Discuss the Premiere Pro 22.3 UI changes: Import, Export, and Header Bar

[MikeDy]

I'm struggling too, this UI update seems a step backwards requiring more clicks etc to do the same tasks... I also can't find options to do layouts that worked very well for certain tasks. Whats happened to the caption layout for instance?

If I wanted a Premiere rush like inetrface i'd use rush... This is professional workstation software why are you dumbing it down... Shades of Final cut 10...

[dancrutchfield]

I agree that something about the export window needs to change or a legacy option needs to be added. This issue affects me most with versioning. Nearly every other program, production software or not, allows you to see other files in the destination folder when exporting or saving. This new export window adds an extra, unnecessary step to what was previously a very simple process.

I work in TV where speed matters. Opening media encoder to kick out a small file, or having to navigate to the destination folder to see what versions are in there feels like a convoluted waste of time. It can really throw you out of rythm when you're trying to plow through a lot of content. 

[Averdahl]

The thing that annoys me the most is that the new Import/Export is full screen and that the UI designer has spread out everything forcing the end user to mouse from corner to corner in the UI all the time. With any screen it´s annoying and the larger the screen the more of a serious design flaw it is.

For example:

When you create a new project you give it a name up left. When you choose a folder you click in the column to the right of the project name. But for creating the project one must mouse down to the down right. This thing to spreding out buttons for no reason other than OCD is bad. Why not place the Create button to the right of the column were you choose the folder? Then creating a new project would be like 1, 2, 3. Now we see several post were users don´t even manage to create a new project. This is bad design defined there and was mentioned during the beta but the ego of the UI designers won, and we will not see any change. I have never seen a UI decision, or any other big decision been changed eventhough it was hevaily criticized.

Remember when the color around active panels changed? They never changed it back nor did we get a Preference option to choose what color the individual wanted. 

[R Neil Haugen]

Very good points. With that MASSIVE screen waste in this panel, there's no reason the create button should be anywhere but where you suggest.

I'll be back in the Adobe booth tomorrow, and I'll bring this up with the engineers. Along with about 7-8 other things of course.

Neil

[Phi.Def]

Averdahl, Exactly!

My big UHD display works fine for editing because I can save my workspaces so that the things I need are centred on the screen, and other stuff that I rarely use is out on the peripheries. WHY ON EARTH can't I save my export workspace? Everything I need is way off in opposite peripheries (filename top left, export button (which must be clicked rather than selected by pressing enter) bottom right). An absolutely useless big preview window takes up all the space in my central, frequently used area!

If I resize panels in the export interface, they all revert to the extremely inconvenient defaults every single time I switch back to it.

I have to physically move my chair from side to side every time I want to export. Why isn't this interface a regular customizable workspace with movable/resizable panels with export settings I frequently adjust already twirled down?

[JonesVid]

Fully agree with comment from MikeDy that releasing new workflow changes mid way through a specific software release cycle is a big ' no no'.

In my R&D days in real time comms  ( sounds like an old guy doesn't he .... ?) seriously though, this would have been a big 'NO NO' to make these sorts of changes.

You only make these types of user interface changes on the next major release.

I don't really take on board the Beta release argument either I'm afraid as if you are hard at work with Release X you don't have spare  time to mess about with Beta release Y just to see what has been fiddled with.

so .... Dear Premiere Team - Can we request that in future these sorts of changes are made on a major release only and secondly you test the software a bit more throughly before releasing it?.

I thought it a bit strange that the programme I was watching on Netflix last night suddenly stopped after around 34 minutes .....

[R Neil Haugen]

That's the way it's been, I know. But in 2022, you're asking for something that's ... not gonna happen, sorry. Software development practices have changed.

One of the main points Adobe had for going to subscription was that they could and would be rolling out changes as they were deemed ready. There isn't a solid line typically between new 'major versions' and updates. This was entirely within that expectation.

And this isn't just Adobe ... for example, BlackMagic's Resolve, the 17.4 'update', a ton of major users felt that should clearly have been a version change as it had so many changes both in features and to underlying/expected behaviors. Talking with the BM engineers down here at NAB, if they've got something they think is ready to roll out, it's going out.

