Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061972
134 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2018 134 CINEMONTAGE / Q4 2018 you to place spatial markers in your media while working with a headset so you can easily find those areas when you return to the desktop timeline. Also available in the new version of Premiere is a new feature called Theater Mode, which Adobe describes as a portable reference monitor within the Adobe Immersive Environment. According to the company, Theater Mode allows for watching other content than just VR in the headset. This could be 2D content — hence the name "Theater Mode," which is akin to seeing something on a big screen. You can also mix that mode with VR, allowing you to walk around the screen or view it from different angles. Other features in the new version of Premiere Pro include hardware-based encoding and decoding for H.264 and HEVC, which means less waiting around for your computer to render. Image processing has also been improved, allowing for faster and more responsive rendering and playback, including when using Lumetri Color. There's also new native support for ARRI Alexa LF (Large Format), Sony Venice V2 and HEIF (HEIC) used by the new iPhones. Another nice touch is visibility for legacy QuickTime files in your project. PREMIERE AND AFTER EFFECTS Also new in Premiere Pro are improved workflows for motion graphics created in After Effects. As we know, After Effects projects can be imported directly into Premiere — keeping things editable while eliminating the need for intermediate rendering between the two applications. However, After Effects now allows designers to encapsulate complex After Effects projects into single files, also known as a motion graphics templates, with simplified controls for customization in Premiere Pro. When authoring a motion graphics template, After Effects artists can organize their editable parameters into groups with custom headings and twirl-downs (for showing or hiding sets of controls). These will appear in Premiere Pro and will grant editors access to things like fonts and effect parameters (see Figure 4). Responsive Design allows you to preserve the temporal integrity of keyframes. For example, there may be portions of a motion graphics sequence where the timing of the animation must not be tampered with and stretching or shrinking the overall duration of the sequence would mess things up. Responsive Design allows you to protect designated regions, such as intros, reveals and outros. Besides the customizable motion graphics templates is the capability for data-driven infographics. This allows designers to create slick-looking charts and graphs in After Effects without the need for precise data. Later, editors can drop spreadsheet files on the templates inside of Premiere and have the infographics accurately reflect that data. In addition, updates to the spreadsheet itself will automatically update the graphics. OTHER AFTER EFFECTS ENHANCEMENTS The new version of After Effects includes advanced puppet pins for working with meshes. Advanced pins now allow you to define position, scale and rotation, giving you significantly more control on how a mesh deforms around that pin. Bend pins let you to create organic movements within a design, allowing you to create effects, such as a breathing chest or a wagging tail. Depth passes are another new feature in the new version of After Effects. They allow you to position objects quickly and easily in 3D space for 3D compositing workflows. Use them to make 2D layers look like they are part of a 3D scene in software such as Maxon's Cinema 4D. The Mocha plug-in for After Effects is now native and GPU-accelerated. Useful for tracking and rotoscoping, Mocha AE is now an integrated native plug- in with a simplified interface. After Effects also has a new modern JavaScript TECH TIPS Figure 4: The new version of After Effects now contains better tools to create custom motion graphics templates, including twirl- down parameters and font controls. Figure 5: After Effects has a new JavaScript engine, which is faster and makes expressions easier to create. CONTINUED ON PAGE 142