Where is Premiere Elements heading?

[pixel_a_ted]

I've been using Premiere Elements 15 in Expert Mode for a while and was interested to see what Adobe might do with the next version. I'm frankly disappointed with PE 2018 - the changes seem mainly focused on more automation of effects for the casual user and "smart" this or that, things I'm not interested in. As 15 was my first experience with PE, I was wondering what people who may have more of a history with the program anticipate for the future. Might Adobe make  changes to the tools and processing next time around that would be of interest to a more serious user, or is this the future of the program, in which case I might have to start looking elsewhere? Thanks.

[Peru Bob]

I see it heading more towards "automatic" editing.  It is a consumer application and they are trying to expand the customer base to the most casual users, in my opinion.

If your computer is powerful enough, you might want to give the trial of Premiere Pro a try. Keep in mind, however, that the Premiere Pro trial is only seven days.

[Bill Sprague]

Adobe has a wide menu of video editing tools.  Each moves forward and changes seem to be based on user use and demand.

-Premiere Pro CC is the king.

-Premiere Elements, in the Expert mode is full of capabilities, but misses on a few things like multi camera. 

-Photoshop CC will edit video

-Lightroom will make videos but it is not obvious how to do it. 

-Project Rush was unveiled this this week.  It aims at minimizing the shoot to post online time.

In recent months I've worked on learning Premiere Pro.  The workflow is different, not better.  There are more tools, but none that are compelling to use. 

My question to the OP is what changes "would be of interest to a more serious user"?

[pixel_a_ted]

> My question to the OP is what changes "would be of interest to a more serious user"?

As a relatively new user of PE, starting with version 15, I don't know what I don't know - I assumed over time that more of the tools from the pro version would migrate down to PE, maybe more transitions, color correction tools, etc. I don't know when something like motion tracking was added, but that's an example of a signifiant new tool that I would have welcomed from a previous version of PE.

[Bill Sprague · Accepted solution]

pixel_a_ted  wrote

....I don't know what I don't know - ....

I started with version 9 and didn't know anything about video editing.  As moved forward I found more of the Premiere Elements tools.  To this point, I've never discovered anything I actually wanted to do that was not in Premiere Elements.  My style tends toward keeping it simple with out distractions.   There are more than enough transitions, effects and controls (including color correction) for anything I will likely do.

I do have access to Premiere Pro and have begun learning it through a course on Linda.com.  There are differences.  One is that they are entirely different.  Many assume that Elements is the same with reduced feature sets.  Observing the structure and interface, I would have to conclude that, at the coding level, they are not even related.  They are different products for different markets and purposes.

Premiere Pro does have some things that professionals need.  They include multi camera tools, color grading with LUTs (to set moods), a motion graphics (fancy titles) system, editing with "segments", synchronization of audio tracks and more.   All of these are complex compared to Elements. 

The primary lesson I'm learning is that the complexity gets in my way of getting completed videos finished and shared with family and friends.   Even though I'm enjoying seeing how the professional stuff works, I continue to use Elements.

I'm not saying Premiere Elements is the "best" video editor.   My suggestion to video beginners is to pick one, stick with it, learn it and make videos.  I've tried some of the other under $100 programs.  Each has to be learned.  Nobody can learn enough about all of them to begin to make an expert opinion. 

If you can describe what you hope or plan to do with video, I would be happy to make suggestions. 

For now, I strongly suggest you take the Premiere Elements course on Linda.com.  There is a free trial period, many libraries provide access and if you have to pay, it is not much.  Please take the course so you can see a glimpse of what you don't yet know.

Bill

[pixel_a_ted]

Okay thanks. Will look into that.

[Bill Sprague]

Not to "beat a dead horse"....  It has been a few years, but I flailed around with a couple video editors for months.  Like you, I didn't know what I didn't know.  I couldn't figure out what to learn about the process of video editing itself, let alone which editor to use. 

I tripped over the Linda course by accident and took it.  Two days later I felt like I knew what I was doing.  A few weeks later I made this video:  Shooting a 1776 Ferguson Rifle on Vimeo   6500 people have watched it!!

Bill