Adobe Premiere Pro 15.4 now offers the Speech to Text feature – an integrated and automated workflow for creating transcriptions and captions – and some more updates such as new titling and caption styling tools, color improvements, and more. Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, and Character Animator now offer native support for M1 Macs. After Effects (Beta) introduces new Multi-Frame Rendering for faster motion graphics workflows. Character Animator now includes a new body tracker and puppet maker.
After releasing the Premiere Pro Public Beta last month, Adobe is now releasing some new features to its Creative Cloud video post-production apps. This July update includes the NLE Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, After Effects, and Character Animator. Let’s take a look at what is new.
Adobe Premiere Pro – Speech to Text
New Text to Speech feature in Premiere Pro. Source: Adobe
According to Adobe, videos with captions are better for SEO as they rank higher in search results. With the new feature Speech to Text in Premiere Pro 15.4, Adobe wants to make the process of creating captions much faster and easier. As its name implies, the feature simply transforms spoken text into captions. As Adobe states, the new feature cuts the time needed to create transcription and captions by approximately 75% (according to Pfeiffer Report). Additionally, there is now a new way to search and navigate video sequences – double-click on a word in the Text panel, and the playhead moves to that position in the Premiere Pro timeline.
New Text to Speech feature in Premiere Pro. Source: Adobe
Currently, Speech to Text supports 13 languages. When changes are needed, such as correcting the spelling of names, users can easily edit the text in the transcript. When the transcript is ready, Speech to Text automatically creates captions on the Timeline. Once the words are on the Timeline, captions can be customized using the design tools in the Essential Graphics panel. Speech to Text is included with a Premiere Pro or Creative Cloud all apps subscriptions at no additional cost.
Premiere Pro 15.4 – Additional Updates
The new Premiere Pro 15.4 offers more updates. There are new titling and caption styling tools such as the ability to add multiple shadows to text layers, the ability to change attributes of text backgrounds, and expanded font substitution with support for 28 different international alphabets.
New Titling Tools in Premiere Pro. Source: Adobe
Users can now upgrade legacy titles. They can be converted into Source Graphics within the Premiere Pro projects. Source Graphics are displayed in the Project panel, where users can track and sort them like any other project item.
Premiere Pro 15.4 also introduces label colors and clip names that change the source media on the project panel which can be useful when working on productions. There are also some new color improvements such as tetrahedral LUT interpolation that offers a more precise interpretation of color information for better consistency when grading footage with difficult lighting conditions, such as strong shadows and highlights in the same shot and reducing the chances of introducing banding during post-production. Adobe also brings colorized vectroscope in Premiere Pro (Beta) that provides more detailed image analysis for color grading.
Legacy Titles Upgrade in Premiere Pro. Source: Adobe
Last but not least, Adobe claims the new Premiere Pro brings some performance improvements such as faster scene detection, automatic audio device switching. The CUDA and OpenCL support on macOS is now discontinued. Team Projects workflow got faster as well.
Native Support for Apple M1 Macs
The M1 Macs from Apple introduced a different CPU architecture (ARM) than what Intel or AMD CPUs use (x86). That’s why M1 Macs users can either run regular x86 apps over Rosetta emulation or use the native M1 versions that, of course, offer better stability and performance. While some apps had the M1 version ready almost at the launch, other software companies need a bit longer.
Adobe started releasing the native M1 Mac versions of its video apps in April 2021 with the Premiere Rush and continued in May with Audition. This July update brings native M1 support for Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, and Character Animator. According to Adobe, After Effects will get the native M1 support in the Public Beta version later this year. The good news is, that After Effects integration features within Premiere Pro, such as Dynamic Link and Motion Graphics templates, have already been optimized for M1 Macs. Adobe states that with native support for M1 on Mac, Premiere Pro runs nearly 80% faster than comparable Intel-based Macs.
