Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 25 in Beta – New Color Management, Improved Properties Panel, Enhanced 3D Workflows, and More

IBC 2024Software News

by Mascha DeikovaSeptember 16^th, 2024

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IBC 2024 is almost coming to an end. As usual, tech companies have presented their latest updates, and Adobe is no exception. They demonstrated the biggest improvements available in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 25 in beta. One of the most awaited features is probably the new color management system that includes – for the first time – wide gamut image processing. More details follow below.

We already featured news about Adobe Firefly for video – the company’s generative AI model that will be partly integrated into Premiere Pro by the end of this year. However, there is even more workflow automation on the menu, and some of the announced improvements will definitely cast a happy smile on Premiere Pro users. They certainly did on mine.

New color management system in Adobe Premiere Pro 25

Of course, Adobe’s presentation included some updated design solutions and reports about faster software performance, but we’ll skip it and get right to the biggest highlight of the upcoming version: A new color management system in Premiere Pro. It’s true that with the development of short-form videos, editors often have to finish video projects themselves from end to end, including color grading. For Premiere Pro users, it has been a particular pain in the neck, with no convenient workflow available, especially when you have to deal with different formats on one timeline.

According to Adobe’s news, their new color management system transforms RAW and log formats from “nearly every camera” into consistent footage with automatic tone-mapping upon import – without any LUTs required. It works like this: Whenever you create a new sequence, in its standard settings, you will see a newly added tab called “Color Management.” There, you can choose a preset out of six that covers most workflows. The default one would be Rec709. However, the biggest news is for the first time, Adobe also included the Wide Gamut image processing for more dynamic range and latitude. (You will find it in the presets as well). Alternatively, users can enable it in the settings tab of Lumetri Color and start color grading directly, using all the advantages of ACEScct.

Other color updates

Not only Lumetri but also some other most-used effects in Adobe Premiere Pro are now color space aware. Additionally, when you use Dynamic Links to send clips to and from Adobe After Effects, the software will transfer the color management settings of the footage between both applications. Here is some further technical data from the presentation and a video demonstration of the new automated color management system:

New Properties panel

The next “big thing” in Adobe Premiere Pro 25 is the introduction of the renewed Properties panel. After watching the demo, I thought to myself: It seems a relatively small improvement, but actually, it can enhance the editing speed and simplify workflows drastically. So, what’s new?

• In the new software version, the Properties panel will be context-sensitive. That means it changes each time and shows you frequently needed tools based upon what type of clip you choose: video, audio, graphics, or captions. In other words, we won’t have to roam through endless panels to find controls for a specific clip type anymore.

• As you can see above, “Crop” is now a built-in effect in the Properties panel and can even be directly manipulated on the Program monitor (as shown in the screenshot below).

• Also, users can save quite a few right mouse clicks in the future because some of the most-used tools can now be accessed directly from the Properties of the video. For instance, “Adjust speed” is now a quick action bar at the tab’s bottom, and fitting your footage into the sequence size is also only a button away. (That is, if you don’t use shortcuts).
• Last but not least, Users can now adjust the properties of multiple clips simultaneously simply by selecting them in their timeline. Finally!

New 3D workflows in After Effects

Adobe After Effects users will also see a bunch of major upgrades in the upcoming software version. The main focus is in 3D workspace, making it easier for motion designers and video editors to animate and blend 3D objects seamlessly with real-world footage and 2D elements. Among the announced improvements are:

• After Effects now supports embedded 3D animations from imported 3D models (GLB or GLTF from various external animation software). This means, for example, you can preserve your keyframe animations and bone-based deformations during import and smoothly retime them in After Effects if needed.
• The new software version will also include shadow catchers, which will allow 3D objects to interact with video footage and are said to cast realistic shadows onto the environment.
• Depth mapping for 3D models is another improved feature. Users will be able to extract depth maps from Advanced 3D scenes just by precomposing. These maps encode the distance information for each pixel, enabling post-processing effects like depth-of-field blur or fog.
• Also, Adobe introduced over 30 new animation presets that can be useful for fast infographics, texts, countdowns, etc.

Head over to the official Adobe blog post to read more on the improvements in Adobe After Effects 25.

Availability of Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 25 in beta

All of the above features are available in beta and are planned to be generally introduced to Adobe’s software this fall. For more information on accessing the beta apps, please visit the Premiere Pro (beta) page or After Effects (beta) page.  

Learning the basics

Software changes come with each upgrade, but the editing basics stay the same. If you are considering switching to Premiere Pro or are just starting in this field, check out our comprehensive educational course, “Learn Everything in Premiere Pro“ on MZed.com. It offers over 25 hours of distilled expert knowledge and includes not only every aspect that you need to know about Adobe’s editing software but also countless tips and tricks for making you a better editor and storyteller.

What do you think about the new features of Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects 25 in beta? What’s the one you were waiting for the most, and why? How about the introduced color management system? Does it sound promising enough to establish your grading workflow in Premiere Pro? Let’s talk in the comments below!

Feature image source: Adobe.

Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD.