Starting with extension/plugin development

[Elisey25089226mg29]

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for a definitive way to programmatically edit my videos. After combing numerous documents, HTML pages, this community, random blogs and whatnot, I've come across CEP, ExtendScript and C++ plugins and I'm not sure how to do what I want 🙂 

Basically, I would like to achieve the following:
1) Go through all the clips on the timeline and feed the keyframes into a Python script to detect objects using OpenCV

2) Cut out all the frames within a certain duration of the frames where the script detects something

3) Add transitions between the clips

4) Export the timeline using specified export settings

I understand it would probably be better for me personally to preprocess the files outside of PPro and just import the clips afterwards, but I would like to make an installable plugin/extension that others can use as well. Should I develop a C++ plugin, or a CEP extension, or what exactly is the proper (or only) way? Or, put differently, what do all the people selling "plugins" for PPro do to develop them?

I'm not a regular Premiere user, so please excuse my lack of knowledge, I just want a way to programmatically edit my videos but still be able to make edits in Premiere if necessary.

Best regards,

Elisey

[Dan McSweeney · Accepted solution]

Hi Elisey,

We're glad you found this forum. I think I can point you at the correct resources to get started.

PPro supports CEP (Common Extensibility Platform) panels, which are basically web pages with two super powers: 

1. They can access the local file system, and 

2. They can drive PPro's ExtendScript API. 

Overview: 

General CEP page:  https://github.com/Adobe-CEP

A Fancy CEP sample panel that shows off everything possible: 

https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/CEP-Resources/tree/master/CEP_11.x/Samples/CEP_HTML_Test_Extension-10.0

I think, Elisey, that this is going to be the most useful place for you to begin; the PProPanel, while unrepentantly ugly, shows everything in PPro's ExtendScript API:

https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/Samples/tree/master/PProPanel

Follow the steps in the PProPanel ReadMe, to set up your dev environment.

Here are a few PPro specific things that I think are specific to what you wan to do:

PPro supports the manipulation of clip markers (associated with a specific piece of media) and sequence markers. 

Here's PProPanel playing with clip markers: 

https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/Samples/blob/5490c33ac8355ba394c693deb10414553b0a5685/PProPanel/jsx/PPR...

Here's PProPanel playing with sequence markers: 

https://github.com/Adobe-CEP/Samples/blob/5490c33ac8355ba394c693deb10414553b0a5685/PProPanel/jsx/PPR...

You can get/set markers to your heart's content, based on whatever you like. Among the first questions you're likely to have: 

+ PPro assigns each marker a GUID, so you can tell whether your panel is encountering a 'known' marker, that the user has moved to a different time.

+ No, there's no way to add an extra field to PPro's markers. If you'd like to inject unique identifiers of your own into markers, the best approach available today is putting a GUID into the marker comments.

Here is the publlished API for Premiere Pro:

https://ppro-scripting.docsforadobe.dev/

Panel distribution: 

You can distribute your panel, free or paid, through the Adobe Exchange store. This will make your extension available to every Creative Cloud user. 

Open your Creative Cloud App and go to Stock and Marketplace > Plugins > All Plugins > Premiere Pro

For users who operate disconnected from Creative Cloud (which definitely happens), you can make a signed compressed .zxp file for distribution, and use ZXPInstaller.com or Anastasiy's Extension Manager to install them.

The info above should get you started. I propose that you set up a dev system, play with the sample panels (particularly PProPanel), and reach out for help as needed.

-Dan

[MyerPj]

Nice Dan, thanks! 🙂