After Effects (Beta) – Multi-Frame Rendering
New Multiframe in After Effects. Source: Adobe
With Multi-Frame Rendering, the After Effects architecture can better take advantage of multi-core CPUs for up to 3x faster performance, according to Adobe. The After Effects (Beta) has added Multi-Frame Rendering for Previews, providing faster on-screen rendering and an overall more responsive experience. In addition, with Speculative Rendering, After Effects automatically detects when the system is not active and uses that time to render compositions. Also new in the After Effects Public Beta is the remote notifications for rendering.
Character Animator (Beta) – Body Tracker and Puppet Maker
New Body Tracker in Character Animator. Source: AdobeBody Tracker feature (in Public Beta) now makes it possible to animate the puppets in the app by using your own body movements and gestures. Users can simply move their bodies in front of a camera and the puppet will move along with them.
New Puppet Maker in Character Animator. Source: Adobe
Puppet Maker (Public Beta feature) enables quick and diverse character creation for basic users. There are no Photoshop, Illustrator, or rigging skills required. Users can choose from a variety of character styles and then customize them with hairstyles, skin tones, accessories, and more via a simple interface.
Price and availability
All these new features are available for existing Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions at no extra cost. The current pricing of the Creative Cloud subscription varies between $10 per month for Premiere rush and $53 per month for all video apps. More information on different plans can be found here.
Do you use Adobe Creative Cloud video apps for your work? What do you think about these new features? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.
Panasonic LUMIX BGH1 “box-style” camera is now approved for Netflix 4K Originals content. At around $1,998, this makes it the most affordable Netflix-approved camera at the moment. Could this be the new “crash-cam” for Netflix productions?
Netflix has a list of cameras that are approved to shoot Netflix 4K Originals content. The exact recommendation for these productions is that “90% of the total runtime of a final program should be captured on approved cameras. For non-fictional content, this threshold may be more flexible. Any exceptions must be discussed with the relevant Netflix project lead.”
The most recent addition is now the Panasonic LUMIX BGH1 which becomes the most affordable Netflix approved camera.
Panasonic LUMIX BGH1 is Netflix approved
LUMIX BGH1. Source: Panasonic
The LUMIX BGH1 is the seventh camera from Panasonic which has been approved by Netflix. It features the same Micro Four Thirds image sensor as the LUMIX GH5S. The whole thing is packaged in a Box-shaped body with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount that, just like the Z CAM cameras, requires an external viewfinder or monitor.
The BGH1 accepts the same batteries as the Panasonic EVA1 and it includes some useful features like dual native ISO, 3G-SDI output, and BNC Timecode input/output.
As with all approved cameras, Netflix has published a Camera Production Guide for the LUMIX BGH1. This guide summarizes the settings and best-practices for capture with the camera on Netflix 4k Originals.
The approved standard recording mode (23.98, 24, 25, or 29.97 fps) is the .MOV 422, 10-bit, ALL-I 400Mbps codec in DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) or UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution with V-Log L picture profile. When it comes to higher framerates, the approval only includes a workflow with an external recorder as the camera cannot record 4K 4:2:2 10-bit video internally with framerates higher than 30fps.
Camera Production Guide – LUMIX BGH1. Source: Netflix
For anamorphic production, the Academy 4:3 modes with a suitable anamorphic de-squeeze monitoring are approved:
4K-A/60p/420/8-L
4K-A/30p/422/10-I
4K-A/24p/422/10-I
One of the reasons for the approval of this camera was probably also the included Timecode input/output via the BNC connector.
Price and availability
The Panasonic LUMIX BGH1 currently retails for $1,998 (around €1,720 plus VAT in Europe) and it is, therefore, the most affordable Netflix-approved camera at the moment. Could the BGH1 become the new “crash-cam” for Netflix productions?
What do you think about the LUMIX BGH1? Did you get the chance to work with the camera already? Have you filmed content for Netflix 4K Originals before? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.
New Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D ultra-wide-angle lens from Venus Optics has been announced. Designed for Micro Four Thirds, this compact lens weighs only 125g (4.4oz), it includes a manual focus ring and automatic five-blade aperture. It supports EXIF metadata, focuses from a 12cm distance, and supports 46mm filters. The lens is available for around $399.
The Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics expanded its line of Zero-D ultra-wide-angle lenses with a very compact Laowa 10mm f/2 for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lens mount. Let’s take a short look at its features and specs.
Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D MFT Lens
Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D for MFT. Image credit: Richard Wong
First of all, this lens is very small and lightweight – it is 41mm (1.61”) long and 125g (4.4oz) in weight. This size makes it suitable for lightweight gimbal setups, vlogging, or aerial drone usage. The lens features a 46mm front filter thread.
Laowa 10mm f/2 is designed for Micro Four Thirds sensors, so it offers 96° Angle of view (20mm full-frame focal length equivalent). Its design stems from the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D, but Venus Optics further refined the optical design resulting in a faster aperture.
Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D for MFT. Source: Laowa
Talking of the optical structure, the lens includes 11 elements in 7 groups. The maximum magnification is 0.15x and the minimum focusing distance is 12cm (4.72″). Zero-D in its name implies that there should not be any distortion of the lines at the edges of the image. There are five aperture blades in the lens.
MTF Chart and Optical Structure. Source: Laowa
The lens is equipped with a CPU chip and a motor. Users can control the aperture in-camera and record all the metadata in the EXIF. The focus magnifier will be triggered for easier focus while rotating the focus ring. Because of this, the lens does not even have a manual aperture ring. It only features a manual focus ring.
Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D for MFT. Image credit: Richard Wong
Price and Availability
The Laowa 10mm f/2 Zero-D for Micro Four Thirds is available now for around $399.
What do you think about this new Laowa lens? Would it fit into your kit? What do you think abotu the future of Micro Four Thirds format? Let us know in the comments below the article.
Our third Black Friday deals post features interesting camera accessories like gimbals, monitors, wireless video sets, tripods, lights and other accessories. This is our third and last Black Friday post. Make sure to check the First black friday post with cameras and Second black friday post with lenses and computers.
I browsed the current deals on our partners’ websites and have selected the best offers currently available which I think could be interesting for you. Some offers are only available at the American store B&H, others are only available at the European store CVP, and some are available globally with both our partners. By shopping at our partners’ stores, you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed.
This year we decided to divide the Black Friday deals into three posts, which we will publish in the next days before Friday November 29:
Today’s post is the third out of three and it features camera accessories – everything that didn’t fit in the first two posts. Most of these deals should be active til Cyber Monday on December 2nd, but there might be exceptions. Please always check the link to see when the deal expires.
Now, let’s take a look at the top Black friday camera accessories deals for filmmakers (Manufacturers in alphabetical order):
Aputure Light Storm C300d LED Light Kit with V-Mount Battery Plate – $300 Discount
Bright tangerine has a couple more interesting deals going on for Black friday. For example Misfit Atom Pola+ for a better price with free clamp-on rings or free Misfit Atom Matte Box with select left field cages. Find out more about their Black friday offer, which ends on December 3rd, directly on Bright Tangerine website.
Teradek Wireless Video Transmission Systems – Up to $2,990 Discount
Teradek is a leader in the field of wireless image transmission. The company has some very interesting Black friday deals. Starting off with the massive $1,500 discount on the new Teradek Bolt 4K 750 TX/RX set and Deluxe kit.
B&H Buy link: Teradek Bolt 4K 750 video kitWas: $5,490.00 Now: $3,990.00 (Savings: $1,500.00)B&H Buy link: Teradek Bolt 4K 750 Deluxe kit – Gold MountWas: $6,290.00 Now: $4,790.00 (Savings: $1,500.00)B&H Buy link: Teradek Bolt 4K 750 Deluxe kit – V Mount Was: $6,290.00 Now: $4,790.00 (Savings: $1,500.00)
Next interesting deal is the Teradek Wireless Lens Control Kit with SmallHD FOCUS Bolt 500 Monitor.
B&H Buy link: Teradek Wireless Lens Control Kit with SmallHD FOCUS Bolt 500 MonitorWas: $6,998.00 Now: $3,999.00 (Savings: $2,999.00)
Teradek Bolt 500 and 1000 systems are also currently discounted.