And your comments that you're not interested in testing the public beta but want them to test more before release are actually completely contradictory. The entire reason they went TO the public beta was to get more real-life testing done on a wider array of hardware/media/effects/workflows. The world as it exists has far too many variables in all those parameters for them to be able to test everything to perfection in-house.

Which is why the beta is public. They want testing, and they take feedback from users on the public beta forum. And participate over there also.

Neil

[MyerPj]

Yes, in 2022. 

Who designs a full screen essentially modal dialog in 2022? App builders maybe, but not full on software. It's an intrusive thing, and who wants a timeline full of media from some folder you select when you make the long journey to click 'Create', just to have to delete that sequence or the auto content. This seems like a feature for the 'Camtasia' crowd. I'm OK with that, have it on a 'Simplified' option or workspace, call it something cool, like 'Quick Mode', and leave the perfectly fine options they had as a selectable preference. If the new way is that much better, we'll hear comments around here and can move to the simplified, er "Quick Mode" format.

[R Neil Haugen]

Let's see ...Resolve has an export page. Yea, full screen ... wow! In 2022!  Just ... noting.

I'm not sure whether your comments are mostly about the Import, Export, or both. So it's hard to reply.

I'll just say that there are a lot of users that are already using the new import page and liking it. Far more options are being used than were ever used from the old "create project" dialog. I can see how for quite a few, that new import page is all they need.

I ain't one of them, and don't think you are either. So I'll simply do what I did before, Name, Location, Create. No change there for me.

Except that a bunch of users are getting a set of options they find very useful. So ... I'll not use it, but I'm not gonna demand it not be there for those who do.

The new export page to me ... in concept ... is so much a mimic of Resolve's export page.

In use ... after you clean out the silly included starred presets, and build your own list of detailed ones, it works fine. If you don't like it, queue to Me.

And stuff still gets done.

Neil

[Averdahl]

Let's see ...Resolve has an export page. Yea, full screen ... wow! In 2022!  Just ... noting.

By @R Neil Haugen

Yes, but that does not mean that Premiere Pro needs it as well or that it is good/better or the right way to develop the UI in Premiere Pro.

In use ... after you clean out the silly included starred presets, and build your own list of detailed ones, it works fine. If you don't like it, queue to Me.

By @R Neil Haugen

Yes, until you do a re-install or wipe the Preferences and it goes back to the default setting and one need to start all over again to clean out the presets... That´s one major flaw in that design. Hopefully it will be enhanced in four years or so.

[R Neil Haugen]

On the first point, I was just noting that the major competitor uses the same paradigm. So ... "in 2022" ... it seems that this is done, in practical reality. And above all, I'm a practical guy.

And to your second point ... well, gee, that's exactly like having extensive personalized keyboard shortcuts, extensive effects presets, and other such customizations ... like I have. And I'm feeling confident that you have them also.

So this is different ... um ... how?

I'm not arguing the new is better ... I wouldn't have asked for/voted for/preferred it to anything including the original. Just that it's here, it's workable for most things if you apply it as it's designed to be used.

Like everything else in this complicated app.

Neil

[Heathenlamb]

As I have posted this numberous times in other threads. I'll make this the last. The new Exporter is beyond frsutrating to use.

[Baffy19]

I look at users' questions regarding certain new features in Premiere and sometimes wonder what people want to configure and work with just one click. So that he pressed and the program gave the result such as he wants. Dear users, one extra click will not affect your productivity.

[Andy 1968]

I agree the Header Bar is a waste of screen real estate. The programmers should have realized that as well as the project leader. 

One could argue that most of the new GUI changes works about as efficient as the old GUI. Why make changes if the new GUI is not at least double, triple or quadruple in efficiency and ease of use? Shouldn't the new GUI be streamlined and use less screen real estate instead of using more screen real estate? Did the programmers simply make a few changes to the GUI in order to get a pay check as opposed to making Premiere Pro better? 

Why not make all the transitions and filters GPU accelerated? Why not fix the bugs as opposed to making mediocre changes to the GUI?  

[Untold Entertainment Inc.]

