular log formats, like Sony S-Log, so that they display correctly in standard sequences. Unlike LUTs, tone mapping is non-destructive, and you can apply color grading across your media, without the risk of artifacts or clipping highlights.

Beyond the new features, we’re doubling down on delivering improvements you’ve asked for. Not only is Premiere Pro faster and more reliable, but we’ve also added background auto save, which saves backups as you work, without interrupting your flow. There’s new format support and GPU acceleration for ARRI, RED, and more — and with new launch reset options, it’s easy to perform routine maintenance tasks, like clearing your media cache.

Other improvements shave valuable seconds off tasks, like dragging to select track targets, more accurate masking, faster motion graphics templates, and the ability to bulk edit titles in the Timeline. New language support for Speech to Text brings Premiere Pro’s captioning toolset to Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish speakers, for a total of 18 languages around the world. Updates for collaborative editing make it easy to work together with other editors in the same project. A complete version history tracks each change in the Team Project and Sequence Locking ensures no one else can make edits to something you’re working on.

New in After Effects

Modeled on similar panels in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, the Properties panel in After Effects makes motion design faster. Instead of drilling down into layers to make adjustments, controls are presented to you contextually, right beside the composition window. It’s easier to try things out and iterate on designs. The Properties panel also works with Essential Properties, saving you even more time when you need to create multiple versions of the same type of graphic. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out in motion design, the Properties panel shortens the distance between ideas and execution in After Effects.

After Effects now offers native support for ACES and OpenColorIO. ACES is a color interchange standard with an extremely wide color gamut, for more dynamic range and richer image detail. And if you’re working with other artists or facilities, ACES and OpenColorIO color management make it easy to ensure consistent color when handing off assets.

We’ve been listening to our users and focusing on changes that help you work faster in After Effects. Selectable Track Mattes was a highly requested feature that saves time by letting you reuse the same matte for multiple layers. And now new keyboard shortcuts make your track mattes workflow even easier. We’ve changed Colorama so that it defaults to the native After Effects color picker, a feature request that saves clicks every time you use it. Last fall we added 50 animation presets, which After Effects artists loved. This year we will add over 50 more presets to help you create animations without having to start from scratch.

Along with improving your workflows, we’re helping you keep After Effects running in peak form. You don’t have to be an IT expert to use the new diagnostic tools for things like resetting your preferences or troubleshooting plugins.

Availability

Many of these features, such as Automatic Tone Mapping in Premiere Pro and ACES/OCIO color management in After Effects, have been released in recent updates. Other features, including Text-Based Editing and background auto save in Premiere Pro and the Properties panel in After Effects are currently in public Beta and will be released in May.

See Adobe at NAB

Visit Adobe during NAB at booth N2438 in the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 16th-19th We’ll be posting throughout the show so that you can take part, wherever you are in the world