What’s new?

Each of the programs have major new features and just as many or more small enhancements since its last version. We are going to cover the major enhancements and leave finding and enjoying the small things up to you.

Adobe Production Studio Suite Wide New Features

• Dynamic Link
• Bridge

Adobe After Effects 7.0 Pro

• Create precise animations with the new Graph Editor, which offers complete visual control over key frame editing and easy synchronization of animated properties across layers.
• Match the behavior of color and light in the real world with new 32-bit HDR color support. Achieve photo-realism by compositing in 32-bit-per-channel floating-point color. (Professional edition only.)

• Render even complex masks up to 100% faster than in previous versions of After Effects.
• Maximize audio quality in your projects with new support for 32-bit audio. Import 32-bit audio files mixed and mastered in Adobe Audition software. Fine-tune audio levels precisely using VU meters with peak and clip indicators on the Audio panel.
• Use OpenGL for final rendering at high speed: OpenGL 2.0 capabilities include common blending modes, motion blur on 2D layers, anti-aliasing and track mattes, better shadows and transparencies, and more.
• Take advantage of new support for HDV, Macromedia Flash Video (FLV), Camera Raw, OpenEXR, AAF (Professional edition only), 10-bit YUV (v210), and 32-bit TIFF and PSD formats.
• Work within an elegantly redesigned interface featuring workspace panels that dock and group for optimal organization, eliminating overlapping windows. Save custom workspaces, control UI brightness, and more.
• Experience real-time performance with advanced OpenGL 2.0 capabilities including support for blending modes as well as motion blur, anti-aliasing, track mattes, high-quality shadows and transparency, and accelerated rendering of common effects. Use OpenGL for accelerated final renders.
• Simplify the everyday tasks of asset management with Adobe Bridge, which offers powerful ways to browse and search digital assets, preview and apply presets, work with metadata, manage files, and run batch processes.
• Save 32-bit HDR and 16-bit color values in Adobe Photoshop files. Text remains editable, and layers, common layer styles, blending modes, masks, and transparency are all preserved when Photoshop files are imported as compositions. Use Photoshop paths as masks or animation paths.
• Create a new Photoshop file from within your After Effects project. Photoshop automatically opens a blank file using composition settings — including title-safe and action-safe guides ready for editing. Changes appear in After Effects when you save.
• Preserve bins, edits, markers, key framed effects, nested sequences, transitions, and more from Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 software. Drag and drop or copy and paste clips from one application to the other. W(indows only.)
• Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project, streamlining work that involves editing as well as motion graphics and effects. (Windows only.)
• Create and debug sophisticated JavaScript-based scripting commands directly in After Effects with the built-in Script Editor. Interactively type, test, debug, and analyze scripts without the need for an external text editor. (Professional edition only.)
• Prevent mishaps from destroying hours of work. The Auto Save feature saves incremental versions automatically as you work.
• Get answers quickly from the new Adobe Help Center, which offers powerful search features and convenient topics.
• Produce great-looking animations quickly using hundreds of fully customizable Animation Presets, including presets for animating text, effects, transitions, backgrounds, and behaviors. Use included project templates for DVD motion menus and motion graphics backgrounds.
• Slow down and speed up footage with smooth, crisp results and minimal artifacts. Timewarp analyzes pixel motion to create more accurate in-between frames. (Professional edition only.)
• Create and animate blurs on a per-character basis for eye-catching text animations.
• Re-create the effect of a defocused camera lens easily and realistically with new Lens Blur, and use new Smart Blur to create soft color effects without destroying fine detail. Use a variety of other blur effects for specific situations, including Directional Blur, Box Blur, and Gaussian Blur.

Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0

• Capture and edit HDV content in its original format with no conversion or quality loss. Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 works with popular HDV-format cameras and VTRs.
• Capture, edit, and deliver full-resolution SD or HD using native support for the Xena HS real-time encoding card from AJA Video.
• Control video decks through RS-422 and RS-232 serial protocols or FireWire for precise batch capturing, recapturing, and insert editing.
• Display timecode for 16mm and 35mm film as standard Feet + Frames nomenclature.
• Preview widescreen footage on a 4:3 monitor or lay off to a 4:3 tape or DVD with real-time letterboxing. Ensure that your 16:9 material looks right during playback.
• Capture and edit HD or up to 4K scanned files, consolidate and manage projects, and work efficiently with Adobe After Effects and Photoshop software.
• Import, edit, and output 4K image sequences with dimensions up to 4,096x4,096 pixels.
• Edit multiple-camera shoots quickly and easily. View multiple video tracks from a multicam shoot, and edit by switching between tracks in real time. Easily sync clips based on source timecode.
• Take advantage of new color-correction tools, each optimized for specific tasks. Fast color correction allows for quick and easy adjustments, while secondary color-correction tools allow you to make more selective modifications for a professional finish.
• Maintain source integrity with support for 10-bit video and 16-bit PSD files.
• Maintain maximum image quality with subtle and dramatic changes to color, contrast, and exposure, free of the banding and artifacts caused by lower bit-depth processing.
• Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 automatically adjusts to take full advantage of the power of your graphics card, accelerating the preview and rendering of motion, opacity, color, and image distortion effects.
• Break master clips into smaller subclips for more flexible editing. Trim, apply effects, rename, and otherwise treat subclips like any other video clip.
• Browse, organize, and preview content files, and then drag and drop what you need from Adobe Bridge. Search by or edit XMP metadata such as keywords, language, and format.
• Easily create traveling mattes by applying effects and animation to individual track-matte clips.
• Add a spot, directional, or omni light to your video footage. Create multiple lights to see different looks on different parts of a scene.
• Set the timeline to scroll smoothly under a stationary indicator during playback, or adjust it to advance one page as the playback indicator reaches the edge of the window.
• Create high-quality, menu-driven DVDs directly from the Adobe Premiere Pro timeline. Make full-resolution, interactive DVDs for digital dailies, test discs, or final delivery.
• Expedite reviews with Adobe Clip Notes. Embed video into a PDF file, e-mail the file to your client to review with timecode-specific comments, and then view comments mapped to the timeline.
• Streamline the process of encoding video and audio for your Macromedia Flash projects with built-in support for Flash Video export.
• Lay off to tape. Deliver on DV, SD, HDV, and compressed or uncompressed HD, as well as HD-SDI VTRs and other devices.
• Output for film recording or file sharing. Create numbered image sequences with any frame size up to 4,096x4,096 pixels in major graphics formats including TGA and TIFF.