Why not go back through the list of bugs and feature requests that have
boatloads of votes and develop those instead? Like this one, where
frequently used effects (and their sub-settings) can be mapped to keyboard
shortcuts:

https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911233-premiere-pro/suggestions/33844213-keyboard-shortcut-...

(And don't talk to me about Excalibur. i'm already paying through the nose
for Creative Suite. i shouldn't have to rely on expensive third party
plugins for highly requested features that were initially requested four
years ago.)

[R Neil Haugen]

Hey, everyone's mileage always varies. I get that. Like everyone else, I am one user. And no one else is like me. And the bit about bugs lasting for versions, totally with you there. But part of life is the attitude we bring.

Every one of us approaches and accomplishes video post tasks differently than anyone else. For me, that's part of the fascination .... the attitudes and approaches. One of my big joys at live events like NAB and on forums is simply soaking in the range of tools, workflows, approaches, attitudes, opinions.

And I know a number of editing people feel like you do. They don't want to pay one more cent than they have to. They want anything they use to do everything they could ever possibly need.

But everyone does things differently, right? Which makes designing an app to do EVERYTHING well a bit ... um ... impossible, really. What you want in an effect, and how it works, will totally be um ... disliked, to put it politely ... by another user. Because we're all that different in needs/wants/workflows.

I just spent the last few days here in Vegas at NAB. Spent time talking not only with the Adobe supers & engineers, but BlackMagic/Resolve, Maxon/RedGiant, DigitalAnarchy & others. Many people I've known for years, some I've just met. And of course, got to talk shop with a ton of "users" people from all over the world, doing anything you can think of.

I also work with colorists from around the world daily. Most are of course based in Resolve, but some in Filmlight. Which both have a ton of effects for colorists to use built into the app.

But: I don't know any colorists that don't have at least one of the major "effects" suites also. Most have pretty much everything out there. Whether they're in the "Hollywood" major motion picture workflow, with a big fancy color suite to work in. Or doing local ads & music vids in a rather less glamorous location.

I work mostly in Premiere, some in Resolve. Pretty basic stuff, really, but I want it to look decent. Even just for working my piddly stuff, it is very useful and productive to have the Maxon/RedGiant Universal suite for Premere/Ae. And, as I work heavily in BRAW, the Autokroma BRAW plugin, plus AfterCodecs, Excaliber, and a couple others. Oh, Digital Anarchy's Beauty Box and deFlicker ...

Those tools provide an immense array of additional capabilities, and the smallish staff of Premiere can work on the central app rather than working on incredibly detailed effects. That's the model of the industry, really. Not even Resolve nor Baselight with their extensive effects included expect their users to work only in-app without plugins.

I look at someone who chooses to be working in Filmlight ... you buy a turn-key setup and pay fees. The computer you buy is either the $12,000, $15000, or $18,000 one from Baselight. Comes with only Filmlight installed, and you do not add anything to that computer but plugins. Plus you pay I think around $1500 annually for updates. Yea, it's stable ... but rather spendy, right? The folks working in it love it.

And of course ... they all buy plugin suites to add to the tools and effects Baselight includes.

And my colorist/vfx buds listen to editors gripe about having to pay for a $75 production aid like Excalibur and roll their eyes. In their world, a usable production tool for $75 is a cheapo.

  A partner of mine is a major VFX and audio guy, also. My partner has about every vfx plugin and audio plugin/modeler/whatever you can think of. Why? Because all have bits that make the work better, farther "out there", and faster, than working in any of the apps he uses by itself. When he found I didn't have four different audio DAWs, a couple Midi boards, and a ton of audio ... stuff ... on my desktop, he was shocked. How do I even work without them?

Different approach, eh?

We, who mostly do editing, can get by with a lot cheaper setup than those in color/audio/vfx/graphics, sure. Just understand we're the cheapo side of video post. And, understand the "industry model" always has been, and probably always will, include much added functionality through plugins. No matter the app you use, no matter the workflow.

Your approach to reality is always, of course, your choice. I looked at the costs of some of these things at first, went ... yowza! No Way! ... then finally plunged in.

It gets stuff done. It's the way video post is really designed. It works ... now. In the end, I'm a practical guy really.

Neil

[Untold Entertainment Inc.]

