Premiere Elements 11.0 is aimed at
the iMovie-level user who isn’t yet ready for Final Cut Pro X. While,
superficially, iMovie ‘11 and Premiere Elements 11.0 look, feel and do much the
same, Adobe’s refresh adds a number of small improvements.
Elements support a wide variety of formats,
export options and easy-to-use effects. This helps you quickly edit
nice-looking videos to play on a variety of devices.
Adobe
Premiere Elements 11.0
We were able to directly import into the
Organizer items from iPhoto and Aperture libraries, complete with established
events and keywords. This is an optional extra step, since you can also
directly pull content into Elements, but it offers some useful new
capabilities, such as searching and sorting according to people and location.
Version 11.0 has a huge amount of overlap
with iMovie. You’ll find the same image stabilisation, film-look effects,
canned templates and so forth, but Adobe has taken these features and made them
simpler to use and easier to fine-tune.
The program’s interface has seen an
overhaul. Icons and text are bigger, and backgrounds are lighter. The primary
tools aren’t hidden in menus, but accessible in a row of graphical pop-up
buttons.
Premiere
Elements in this version is to make everything clearer. The buttons are bigger
and easier to differentiate, and information is better organised, leading to
fewer clicks to find what you need.
Accommodating the app’s varied user base is
a useful dual-mode interface. Quick mode offers fewer, simpler choices and
controls, and a single video layer; Expert reveals more options, choices, power
and complexity. This duality provides a nice bridge for novice users. Edits and
effects span both modes.
We were able to edit our footage, insert
Hollywood style effects with the program’s FilmLooks feature, add transitions,
and quickly get the results we wanted. In Expert mode you can access advanced
features such as Photoshop-style layer blend modes, and 99 video layers.
Beginner-friendly features include
InstantMovie, offering assorted templates for weddings, sports, outdoor events
and more. Combined with Smart Trim, you can plop some random shots on a
timeline, and the program will build something watchable.
Beginner-friendly
features include InstantMovie, offering assorted templates for weddings,
sports, outdoor events and more.
Elements provides a wealth of output
choices, including for the web, DVD, Blu-ray, AVCHD, iPhone, iPad and online
services.
This $141 consumer app isn’t a ‘life’
version of Premiere Pro. There’s no GPU acceleration, no batch rendering for
output, and you can’t open an Elements project in Premiere Pro. Some formats
require lengthy automated processing to import into the Organizer, too.
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Details
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Price: $141
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Contact: www.adobe.com
Specification
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2GB processor
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Windows XP/Vista/7/8Mac OS X 10.6 or later
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2GB RAM
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4GB drive space
Verdict
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Many of Premiere Elements’ features are
me-too, but Adobe has done an admirable job of enhancing the interface,
creating an easier point of entry to video editing.
·
Usability: 4.5/5
·
Features: 3.5/5
·
Value: 3.5/5
·
Overall: 4/5
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