Adobe Photoshop CS2

• Simplify file handling with Adobe Bridge, the next-generation File Browser, where you can process multiple camera raw images at once; resize, rate, and label thumbnails; quickly review images in Slideshow mode; search metadata; and more.
• Take advantage of compact floating mode in Adobe Bridge to process images while simulta neously working in Photoshop CS2 or other CS2 applications.
• Easily browse your Adobe Creative Suite and other graphics files in Adobe Bridge; present your images with features like Slideshow and Filmstrip mode; scale thumbnails to any size using a slider; and view and edit metadata.
• Automatically process batches of images in Adobe Bridge to rename, convert format, adjust exposure, create a web gallery or Adobe PDF Presentation, and more.
• Quickly rate and label photos in Adobe Bridge so you can instantly bring up your best shots.
• Easily find any image using sophisticated search capabilities in Adobe Bridge that let you specify a variety of parameters. Save searches as Collections that you can recall anytime.
• Create and edit 32-bit images, and combine multiple exposures into a single, 32-bit image with expanded range—from the deepest shadows to the brightest highlights.
• Quickly improve the contrast of over- or underexposed areas of an image, including CMYK images, while preserving the overall balance of the photo.
• Achieve amazing results in a fraction of the time with the groundbreaking Vanishing Point, which lets you clone, paint, and paste elements that automatically match the perspective of the surrounding image area.
• Easily create packaging mock-ups or other dimensional effects by wrapping an image around any shape or stretching, curling, and bending an image using Image Warp.
• Effortlessly retouch photos—including 16-bit images—in a single click with the advanced power of the new Photoshop CS2 Spot Healing Brush.
• Instantly neutralize red eyes with the one-click red-eye correction tool, which supports 16-bit images and lets you set pupil size and darkening level.
• Easily correct common lens distortions, such as barrel and pincushion, and fix chromatic aberrations and vignetting.
• Easily counteract common image blurring with fine correction control based on the specific blur types: motion, lens, and Gaussian.
• Process an entire photo shoot in a fraction of the time by simulta neously adjusting color, curves, cropping, and more—and continue working in Photoshop! With support for a comprehensive range of digital cameras, Photoshop CS2 lets you automatically adjust settings, convert to Digital Negative (DNG) format, and apply nondestructive edits to batches of images.
• Polish digital photos with advanced noise correction in high-ISO shooting plus JPEG artifact reduction.
• Achieve amazing results with more than 95 special effects filters. Easily preview and apply more than one filter at a time from the Filter Gallery.
• Quickly create dynamic GIF animations—using one or more images—directly within Photoshop CS2 by taking advantage of the new Animations palette and layer palette animation options.
• Set up and save custom menus and keyboard shortcuts for quick access to the features you need.
• Reduce onscreen clutter by choosing from task-based workspaces, or create your own with just the tools you need.
• Quickly get answers from the new, floating Adobe Help Center window with improved search features and convenient, task-based topics.
• Use the new Image Processor command to process camera raw images, and use new built-in Actions to prepare images for film and video.
• Accomplish more in fewer steps with event-based scripts that automatically activate at specified points in your workflow.
• Instantly produce repetitive graphics with Variables, which automatically populate your design with data from spreadsheets or databases.
• Design for broadcast more easily by previewing your Photoshop CS2 images on an NTSC or PAL monitor connected to your computer by IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.LINK.
• Create and edit 32-bit, High Dynamic Range (HDR) images for the widest range and richest detail.
• Select and move, group, transform, and warp objects more intuitively by clicking and dragging directly on the canvas. Easily align objects with Smart Guides.
• Perform nondestructive scaling, rotating, and warping of raster and vector graphics with Smart Objects. Even preserve the editability of high-resolution vector data from Adobe Illustrator software.
• Design faster by automatically aligning objects to each other using Smart Guides.
• Quickly select typefaces from the font menu, which now displays a sample of each font.
• Work more smoothly across Adobe Creative Suite components with color-setting synchronization in Adobe Bridge, consistent viewing of onscreen color, and unified Adobe PDF file creation settings.
• See your broadcast graphics as they’ll appear to the audience, while you’re still building them. With one click, you can preview your Photoshop CS2 images on a television monitor connected to your computer by IEEE 1394/FireWire/i.LINK.
• Make the most of systems running 64-bit processors. Photoshop CS2 can address approximately 3.5 GB of RAM on a Power Macintosh G5 running Mac OS X, a Windows XP 64-bit Edition system running an Intel Xeon processor with EM64T, or an AMD Athlon 64 or Opteron processor.
• Save time by processing batches of raw images at once with nondestructive editing, including color settings, cropping, straightening, adjusting curves, and more. Even process images while continuing to edit or retouch them.
• Take advantage of support for a comprehensive range of digital cameras, and help ensure a lifetime of access to your digital camera raw files by converting them to the DNG format.
• Instantly improve the appearance of images by automatically adjusting the exposure, contrast, and color of raw files.
• Quickly display your photos online and gather feedback from viewers using web photo galleries that can now also include animations and sound.
• Upload photos directly to Adobe Photoshop Services to share and order prints—even in large formats. Adobe Photoshop Services are provided in conjunction with Kodak EasyShare Gallery, the leader in online photo services and a Kodak company. (Note: Adobe Photoshop Services are not available in all countries.)
• Present your images in universally accessible Adobe PDF files, which include support for transitions and security options.
• Easily configure your desktop inkjet printer for accurate color output.