B&H Buy link: Teradek Bolt 500 XT SetWas: $2,241.00 Now: $1,750.00 (Savings: $491.00)CVP Buy link: Teradek Bolt 500 XT SetWas: €2,438.92 Now: €1,717.14 (Savings: €721.78)B&H Buy link: Teradek Bolt 1000 XT SetWas: $4,990.00 Now: $3,990.00 (Savings: $1,000.00)
Just in time for Black friday 2019, Teradek also announced the new Ace 800 wireless system, which is a more affordable alternative to the Bolt series and it is now even discounted. It offers up to 800′ range (line of sight) and it supports up to 1080p60 resolution with zero wireless delay. Teradek Ace 800 system has only SDI inputs and 3G-SDI & HDMI outputs. Please keep in mind, that it is not compatible with any product from the Bolt series.
B&H Buy link: Teradek Ace 800 Wireless SetWas: $2,490.00 Now: $1,990.00 (Savings: $500.00)
Wooden Camera – Complete Black Friday Offer
Wooden camera is having a Black friday sale on their site, which is valid on the entire order between November 25th and December 2nd. All the gear is 15% off, for orders over $500 the discount is 20% and for orders over $1,500 the discount is 25%. They also offer free ground shipping on all U.S. Orders.
Hive lighting releases new CX-series LED lamps. Both Wasp 100-CX and Hornet 200-CX single point source omni-color lights sport the same set of features as their C-series equivalents, but they come at a much more affordable price. Wasp 100-CX starts at just $799 and Hornet 200-CX starts at just $1,299.
New Wasp 100-CX and Hornet 200-CX LED lights. Source: Hive lighting
Hive Lighting is a US company specializing in manufacturing LED lights for filmmakers and photographers. Their omni-color lights Wasp 100-C and Hornet 200-C have been on the market for a while. Hive today announces a brand new CX series, featuring the Wasp 100-CX and Hornet 200-CX. What is the difference between the original C-series? Let’s take a short look.
Hive Lighting Wasp 100-CX and Hornet 200-CX
Simply put, the CX is the new lower price version of the original C-Series LED lights. The CX models are all single point source, single shadow, full-spectrum omni-Color LEDs, with full white light and fully saturated color control. Hive removed the display on the back of the lamps and reorganized the connectors slightly.
New Wasp 100-CX LED light. Source: Hive lighting
The lights are modular with Fresnel, Par Reflector and theatrical Leko Spot options as well as fully Profoto compatible, meaning they can work with a wide variety of 3rd party softboxes and modifiers. Hive lighting CX models can be controlled via free wireless Bluetooth app Hive SHOT on both Android and iPhone or via wired DMX.
New Hornet 200-CX LED light. Source: Hive lighting
By looking at the following key features, we can see almost the same set of specs as the C-series.
WASP 100-CX Key Features
Omni-color LED
75W draw
400-750W incandescent equivalent
Up to 98 CRI / 97 TLCI
360° hue control
0 – 100% dimming control
0 – 100% saturation control
1,650K – 8,000K color temperature
Wired DMX, and smartphone control
100 – 240 V AC input via universal wall/battery
Profoto modifier compatible
Compatible with ALL Hive C-series modifiers
6.5” / 165 mm length
4” / 100mm diameter
2 lbs / 0.9 kg weight
Inside the Box: Wasp 100-CX head unit, Wasp 100-CX power supply 100-240 VAC, portable yoke
New Wasp 100-CX LED light. Source: Hive lighting
HORNET 200-CX Key Features
Omni-color LED
150W draw
700-1000W incandescent equivalent
Up to 98 CRI / 97 TLCI
360° hue control
0 – 100% dimming control
0 – 100% saturation control
1,650K – 8,000K color temperature
Wired DMX and smartphone control
100 – 240V AC input via universal wall/battery
Profoto modifier compatible
Compatible with ALL Hive C-series modifiers
8” / 200 mm length
4” / 100mm diameter
2.2 lbs / 1kg weight
Inside the Box: Hornet 200-CX head unit, Hornet 200-CX power supply 100-240 VAC, Hive adjustable yoke
New Hornet 200-CX LED light. Source: Hive lighting
Hive SHOT App
The new lights from Hive are fully controllable by the new Hive SHOT app via Bluetooth connection.
