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Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Discussions concerning Premiere Elements version 1 - 4.

Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby George Tyndall » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:06 pm

Background: Like some of the other members of this board, I was intimidated by the prospect of moving from PE3.0 to 4.0.

I'd read Chuck and Steve's "In a Snap" books, but I still found PE2.0, then 3.0, difficult in the sense that neither seemed at all intuitive. I found myself repeatedly referring to the books, even to accomplish seemingly simple tasks.

But then, as I posted in the Hi-Def Forum, after discovering that the "tryout" version of Premiere Pro CS3 does not actually allow one to "try it out" for the production of a DVD, I decided to download the trial version of PE4.0, for no other reason than to determine whether it produced a higher-quality SD DVD from one of my files than did PE3.0.

Result: Not only did I discover that 4.0 produces a DVD that looks AT LEAST as good as one produced by "downconverting" from my Canon HV30 but also I discovered that PE4.0 is what would some would refer to as "the Holy Grail." that is, an entity that is capable of producing miracles.

Comment: Can you say INTUITIVE?

Don't be intimidated by the fact that 4.0 looks VASTLY DIFFERENT from its predecessors, because the fundamental reason is that this version is VASTLY MORE INTUITIVE=VASTLY EASY TO USE.

With Premiere Elements 4.0, Adobe has made abundantly clear that thIS company's lofty goal is no less than to CONVERT THE MASSES to the point of view, regarding the creation of videos, that is expressed by Steve Grisetti when he describes this task in clearly reverential terms. (To see Steve's video, go to te post by Ron on Sep. 24 2007 entitled "Steve's PE4 Promo Video.")

This photographer completely agrees with those who believe that putting the skills to make professional-quality videos in the hands of the masses is a goal of mind-boggling potential, especially now that we have the internet and, for example, You Tube. The reason is that IF ONE HAS A MESSAGE, THE WAY TO "GET IT OUT THERE" NOWADAYS IS WITH MOVIES, not books, magazines and newspapers. But enough of the soap box. :-({|=

If you're still not sure you want to spend a penny less than $100 for PE4.0, then download the trial version at http://www.adobe.com but be forewarned: If you are a person who is interested in taking your videos to a significantly higher level ("kicking them up a notch," as Emeril would say), then, once you have "tried it out," you are not going to rest until you too own this remarkable piece of software.
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby Bobby » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:14 pm

My only hope is that they DON'T CHANGE IT AGAIN!

I have gone through user interface changes three times now - 2 to 3 to 4. I am comfortable with 4 and don't want to see too much change. Let's hope 5 doesn't bring much interface change, only added function.
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby Chuck Engels » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:26 pm

I am just hoping that they leave the advanced options available and don't make it more difficult on the advanced users.
I understand making it easier for beginners, but you too will someday be saying the same thing George ;)

Making the program easier and more intuitive can sometimes be harzardous for those of us that know the program very well.
If it can be made even more helpful to new users, but not harm the more experienced, then I am all for it :)

By the way, you can get v4 at Amazon for just over $50
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UK6OUK?tag ... M6K6JQGWX&
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby George Tyndall » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:35 pm

bseidel wrote:My only hope is that they DON'T CHANGE IT AGAIN!

I have gone through user interface changes three times now - 2 to 3 to 4. I am comfortable with 4 and don't want to see too much change. Let's hope 5 doesn't bring much interface change, only added function.


I know what you mean. I was SO VERY DISAPPOINTED when I saw that PSE5.0 lacked some of my favorite functions in PSE4.0, including the very popular (for my clients) ability to produce Calendar Pages.

I'm so wedded to PSE4.0 that I recently bought an unopened extra copy on Amazon.com

Who knows, it may become a collectors' item? :-
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby George Tyndall » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:40 pm

Chuck Engels wrote:By the way, you can get v4 at Amazon for just over $50
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UK6OUK?tag ... M6K6JQGWX&


That is an incredible bargain, to be sure.