Adobe Audition 2.0

• Enjoy rapid response as you record and mix with a new, powerful low-latency mixing engine.
• Work with high-performance, ASIO-driven audio devices, which operate with very low latency and enhance performance by enabling features such as live input monitoring.
• Move volume, pan, and effects controls as you listen, and record changes to your mix in real time. Changes appear as editable envelopes in the timeline.
• Adjust mix and effects parameters using external control devices, and record all your changes in real time.
• Get more flexibility when mixing tracks by creating sends to duplicate signals that are routed to different effects. Add a send to create a separate mix for headphones during a recording session.
• Listen to your audio inputs through the software, including effects applied to the input track. Then modify parameters after recording, if desired.
• Quickly fix recording errors by punching in corrections on-the-fly as you rerecord: Toggle the record button to punch in your new take only where you want it to replace the old one. Punch in and out as many times as you want.
• Add filters and effects to tracks and buses throughout the signal chain without knocking tracks out of sync.
• Add effects to the master channel and hear the results even before mixing down to a single file.
• Enjoy faster performance and more economical use of hard-drive space by recording audio sessions directly to a final working file. Once recorded, your files can be saved immediately.
• Record, edit, and mix any number of stereo tracks in Multitrack View.
• Record up to 80 live inputs simulta neously in a multitrack session.
• Edit soundtracks for video and then export the enhanced video in AVI, MPEG, DV, or WMV format.
• Enjoy an updated, easy-to-use interface consistent with those in the latest Adobe video applications with workspace panels that dock and group for optimal organization, as well as new phase analysis tools and a powerful new Mixer panel.
• Configure workspace panel arrangements for specific tasks and then save them for reuse. Preset arrangements for some tasks, such as multitrack recording and mastering, are included.
• Cut to the chase when deadlines loom using 20 royalty-free, ready-to-play music beds in 15- and 30- second lengths.
• Arrange your own music with professional results using approximately 5,000 32-bit, performance-based, royalty-free music loops in many styles.
• Enjoy rock-solid synchronization between your audio and video playback over projects of any length.
• Browse, organize, and preview files, and then drag and drop what you need from Adobe Bridge. Search by or edit file info (XMP metadata) such as keywords, language, and format.
• Use XMP metadata to quickly identify, catalog, and find clips across multiple applications. Standard metadata fields are included, and custom metadata input panels can also be created.
• Quickly find the audio you want to edit using two modes of audible scrubbing. Tape-style scrubbing enables you to find hard-to-locate edit points, and shuttle-style scrubbing allows you scan through your audio rapidly.
• Control dynamics, adjust loudness, and master your mixes with multiband precision. Give bass and drums punch while allowing your vocals to push through the entire mix.
• Apply and preview multiple effects simulta neously when working with files in Edit View. Save frequently used rack settings as presets for convenient reuse.
• Visually isolate and select sounds in frequency and time, and then clean up, modify, or apply effects to the selected sound using the Spectral Frequency Display. Isolate specific sounds and increase the visibility of lower frequencies.
• Easily select exactly the area you want during frequency-space editing, using the same familiar Lasso tool found in other Adobe applications.
• Analyze audio with powerful visualization tools including the unique Spectral Pan and Phase displays, which plot pan, phase, and frequency over time.
• Isolate a specific frequency range more easily by adjusting the Spectral Frequency Display color bar and resolution display settings.
• Use the logarithmic display option in Spectral Frequency Display to increase the visibility of lower frequencies.
• Quickly and easily save CD layouts track lists and accompanying metadata — for convenient reuse.
• Select an audio or video clip in Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 or After Effects 7.0 software, and then choose Edit in Adobe Audition to rework the audio.
• Work with third-party hardware and software systems that use the BWF time stamp field. During import, automatically insert the clip into your session at its time stamp location.
• Experience improved performance while applying effects like Reverb and Time Stretch, and when displaying clips for editing in Spectral Frequency Display.
• Use the histogram mode for an easier-to-read phase analysis view. See the percentage of your audio that is in phase and the overall phase content.
• Import and export Ogg Vorbis (OGG) audio files.

Adobe Encore DVD 2.0

• Build and arrange slide shows with ease. Define shows as browsable or autoplay with optional narration or music. Set slide durations, add transitions, and apply pan-and-zoom effects.
• Define and view your DVD's navigation by using a visual flowchart representation of all points and links.
• Create multipage menus automatically from chapters or slide shows in your project.
• Jump-start DVD menu creation using the many royalty-free templates, motion menus, and other included artwork files.
• Increase your audio format options with support for DTS audio.
• Import line 21 files to add closed captions to your DVDs (applies to NTSC titles only).
• Use a single command to add chapter points at fixed intervals, enabling viewers to skip quickly through content.
• Organize your desktop quickly with workspace panels that dock and group. Move divider lines between panels to adjust your layout quickly, with no need to resize multiple windows.
• Browse, organize, and preview content files, and then drag and drop what you need right from Adobe Bridge. Search by or edit XMP metadata such as keywords, language, and format.
• Use Chapter Playlists to create different play orders without duplicating content. The disc space saved can enable the use of lower compression for higher quality video.
• Save time with easy assembly of multiple video clips on a timeline. There's no need for a separate video editing application to achieve seamless playback of multiple clips.
• Use XMP metadata to quickly identify assets or automate tasks. View and edit XMP metadata from within the project panel in Encore DVD, or use metadata keywords to search for files in Adobe Bridge.
• Specify locations for graphic objects in a menu template by using replacement layers. Objects dropped on replacement layers scale to fit the size designated in the layer.
• Add audio to your slide show and automatically adjust slide durations to match the total audio time. Add or delete slides, and slide durations automatically adjust to the correct length.
• Spice up your slide shows with the same collection of visual transitions found in Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 software.
• Bring your slide shows to life with pan-and-zoom effects that let you focus on the key areas of interest within your images.
• Rotate objects in the Menu window with fine control using the rotate tool.