Just trying to follow your meandering logic here... you're saying that
because certain people get paid more than me, and are not opposed to
spending lots of money on plugins and equipment, that i shouldn't want the
Premiere Pro team to add a long-requested feature mapping effects to
keyboard shortcuts?

[R Neil Haugen]

Nope. Don't know where you got any of that idea, really. I was just noting that:

a) There's a big difference in expectations between many editors and the rest of the video post biz.

b) There's a clear Reality as to how the entire video post "ecosystem" works. And probably will continue.

That is all.

Did you note that I started out with the exact same expectation/hope as you? I sure did.

And it took me a few visits to NAB and a lot of discussions with everyone from engineers and plugin designers and various users across all aspects of video post, to really learn that Reality is ... that this is the way the system is built.

How each of us reacts to Reality is up to us. It took me awhile to get past the entire sticker shock thing. But when I finally added a thing or two, well ... as noted, I'm a practical guy. What works now is what works.

In the end, all of these things, the apps, plugins, hardware ... nothing but tools. Fancy hammers. Use what works for you now, and just get on with Life.

And please, keep posting here on wanting things fixed, added, or changed. We are all different, everyone of us. And the more opinions and workflows discussed, the better. Just understand we are also only one user at a time. Don't get upset because others don't share your thoughts. Expect them not to, and take in the variety of approaches.

I don't know anyone who works like I do. Don't expect to every hear someone who does.

Neil

[Untold Entertainment Inc.]

Neil, i understand from these posts that you're proud of yourself for
attending NAB. And that you like to capitalize "Reality" for some reason.
Thank you for bestowing your blessing upon me to keep posting here about
the changes i'd like to see, but your magnanimity comes across as
condescension.

Adobe has a feature request forum (that doubles as a bug report tool - a
very bad idea) where people can upvote requests. It is supposed to give the
development team an idea of their efforts are best spent. But it's clear
that the tool is just a way for the company to placate users, because
popular requests are routinely ignored, while features like this project
start screen that everyone here is complaining about get developed instead.

Did these panels come about because they were a highly requested feature in
the forum? i haven't checked, but i somehow doubt it.

[R Neil Haugen]

You're welcome to your assumptions as everyone is. I might suggest looking at assumptions as possibilities rather than hard fact.

And perhaps don't worry about assigning motivation to others. Again, assume possibilities rather than assign as facts.

Like saying I must be proud of being at NAB. That assumption speaks far more about you than me. As it has nothing whatever to do with me. You want to create fiction about me, feel free.

I mentioned meeting with people to give context and highlight *possible* veracity. Period.

I'm not passing on the freaky stupid assumptions and claims and statements so common on the web. I get primary sources.

Let's look at your feelings on the UserVoice having both bug & features on it. Versus their experience. As they once had a split system.

How did it work?

Half the bugs were actually wanting feature changes. Nearly half the feature changes actually highlighted a bug.

So they always had to have the engineers log every one in and reclassify them.

As they already HAD to read and reclassify, they didn't see any use in separate entrance portals.

Not at all fitting your assumptions, but hey.

And note every post gets read & classified plus assigned to the correct section for perusal. And every post gets on the collated list sent up to the all-important M&E people. Marketing and Experience.

M&E is outside and above product teams. It apparently is vastly larger than product teams at Adobe. And M&E works by metrics.

How much users actually use each option is noted, without identifiable data. So yes, M&E gets an understanding of app usage.

But as someone who's been through several in-person and online "interviews" with M&E types, they're  ... unique individuals. Who study data points.

And they know nothing about how these apps work. So they take the collated UV data, user use data, and quite a few interviews and surveys data, then create a plan for an app. And they do a LOT of targeted surveys and interviews. I've been through ones that went over an hour.

When M&E produces their budgets/plans, the app managers get input on the plan. Note I said ... input. Not control.

So in reality, they pay close attention, both in the various teams and M&E folks, to the UV posts. As *part* of the data used to make decisions.

But they don't react in a way most of us would expect. I find their structure baffling, personally. And maybe half insane.

But it is way different than any user including myself would ever expect.

Having M&E types with no real product experience lay out budgets and road maps to which the product teams have "input" ... wow. That makes no sense to me. Or I doubt to you.

