I am really enjoying using Premiere Pro CC 2014. If you had told me 3 years ago that I would be singing the praises of Premiere, I would have laughed and said no way. However, after having fully made the switch and having edited a good number of projects with the CS6 and CC versions, I am a convert. It is now my preferred choice of NLE’s and the more I use it, the more I like it. I really like how it handles file based media like P2 and XDCAM natively and can even handle H.264 media. I recently worked on a project which I will elaborate on in a subsequent post, that had a very short turnaround time, and I don’t think I would have been able to complete it as quickly as I did with Avid or Final Cut Pro 7 (I am still not using FCP X). The footage was shot on multiple formats, including XDCAM, ProRes, and some footage I shot using my 5D Mark III. I did transcode the H.264 files but the rest was just imported natively and I was quickly able to start editing. The slowest part of the process was copying the files off the cards.
I also like the integration of the other CC programs like Photoshop and After Effects and I am learning how to use Audition for smoothing out the sound. Media Encoder has replaced Compressor for me – it’s great to cue up an output and keep working in Premiere and it also works well for transcoding batches of files and making multiple versions. I still like Handbrake but I’m using it less and less as I get more proficient with AME. While Davinci Resolve is my color correcting app of choice, I am also learning SpeedGrade so I can take advantage of its connection with the other programs.
Another plus of the CC bundle is that with the 2 seats I get with my subscription (which I really think is a great pricing model despite what others say), I have it on My Mac and on My Dell PC and my settings are always in sync. The Creative Cloud software has been a great upgrade for my Dell system, which has 2 NVIDIA cards and accelerates those programs with CUDA.
Premiere is also gaining reputation as a serious contender to Avid’s lock on feature films. David Fincer recently posted his film “Gone Girl” with Premiere. Here is a link to a Studio Daily article about some aspects of the workflow: http://www.studiodaily.com/2014/08/inside-gone-girls-6k-review-and-editorial-pipeline/
I’m sure we will hear about more projects using Adobe Creative Cloud.