The app can be downloaded for free on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iOS.
Pricing and Availability
Both Wasp 100-CX and Hornet 200-CX lights are now available for pre-order. They are already in production and Hive expects to start shipping them to customers before the end of December.
Hive has prepared a special “Black Friday” time-limited pricing for both lights, which runs through January 3rd. The Wasp 100-CX (WLS1CX) has an MSRP of $1,051.58 and during the “Black Friday” pricing it will be available for $799.00 only. Hornet 200-CX (HLS2CX) has an MSRP of $1,577.89 and during the “Black Friday” pricing it will be available for $1,299.00 only.
What do you think about the new Hive CX lights? Do you use Hive lamps? How do you like the light output quality? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.
Our first Black Friday deals post features interesting lenses from Canon, FUJIFILM, Olympus, Panasonic, Rokinon, Sigma, and Sony. Additionally there are a couple of Black Friday offers from Apple and one Lenovo laptop. This is the second out of three Black Friday posts. In the next post we will take a look at more filmmaking gear – gimbals, tripods, monitors, etc…
I browsed the current deals on our partners’ websites and have selected the best offers currently available which I think could be interesting for you. Some offers are only available at the American store B&H, others are only available at the European store CVP, and some are available globally with both our partners. By shopping at our partners’ stores, you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed.
This year we decided to divide the Black Friday deals into three posts, which we will publish in the next days before Friday November 29:
Today’s post is the second out of three and it features only lenses, computers, laptops, and tablets. Most of these posts should be active til Cyber Monday on December 2nd, but there might be exceptions. Please always check the link to see when the deal expires.
Now, let’s take a look at the top Black friday camera deals for filmmakers:
First, let’s take a look at Canon EF full-frame lenses and then Canon EF-S lenses for APS-C cameras.
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens – $300/€313 Discount
Rokinon Xeen 50mm T1.5 Lens for Canon EF Mount – $1,000 Discount
The discount applies on more focal lengths of Rokinon Xeen cine primes.
B&H Buy link: Rokinon Xeen 50mm T1.5 Lens for Canon EF MountWas: $2,495.00 Now: $1,495.00 (Savings: $1,000.00)
Sigma EF lenses are next.
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF – $160 Discount
HyperDrive DUO USB Type-C Hub for MacBook Pro/Air – $40 Discount
The HyperDrive Duo USB Type-C Hub from HYPER converts the Thunderbolt 3 ports on MacBook Pro (2016-2019) or MacBook Air (2018 & 2019) into additional connections. The slim hub provides one HDMI port, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and two USB Type-C ports to access printers, external drives, external displays, and other compatible peripherals.
The top USB Type-C port, which is closest to the HDMI port, supports 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, 5K video output, and 100W of power delivery. The second USB Type-C port supports 5 Gb/s USB 3.1 Gen 1 and 60W of power delivery. There are also SD and microSD card slots. Please note that this hub does not support Apple’s SuperDrive and the USB ports will not charge an iPad.
B&H Buy link: HyperDrive DUO USB Type-C Hub for MacBook Pro/AirWas: $89.99 Now: $49.99 (Savings: $40.00)
Lenovo 15.6″ IdeaPad S340 Laptop – $400 Discount
Configuration: 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-8265U Quad-Core, 12GB of DDR4 RAM | 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, 15.6″ Full HD 1920 x 1080 TN Display, Integrated Graphics
B&H Buy link: Lenovo 15.6″ IdeaPad S340 LaptopWas: $949.00 Now: $549.00 (Savings: $400.00)Did you like any of our deals? Did we miss something interesting? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.