But as I'm sure you already know, a 1-year membership on muvipix for about the same price is, as bargains go, second to none. :-$
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby Chuck Engels » Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:44 pm

George Tyndall wrote:
Chuck Engels wrote:By the way, you can get v4 at Amazon for just over $50


That is an incredible bargain, to be sure.
But as I'm sure you already know, a 1-year membership on muvipix for about the same price is, as bargains go, second to none. :-$


I like the way you think George \:D/
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby jag32266 » Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:07 pm

One change I really hope they do.

Make the user able to change the color of the interface. PE4 is black (charcoal whatever) and VERY DIFFICULT to see what the text is under or on that color. What idiot user dreamed this up I don't know but to this day I find it extremely hard to deal with and about the only important thing that does bother me.

Actually I was hoping Adobe would see fit to fix this with an update :(

I'm a long time user of Adobe and really can't believe they did this with any fore thought.

Inexcusable in my view. ](*,)
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby sidd finch » Thu Jul 31, 2008 6:55 pm

I am just not a fan of 4.0. It is a good program and everything works well, it just does not have the right feel. I agree with Chuck. I find it incredibly ironic that as creative as the software lets you be, it is just as rigid not letting the user customize the look and feel that they would like.

I hope 5.0 goes back to the 3.0 feel. I want to “edit my video” and I am not too thrilled about having to click through so many menus to get to what I want.

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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby VernonRobinson » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:38 am

I would be happy if I could undock my windows to take fuller advantage of my dual monitor setup.

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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby George Tyndall » Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:17 pm

VernonRobinson wrote:I would be happy if I could undock my windows to take fuller advantage of my dual monitor setup.-Vernon



Did you already check out Steve's Tips on the main members" page, where there is a booklet devoted to this toppic?
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Re: Premiere Elements 4.0: The Holy Grail?

Postby Bill Hunt » Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:00 pm

From a user of P-Pro2, I have to admit that I was totally lost, when I added PE4 to my toolbox. Thanks go out to the PE-users, who are still "holding my hand," in navigating the interface, which is new to me. Years ago, I was using various versions of Pinnacle Studio, so some looked a bit familar, but with so much time spent in Pro and Encore, I admit that I was lost.

If Adobe were to upgrade PE, I'd suggest a dual interface - the ability to click on it and go to an "Advanced Mode," or similar. In my quest for knowledge on PE4, I've read all of the articles on those forums, including the FAQs for the older versions. It seems that PE3 was probably closer to Pro2, than is PE4.

Now, the desire to get to something that is familiar to ME is probably my main motivator here, but I also think that much more can be done with an interface, similar to Pro's, if that is needed. OTOH, from a purely marketing standpoint, I can understand why Adobe would want to distance these two products a bit. If PE offered everything that Pro did, and still cost $500 less, what would be the purpose of going TO Pro? Still, with a dual interface system, the user could choose the one that fit their needs best.

The various articles, going back for many years, seem to indicate that half of the users are looking for "automatic" aspects within the program, often citing competing programs, that do all of the "heavy-lifting" for them and behind the scenes. The other half wants much more control, and they do not mind having to deal with additional settings, if they can get what they want. Poor Adobe is almost in a loose-loose situation here. At least they offer Pro, if one want little automation, but complete control, provided that they fill in ALL of the boxes, and provided that they know what those boxes do.

Who knows, when I get more comfortable with PE4, maybe I'll actually grab it, instead of Pro, for personal Projects.

Hunt

PS, I do like the Text Animation Effects in PE4's Titler. These will save me having to go to Adobe AfterEffects for all of my title animations, or having to Keyframe everything in Pro. I'll explore some combos of titles with animations and also Keyframing, to see how far one can go, when the basics are provided in a preset. Add the capabilities of Photoshop and Illustrator, and I'll bet that AE sees less work, at least from me.
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