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Premiere Pro CS6

Premiere Pro CS6 offers a streamlined user interface, an enhanced Mercury Playback Engine with improved GPU acceleration, a host of workflow-improving tweaks and supports Blu-ray and DVD authoring via Encore.
By Terry Relph-Knight, Contributor
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Premiere Pro CS6
Premiere Pro CS6 is a non-linear video editor that runs on 64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 with service pack 1, or on Mac OS X 10.6.8 or 10.7 systems with Intel processors. Adobe's multi-threading Mercury Playback Engine has been further optimised in CS6 for exceptionally smooth playback on multi-core systems. Premiere Pro can also take advantage of the hardware acceleration provided by CUDA-compliant nVidia graphics cards and certain OpenCL-based AMD GPUs.

Premiere Pro is in two suites: Production Premium (£1,509 ex.VAT; upgrade from £298) and Master Collection (£2,223 ex. VAT; upgrade from £397). On its own, Premiere Pro CS6 costs £675 (ex. VAT; upgrade from £116). Premiere Pro CS6 is also available via a Creative Cloud subscription (£38.11 ex. VAT per month on an annual contract).

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User interface
The default workspace for Premiere Pro CS6 uses a dark charcoal palette for the workspace framing areas, while minimised control clutter focusses attention on the video elements. The current program focus is highlighted by an orange outline.

By default, the Source and Program monitors are displayed side by side with the lower left of the workspace occupied by the Project panel, the Media Browser, the Info panel, and the Effects panel. The Timeline panel and the Audio Meters panel are at the lower right.

Screenshots: Terry Relph-Knight/ZDNet UK 

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Project panel
Enhancements to the Project panel allow scrubbing in the icon view; in and out points can also be set for a quick rough cut.

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Recreating the CS5.5 workspace
For users of the previous version, the workspace can easily be changed to resemble the default for Premiere Pro CS5.5 (shown here) by selecting the Editing (CS5.5) workspace from the Window / Workspace menu.

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Monitor panel customisation
The monitor panel controls can be customised using the '+' icon to open the Button Editor.

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Audio mixer
The redesigned audio mixer in Premiere CS6 matches the look-and-feel of the mixer panel in Audition CS6.

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Effect Controls
The Effect Controls tab selected from the source monitor panel. Effects are now easily applied to clips selected on the timeline by just double-clicking on a selected effect — it's no longer necessary to drag and drop the required effect onto a clip.

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Trim Monitor
There are a number of new trimming modes available, including the Trim Monitor, which displays both the outgoing and incoming frames of a trim and allows fine control of the the trim points.

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Color Correction
The three-way colour correction effect has been redesigned to make it easier to apply precise colour control even while footage is played back. Selecting Window / Workspace / Color Correction, switching to the Effects tab in the left-hand panel and selecting Color Correction / Three-way Color Corrector, with a clip selected, applies the effect. Switching back to the Effect Controls tab then displays the colour controls.

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Media Encoder
The Adobe Media Encoder CS6 is included with Premiere Pro CS6. It allows you to encode video to a wide range of output formats.

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Encore
Also included with Premiere Pro CS6, although it requires a separate install, is Encore CS6. Encore is a Blu-ray and DVD authoring package, now 64-bit native, that includes transcoding and menu generation. There is the option of using Dynamic Link to transfer a project directly from Premiere Pro to Encore or After Effects for a faster workflow without intermediate rendering.

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