What is the technology?

One of the technologies I will be using to create the videos as part of my senior capstone project is Adobe Premiere Pro, a video audio and image editing software application. I have decided to use Adobe Premiere Pro rather than another software like Devinci Resolve, Final Cut, or Cyberlink PowerDirector because the application is easily accessible through the Saint Joseph’s Library, it provides a wide range of editing tools, and porting to and from other adobe applications like After Effects, Illustrator, and Audition will be a much faster and simpler process. This means that if I want to work on multiple portions of the project at the same time, rather than exporting large files, the adobe software will let me work on files from different applications, ie. I can bring an unfinished video project file from Premiere Pro into After Effects, make animation edits, and then move that file with the edits back into Premiere. 

Features to Master?

I have been using this software application for about 3 years now, however, there are still many features and tools that I have overlooked and or have not delved into yet. The first feature that comes to mind is key binding and keyboard shortcuts. This is a very small but important feature that I haven’t learned yet. Learning this tool would make portions of editing significantly shorter. 

Another feature that I will need to master to make this experience smoother is auto-coloring and coloring in general. For the last two semesters, color in my video projects has played an important role in the final execution. Because of the experience I have gained from prior projects, I have learned that auto-coloring isn’t always perfect and will require close attention to get absolutely perfect. 

Finally as mentioned in the introduction, Adobe products offer the ability to seamlessly transfer one application file type to another; this is called Adobe Dynamic Link. This tool allows for real-time editing on graphical components from After Effects into Premiere, ie. If I make and edit to a component in After Effects, that edit will present itself in the premiere file without the user having to physically move the file themselves. 

 

How is the technology Social?

Adobe Premiere Pro and all of the other modern versions of Adobe applications are social tools. As mentioned above, the applications are always connected to one another; like our world today, all nodes must be connected to each other. And one being connected, this product also offers users the ability to collaborate on a single project separately or together in real-time; these features are called Team Projects and Shared Projects. 

How does the technology reflect cultural values?

Adobe Premiere was launched in 1991 and later succeeded by Premiere Pro in 2003. Since then the application has gone through many iterations all reflecting cultural values. The first aspect of Premiere that reflects cultural values is its relatively simple and easy-to-navigate user interface. Video editing and creation are a large part of social media today. Many amateur creators today use the product because it is a friendly system to step into that has a lot of tools and does not require too much processing power if you are using it at its base level. 

The second aspect of Premiere Pro that reflects today’s cultural values was what was mentioned above; we live in a connected society that’s people are constantly collaborating with each other, and because of this adobe’s sharing feature is an important aspect of the product. Files can be sent and downloaded through email and uploaded to google drive. 

The third aspect of adobe products as a whole that reflects cultural values is its subscription model, which it switched to in 2011. Like a streaming service, Adobe products can only be accessed through the Adobe Creative Cloud. This model is still in use today because it allows the company to output updates faster, see how customers use each product, and make improvements. 

Technological Constraints?

The first Technological constraint that I will face with this project is that this is an application that requires a decent amount of processing power and I am unsure whether my computer will be able to handle the amount of processing that is required for certain actions (not just in Premiere but in Illustrator and especially in After Effects). The second technological constraint that I will face is that this is a subscription-based service. Yes, communications students are provided with Creative Cloud, however, we must be on campus to use it. I commute one hour to campus and doing so just to use the application would be a huge hindrance.