M+E Connections

IBC 2019: Adobe Adds Sensei-Powered Auto Reframe Feature to Premiere Pro

Adobe used the IBC 2019 show in Amsterdam to unveil Auto Reframe, a new feature for its Premiere Pro video editing software that is powered by the company’s Adobe Sensei artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platform.

Auto Reframe automatically reframes and reformats video content so that the same project can be published in different aspect ratios, from square to vertical to cinematic 16:9 versions, the company said.

The new feature, which Adobe called a “must-have in the age of content and platform proliferation” in its announcement,  will launch late this year, it said.

Like Content-Aware Fill for After Effects that was introduced in the spring, Auto Reframe is an Adobe Sensei technology that uses AI and ML to “accelerate manual production tasks, without sacrificing creative control,” the company said. Via Adobe Sensei, “we’re leveraging over a decade of AI and machine learning capabilities built into Adobe’s flagship products,” it said.

“For broadcasters, or anyone else who needs to optimize content for different platforms, Auto Reframe will help you get there faster,” Adobe said, noting that, at IBC, it’s showing how Auto Reframe “analyzes, crops, and pans footage to prioritize the most compelling parts of your video.”

The feature should prove to be enormously helpful for broadcasters and others who use Premiere Pro. After all, manually reframing sequences with multiple resolutions tends to be a “tedious and time-consuming process,” Adobe noted. With Auto Reframe, “users can simply drag the effect onto the individual clip or clips they wish to reframe and it does the work for them, saving countless hours,” according to the company.

“Intelligent algorithms generate motion keyframes that follow the action in the video so the most important content is automatically centered and kept in the frame,” Adobe explained, adding: “For more complex sequences containing many clips and edits, Auto Reframe automatically generates a new sequence that applies reframing to all the clips in the timeline.”

While touting the new feature, Adobe said “there are few production environments more demanding than broadcast.” After all, it explained: “Quality and consistency are critical. Delivery deadlines are absolute. Turnaround time needs to be calculated with precision. And everything has to work every day. Broadcast provides a perfect laboratory for post-production efficiency, showcasing the core strengths of Premiere Pro and the Adobe applications.”

At IBC 2019, the company is demonstrating how Adobe helps video content creators “get to the finish line faster,” including new Best Practices guides. Those guides include ones for: Working with native formats; using project templates; editing efficiently in Premiere Pro; using Motion Graphics templates; mixing audio with the Essential Sound panel; exporting faster; and using third-party integrations with the Adobe video tools.

Additional benefits of the company’s enhanced Premiere Pro include that it: Helps users get working immediately because editing starts as soon as the media is available; enables users to start closer to the finish line, allowing them to create their own project templates and standardizing their workflows; allows users to edit efficiently because “flexible workflows mean editors can work the way they think in Premiere Pro; brings the graphics to the editor because Motion Graphics templates bring After Effects into editorial with customizable designs for animated graphics, titling, lower thirds and more; enables users to fix audio “way faster” with an Essential Sound panel that “makes audio mixing surprisingly easy—and shockingly fast”; provides streamlined workflows for faster export, enabling users to “deliver precision-optimized output for any platform or playout system; and offers integration that “means acceleration [as] over 300 technology partners extend the Adobe production platform, allowing production houses to save money and deliver faster,” the company said.