Watchtower V1.2.0 – Auto-Sync Project Bins with System Folders in Premiere Pro & After Effects

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by Jakub HanApril 17^th, 2020

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Watchtower is an extension for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects that auto-syncs project bins with system folders. The extension just got a new update to version V1.2.0 that adds some useful features – the auto-sync feature works in the background, and folder selection can be made using Standard or Advanced tab.

Watchtower V1.2.0. Source: Knights of the Editing Table

Watchtower for Premiere and After Effects

In case you have never heard of Watchtower, it is an extension for Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects that auto-syncs project bins with system folders. Often project bins structure and system folders structure mirror each other. In Premiere and After Effects, after adding a new file to the system folder, it should be manually imported into a project and then moved to the relative bin. Watchtower does this automatically.

At the moment it is compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects: CC 2017, CC 2018, CC 2019, 2020 and it works on both Windows and macOS versions. As Watchtower is an extension, it needs to be opened first in order (Window/Extensions/Watchtower).

Watchtower V1.2.0 – New Features

Just recently, Watchtower got a new update to version 1.2.0. All the new features are nicely explained in the Youtube video below.

One of the updated features is the auto-sync. With this option turned on, files are auto imported to project bins once added to the watch folder. Watchtower panel can be closed and auto-sync will be working in the background. This will work even with multiple projects open.

Watchtower V1.2.0 auto-sync. Source: Knights of the Editing Table

Folder selection now has two tabs:

• Standard – here you can select which folder to import to the project. During selection Watchtower autodetects folders with image sequences inside (it should have 3 and more digits at the end of a name) and camera folders, so you can skip Advanced part and click “Ok”. (Camera folders supported: ARRIRAW, RED, AVCHD, Canon XF, Panasonic P2 (spanned clips are not supported at the moment), XDCAM-EX, XDCAM-HD, Sony HDV, Sony a7S)
• Advanced – If special adjustments are needed, here you can set: “S” – import image sequences, “F” – flatten sub-folders (useful for camera cards), or “R” – use relative path (useful for templates).

Watchtower V1.2.0 folders. Source: Knights of the Editing Table

In settings, users can select which file extensions should be imported. In After Effects it is possible to choose how to import Photoshop and Illustrator files: As footage, composition or composition with retained layers sizes.

Price and Availability

The latest version of Watchtower is currently available online for $20. You can go ahead to the Knights of the Editing Table website to download it.

What do you think of Watchtower? Do you have any experience with this extension? Do you do a lot of post production work in Premiere Pro or After Effects? Let us know in the comment section below the article.