But try to explain that to upper management who see user numbers growing under this system. Which is based on graphable data points.

Ain't no condescension here. Just reality, and natural differences between humans. Which is something I think their system doesn't really understand either.

Neil

[goran-k11]

New UI is sluggish and sometimes unresponsive when switching between import, edit and export tab. Rename export tab to "Send to media encoder". You will save us one button click.

Sometimes i get the felling that these changes are Adobe trying to justify it`s subscription model. "Hey! Let`s give them something new, like new UI, they will be happy!"

We are not.

[Mo Moolla]

In a nutsell V22.3 is, for me personally not a big improvement at all.

I do NOT like the new import screen. I actually went back a version because it actually annoys me and breaks my concentration when I am starting a new project.

ADDITION:

We do NOT need a screen with huge thumbnails of demo media files greeting us each time we begin a new project. Since we are comparing NLE's, does Avid have this unnecessary feature? No. Why? Because its layout is clean and to the point. Don't try to fix what's not broken Adobe. 

Work on your performance amd stability issues and leave the UI for later.

The header bar seems to be Adobe's idea of implmenting something "fresh" but all they did was add an unnecessary feature and called it an update. Why? I have no idea.

The new exporter is, in, one word, horrid. While I understand that Adobe wanted to make the UI look new and fresh it actually is a step backward. And scrolling through the myriad of codec options and then having to "favourite" the ones you most use. Oh dear me, when I saw the favourite stars I thought I was in a NPLE (Non professional linear editor" lol. Reminded me so much of Lightroom I uninstalled and went back a version haha.

When remix was released, oooh, now that was a biggie for me.

When speech to text was released, now we were talking.

Great job on these ones Adobe.

But 22.3...damp squib. Not my cup of tea at all.

I saw this version at a pre-release and immediatley told Neil and Francis I hated it.

But...oh well

Mo

[MyerPj]

That's one of the best responses. Exactly, it breaks your concentration. The BIG listing of folders does not select the project folder, which has it's own selection, and  tiny and less obvious. Weird, plus that far away 'Create' (hey mom, I'm creating) button. I'm pretty sure whoever designed this screen was using a laptop in a corner... hey, jimmy, go make a screen... 🙂 (come on Neil, you don't need to tell me where I'm wrong on this one again...)

[R Neil Haugen]

Never said you're wrong on the placement of the Create button!

Without being able to either tab directly to it or just hit enter, you have to grab the mouse and go to the farthest point on the screen.

Yes, that's stupid. Should be Name, Location, Create right in a row at top.

And no, I doubt I'll ever use the import options on that page.

But then, I never used the other options on the old create a project screen either.

I ignore and/or look away from a number of to me stupid things in Resolve also. And Mo ... I think he actually LIKES the Ae UI!

😉

[Mo Moolla]

The AE Ui hasnt changed much and guess why?

Because it works. and it works well.

VFX artists do not like radical UI changes.

Maxon came in for some major flack when they launched C4D R25 with a massively redesigned UI and a new type of file browser.

They did however give the users the option to choose previous version workspaces and settings which allowed them to slowly transition into the new version.

And THIS is what Adobe should have done.

Allowed for a switch to the previous versions UI while being able to toggle to 22.3.

Unfortuantly the develoment cycle team didn't have the foresight to feel this was necessary i.e if they even considered it at all.

I see Adobe losing users in a big way just because if this version.

Mo

[R Neil Haugen]

With Adobe, never forget the M&E.

They do not know the apps at all. They study metrics on how many users using X item/UI point do Y. No clue what X and Y are.

Plus they interview and survey users. I've done those both live and online in Zoom type presentations. And when I respond with "Neither A nor B, because how would I know that as when I'm using this tool I'm looking here? I would expect this behavior instead. " they go ... "oh, well, wow, that's useful data."

Wow. Their knowledge of the app tools and workflows is as theoretical as their view of other humans seems to be.

And those people, from their theoretical knowledge of data points, decide the budgets and road maps. With product team managers allowed to have input.

And upper management says "Our user bases are all growing, this is great!"

And the much of the user base says "Um, what ... ?"

Neil