SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: Adobe Systems’ worldwide product evangelist Jason Levine descended on Johannesburg’s The Forum (The Campus) on 19 June to proclaim the word about the recent release of Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6) software to hundreds of local editors, graphic designers and resellers.
Addressing his “fellow Adobians’, Levine stressed that CS6 has removed the frustration out of video production.
“With this latest release Adobe has done away with all the obstructions editors experience in pre-production, production and post-production. For the past three years we’ve been meeting with our customers at every level – from broadcasters to post-production facilities to small editing companies – to ascertain what they didn’t like about Adobe products.
“Feedback revealed that customers weren’t keen on the Adobe Premier interface. They didn’t find it user friendly enough so for many this was a stumbling block. Furthermore they indicated that Adobe’s keyboard shortcuts didn’t conform to the standards of other non-linear editors (NLEs). Feedback from broadcasters revealed that audio was also an issue.
“With CS6 all these problems have been resolved and we can boast a newly designed interface. Adobe workflow can now be integrated in native file format with other NLEs. Adobe was the first NLE to go native with file formats,’ said Levine.
He pointed out Adobe After Effects incorporates Dynamic Link Technology which means editors can run live without having to render. Consequently the user can animate and create as fast as desired. It’s also possible to start editing on Final Cut Pro or Avid and then export the job into Adobe Premier, do all effects in real time and finish with Adobe encoding.
The CS6 product line includes powerful new releases of Photoshop, InDesign, lllustrator, Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash Professional and other products as well as four suite versions – Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium; Creative Suite 6 Design Standard; Creative Suite 6 Production Premium; and Creative Suite 6 Master Collection.
Adobe Creative Cloud, which will shortly be available in South Africa under the name Adobe Creative Cloud Team Ready, is a subscription-based offering. It is a hub for making, sharing and delivering creative work and is centered around CS6.
Top new features across the CS6 product line include: new levels of performance with tools that take advantage of Adobe Mercury Graphics functionality, allowing users to go from ideas to finished work faster than ever before; enhanced user interfaces that vastly simplify workflows, so users can focus on their content and achieve results quicker; new capabilities that streamline the creation of responsive content, ensuring website and apps look great across virtually all screen sizes and form factors; and new science, integrated into imaging and video apps, makes previously impossible tasks suddenly possible.
Adobe Creative Cloud membership delivers access to download and install all CS6 applications, new HTML5 desktop products – Adobe Muse 1.0 and Adobe Edge preview – and deep integration with Adobe Touch Apps. It also offers easy storage and sharing of content across desktop, mobile devices and the cloud, and integrated website publishing and hosting.
Levine noted that Adobe’s acquisition of Iridas has resulted in a new 32-bit end to end product, Adobe Speed Grade. “This is a real-time, GPU optimised colour grading package that works with a native workflow and which can accommodate all format such as Phantom, RED, etc. Prelude is our new ingest logging tool.’
According to Levine, CS6 was used on the 3D box office hit The Avengers. “They used After Effects, Illustrator and Photo Shop on the film. CS6 is being used a lot by broadcasters in the UK, including the BBC.’
Adobe South Africa’s Simon Bromfield commented: “Adobe’s mantra is to change the world through digital revolution. I recently travelled to Nigeria and other African countries and saw people in coffee shops using Photoshop and Adobe Ideas on their cell phones, laptops and iPads. Adobe products change how people engage with digital content.’
Levine’s South African visit was part of the final leg of Adobe’s CS6 global tour together with colleagues Paul Trani and Terry White. Report by Joanna Sterkowicz