Adobe Illustrator CS2

• Quickly and accurately convert photos, scans, or other bitmap images to editable and scalable vector paths with the Live Trace feature.
• Apply color to any area of your artwork and use overlapping paths to create new shapes with the Live Paint feature, which intuitively colors artwork and automatically detects and corrects gaps.
• Assign a spot color to a linked, embedded, or opened grayscale image, or even apply a spot color to a drop shadow and be confident that artwork will separate properly when printing.
• Control the position of a stroke on a path by choosing centered, inside, or outside.
• Easily apply underlining and strikethroughs to any line of text, section of text, or text element.
• Control the visibility of layer comps in linked, embedded, or opened Photoshop files from within Illustrator CS2.
• Discover new features and find existing features faster in the context-sensitive Control palette. Accessing selection-based tools from a single location eliminates the need for multiple palettes.
• Work more efficiently and optimize your screen area using custom workspaces that display only the palettes you need for a specific task. Save, share, or access any workspace at any time or use workspace templates.
• Use Adobe Bridge to efficiently browse and preview your creative assets, run automation scripts, access Adobe Stock Photos, and more.
• Take advantage of pressure-sensitive drawing and erasing with a Wacom tablet, as well as new Intuous3 features like tilt sensitivity.
• Easily present multiple designs by creating multipage PDF files. Tile your Illustrator artboard into as many pages as you want, and simply export to create a multipage PDF file.
• Save time and help ensure consistency by sharing PDF presets across Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Adobe graphics applications, including Adobe Acrobat Distiller 7.0 software.
• Easily and reliably print oversized documents to standard desktop printers by controlling the overlap between tiled pages.
• Expanded export options and a simplified process make it easier than ever to export your Illustrator artwork to Macromedia Flash (SWF) file format.
• Optimize rich graphical content for mobile wireless devices by saving artwork in any SVG format, including SVG-t, with improved export options, previewing, and more.
• Create reliable, press-ready layouts using ISO-standard and ANSI-standard PDF/X.
• Work with almost any type of graphic file including PDF, EPS, SVG, Photoshop (PSD), TIFF, GIF, JPEG, SWF, and more.

Bridge

• Adobe Bridge is the navigational control center introduced with Adobe Creative Suite 2 software and now available as part of Adobe Production Studio software. Adobe Bridge provides centralized access to your project files, applications, and settings, along with XMP metadata tagging and searching capabilities. With file organization and sharing, plus Adobe Stock Photos, at your fingertips all the time, Adobe Bridge provides a more efficient creative workflow and keeps you on top of your print, web, video, and mobile projects.

Extra Goodies

• Produce great-looking, distinctive animations and animated effects easily in After Effects using Animation and Behavior Presets, including text, effects, transitions, animated backgrounds, and behaviors.
• After Effects includes a wide variety of animation templates for quick production of animated backgrounds, motion menus, and more.
• Encore DVD includes hundreds of professionally designed menu templates with placeholders for text and graphics for fast, easy creation of great-looking DVDs. Many of the motion menu templates are also provided as fully editable After Effects compositions. Adobe Premiere Pro also includes a wide variety of DVD menu designs.
• Create new music for your production in Adobe Audition, starting with any of approximately 5,000 uncompressed, royalty-free audio loops.
• Music beds
• Adobe Audition includes 20 royalty-free music beds, ready to use with no composition required. The music beds come in convenient 15-second and 30-second lengths.