Two Things I Hate About Prelude And Premiere Pro / Why Adobe Is The Best

Every NLE has it's own problems. We all know that. But what distinguishes Adobe and Premiere Pro is their attention to the needs of editors and their speed in releasing solutions. Naturally, majority determines priority when it comes to the timing of feature requests, so this is my attempt to create some noise around two basic changes Adobe needs to make in Prelude and Premiere Pro.

1. Merge Clips In Prelude

I was sorely disappointed when I did not see this feature added in the CC 2014.1 release. How can Adobe expect sync sound filmmakers to get the most out of Prelude when they can't sync their clips inside it? Do they think producers or directors are going to settle for making comments and adding metadata to footage that doesn't have sync sound? Put it that way, Prelude sounds worthless for anything but b-roll. Adobe needs to prioritize this simple feature above every other update. It's so basic—all they need to do is integrate the existing merge clips function from Premiere Pro. 

If you feel me, please submit a feature request here.
Select 'Prelude' from the product name drop down, fill in the required fields, and copy the text below into the request box:

Please add the ability to merge clips in Prelude. Sync sound filmmakers need to be able to sync footage with production audio in Prelude before adding comments or metadata. Thanks.

2. Preserve Source Audio Channels When Exporting Merged Clips

Some editors (yes, even Premiere Pro editors) prefer to transcode their footage after merging it with production sound. Doing so creates high-quality 'master' files with sync sound that can easily be shared during postproduction. This is an excellent workaround for logging synced footage in Prelude. However, the advantage of working with synced 'master' files is lost if the source audio channels are mixed down during export out of Premiere Pro. Setting up Premiere Pro to export clips with preserved source audio channels is a long, long road. Solution: a 'Preserve source audio channels'  check box under the audio tab in the export window. Premiere Pro (AND PRELUDE!!!) should intuitively recognize when editors are exporting merged clips and provide the option to export synced audio with identical channel setup as its source. Editors should be able to bypass the hassle of channel mapping and sequence settings when merging and exporting clips.

If you feel me, please submit a feature request here. Select 'Adobe Premiere Pro' from the product name drop down, fill in the required fields, and copy the text below into the request box:

Please add the ability to preserve the source audio channels when exporting merged clips from Premiere and Prelude. Adding a check box under the audio tab in the export window that bypasses audio mapping and sequences settings would be very convenient. Thanks.

Let me bookend this post by saying I am committed to Adobe Creative Cloud for the long run. I choose Premiere Pro as the best NLE not because it does not lack any shortcomings, but because Adobe repeatedly demonstrates a commitment to understanding and adapting to the needs of its users. There is no doubt that Adobe will provide solutions to these two issues, and probably in ways more intuitive than what's suggested here. It's exciting to know the fastest growing NLE is proactively being shaped by the voices of it's users—you and I. 

Feel free to comment, correct, or provide your own workarounds to the these issues. Please contact me to submit feature requests on your behalf as well. 


Thanks for reading!