If you (still) use Adobe Prelude to manage your media assets before editing in Premiere Pro, this might be sad –albeit predictable– news: Prelude will be discontinued as of September 8, 2021.
Adobe Prelude was first introduced in 2012 as part of Creative Suite 6 (CS6). At the time, bringing clips into NLEs was a bit of a hassle, and Prelude provided a streamlined pipeline to effectively handle the process. Perhaps more importantly, you could work with your assets in a visual way instead of moving files around.
But over the years, managing media, logging, preparing it, and ingesting loads of clips into the NLE became much easier, and most of the tools were integrated into Premiere Pro. Other tools like DaVinci Resolve offer a dedicated media page for this very reason. More complex operations like transcoding or frame rate adjustment are a fairly simple task nowadays. External tools, such as Adobe Prelude are not required anymore.
Adobe Prelude
Watch the below video for a little time travel to 2012, where Adobe Evangelist Jason Levine shows how to ingest, log and create rough cuts with Prelude CS6:
So from September 8, 2021 Adobe Prelude will be officially discontinued, meaning you won’t be able to download it from Adobe.com any longer. However existing copies will still work of course. And although you won’t get any updates from that date on, Prelude will still work just like normal. Technical support will be offered to all active Prelude customers until September 8, 2024.
Adobe recommends to solely use Premiere Pro for any pre-production workflows you would normally use Prelude for since most of its features are integrated in the NLE anyways. Adobe also welcomes users to submit feature requests regarding pre-production: visit the Premiere Pro feedback page to vote for existing feature requests or submit your own.
Since 2012, Adobe Prelude has been a valued piece of video pre-production, and it’s taught us a lot. Your feedback is welcome as we continue to streamline and redefine pre-production workflows in Premiere Pro. Thank you for being a part of the Prelude journey.
Adobe
The last real update for Prelude dates back to 2018, so this move shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to most. But if you are still using Prelude, now is the time to move on!
Link: AdobeDo you still use Prelude? If so, what do you think about this move by Adobe? Share your experience in the comments below!
Netflix has been pretty busy lately certifying new cameras for their “Netflix Original” label. The latest approved make and model is the Sony FX6. Let’s dive into the specifics of this latest approval.
Hot on the heels of the certification of the Canon C70 and Panasonic BGH1 cams, the certification of the Sony FX6 marks a new game of sorts with affordable cine-cams making their way into high-end productions on Netflix.
Not long ago a “broadcast quality” camera wasn’t something you would (or could) buy on your own, and we’re talking SD quality here.. interesting times, indeed!
Sony FX6 now Netflix approved
It’s almost too perfect: What’s between you and a gig with Netflix is not the price tag of your camera anymore. It’s just your personal network and creativity, really. It’s nice to see that affordable cams appear to deliver decent image quality that makes it onto the big stage.
Recommended settings for the Sony FX6. Image credit: Netflix
The one thing, this approval does not include is the anamorphic mode of the Sony FX6, since that mode just crops into the 4K sensor. And as a result, the recorded footage would not meet Netflix 4K standards anymore. But that’s it really, other than that you can grab an FX6 and off you go – creativity, some funding and lot’s of good people around you assumed.
Here are the details of this latest Netflix approval:
Recommended exposure values, high speed and RAW settings. Image credit: NetflixStick to that daily APR routine! Image credit: Netflix
As mentioned above, the anamorphic mode on the FX6 is not approved but other than that this is a pretty capable (and compact!) camera for documentary work or even as “A”-cam on bigger productions. If the choice of lenses and lighting is good, this little Sony is a more than decent choice I’d say.
Where to get Sony FX6: Link
Link: Netflix What do you think? Are you ready for your first Netflix show? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Meike Global just announcd a new 35mm T2.1 cine prime lens for full frame sensors. It will be available in various lens mounts, including PL, E-Mount, Canon RF and EF-Mount and L-Mount.
The Meike 35mm T2.1 joins the already available Meike 50mm T2.1 and both lenses have some similarities in terms of the image circle (45mm) and also some other specifications.
The new 35mm T2.1 prime is the second one in a new line of fast cine prime lenses from Meike. It’s undoubtedly aimed at the budget-conscious filmmakers out there, but it seems to offer decent build quality and standard features that you would expect when buying a cine lens.
Meike 35mm T2.1. Image credit: Meike
Meike Roadmap
To get one thing out of the way here: Meike is indeed in the process of establishig a complete line of these cine primes: They actually released a roadmap of upcoming focal lengths which stretches well into 2021.
Meike roadmap of upcoming FF cine prime lenses. Image credit: Meike
In total, the complete set will cover 16mm T2.4, 24mm T2.1, 35mm T2.1, 50mm T2.1, 85mm T2.1, 105mm T2.1 and 135mm T2.1. However, if you want to purchase this lens set you need to wait until each and every lens trickled out ouf the factory over the course of almost 9 months from now.
Meike 35mm T2.1 full frame cine prime lens
The freshly released Meike 35mm T2.1 features everything you’d expect from a cine prime lens: 0.8 pitched gears, smooth iris, 330° focus rotation and a minimum focus distance of 33cm. The lens design, according to Meike, is a dedicated one and not just a rehoused version of an existing stills lens.
Image credit: Meike
The Meike 35mm T2.1 sports 14 elements in 9 groups, it features a 82mm filter thread and offers 11 iris blades for pleasing bokeh effects. The dimensions (ø x L) of the lens alter with different lens mounts, please refer to the list below :
PL: ø85 × 102.4mm
EF (Canon): ø85 × 110.5mm
RF (Canon): ø85 × 134.4mm
E (Sony): ø85 × 136.4mm
L (Panasonic): ø85 × 134.4mm
The weight of the lens ranges from 1107~1170g, depending on the lens mount. The field of view is 63.5° diagonally (FF) and 43.2° diagonally (APS-C crop).
Conclusion
If this lens is worth it, I don’t know. Since Meike seems to be in the process of establishing yet another line of affordable cine prime lenses here I sometimes wonder how many more different lenses we actually need for our daily camera work. There are so many different makes and models out there already but this business model obviously seems to be a lucrative one.
Meike 35mm in PL oder EF mount. Image credit: Meike
The Meike 35mm T2.1 sells for $958 and Meike offers a $40 discount on pre-orders placed before Jan 20th 2021. Shipping will start Jan 25th. For now, only the PL and the EF version are available for pre-order, the other mounts will follow a bit later.
