WHITE PAPER Integrating Adobe Premiere Pro with emam for a Collaborative Workflow
Contents Introduction... 2 Adobe Premiere Pro- Choice of Professional Editors... 3 emam and Premiere Pro Integration... 3 Project Creation and Sharing... 4 Content Search... 5 Categories Tab... 6 emam Projects Tab... 7 Import... 7 Export... 8 Refresh... 9 Collaboration from emam... 9 Projects and Category Management... 9 Asset Options... 9 ebins for Review & Approve... 11 Distribution... 13 Archive and Storage... 14 Sequence Sharing... 14 Conclusion... 15 Contact... 16 I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 1
This whitepaper is intended to illustrate the seamless integration of emam with Adobe Premiere Pro, and how the collaboration enhances the video editing workflow. Introduction Managing the flood of content in the digital age has become a major challenge for organizations everywhere. Companies have had to adapt the manner in which they organize and share information while simultaneously transitioning from tape-based workflows to digital file-based environments. To manage these rapidly changing dynamics, Empress Media Asset Management, LLC developed emam TM, a powerful and flexible web-accessible media asset management system, for users to easily manage all of their digital assets throughout their workflow from any global location. emam Integrates Ingest, Store, Edit, Share and Archive Workflows I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 2
Adobe Premiere Pro- Choice of Professional Editors Professional editing is a competitive field, to adapt companies must use the latest and most advanced technology to maximize output while minimizing labor and other expenditures. Adobe Premiere Pro is a powerful editing tool which includes new features such as streamlined color grading, and enhanced timeline. Offering highly integrated workflows with performance and speed, Adobe Premiere Pro provides professional editors with the features they require to deliver high quality results. The Creative Cloud minimizes IT work while providing an integrated suite of solutions for users. The Adobe Premiere Pro workspace is simple to understand and to customize, allowing users to save workspace layouts appropriate to their current needs. Virtually all video formats can be imported without transcoding, and edited natively. Adobe Premiere Pro links to industry-standard file-based media, such as P2 cards, XDCAM, RED, and ARRIRAW. It works directly with Apple ProRes and MOV files captured by DSLR cameras, with full metadata support no transcoding or rewrapping required. Familiarity with other Adobe products such as After Effects or Photoshop, will shorten the learning curve for Adobe Premiere Pro because Adobe Creative Suite applications share common commands, panels, and keyboard shortcuts. The integral integration with the other components of Production Premium applications creates one of the most efficient workflows in the industry. Using Dynamic Link in Adobe Premiere Pro, users can send sequences to Adobe Encore to create Blu-ray Discs, or use sequences from Adobe Premiere Pro as layers in After Effects compositions without rendering. Editors can also send After Effects compositions back to an Adobe Premiere Pro project, where the comps look and act just like any other clip: changes in After Effects are automatically reflected in the Adobe Premiere Pro sequence. emam and Premiere Pro Integration emam can integrate multiple workflows for a variety of different organizations. This white paper will detail the workflows that rely on the combined strengths of the emam and Premiere Pro systems. In a shared editing environment, multiple editors can work on the same Premiere Pro project from a shared centralized storage environment. emam manages content in such an environment, and can now open up the editing and media management workflow for worldwide collaboration and flexible storage possibilities. With a built in panel and an export plugin in Premiere Pro, emam can now make editing an open process through its powerful media asset management tools. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 3
emam- Adobe Premiere Pro extension Panel Projects, Sequence, Elements, Markers, Bins, Metadata emam Web services Gateway emam Database Files Storage emam Interfaces Adobe Premiere Pro Integration with emam Project Creation and Sharing Within Premiere Pro, users can create Premiere projects. Adobe Premiere Pro has extensive tools for capturing live feeds allowing users to preview and choose incoming content from all popular camera and format types. The Media Browser allows editors to add clips/graphics by browsing from attached/network storage. Premiere Pro also supports an array of common graphic, audio, and video elements produced from other sources. With the introduction of the emam extension panel, editors can now import all of the content managed by the emam library directly into the current Premiere Pro project from within Premiere Pro. The emam system can manage content on local SAN/NAS storage, in cloud storage locations, in archive, on the shelf, or any combination of storage locations. With all historical content at the editor s fingertips, time spent on searching content is minimized, maximizing productivity. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 4
emam Panel opened in Adobe Premiere Pro Content Search An editor can search based on title, description, metadata, tags, or markers to find the best content for the project in hand using the search option within extension panel. emam also organizes groups of assets into categories and projects. emam Extension Panel, Search I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 5
Categories Tab Categories in emam are similar to directories in a file system. As found in a typical directory structure, editors can use categories to browse through available content in the system. As an MAM system, emam focuses on minimizing redundant copies of files. One asset/element can belong to one or more categories and unlike a typical file system, emam will not make copies of the files in different categories; it will simply keep pointers to the one stored copy of an asset. Individual users of emam are associated with one or more user groups, which are often aligned with roles in an organization. emam enforces access and other permissions to specific user groups at the category level. As a result of this functionality, an editor will only have the ability to see categories of assets which have been assigned to specific user group(s) in which (s)he belongs. The category tab inside the extension panel displays the permitted categories and assets in each category. emam Extension Panel, Categories I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 6
emam Projects Tab emam also organizes content into projects. Authorized users can create a number of emam Projects and assign them to various users. The emam extension panel will then display the projects assigned to the editor. The emam Projects tab in Premiere Pro will show the thumbnail of the elements along with title, description and other metadata from emam. emam Extension Panel, Projects Import Once an editor has found the required clips, audios, or graphics in emam, the import functionality will bring them directly into Premeire Pro. This option enables the editors to import individual emam Projects, categories or assets into Premiere Pro along with the essential metadata: general metadata and time-code specific metadata (markers). During the import process, Premiere Pro will automatically link to the original files in the shared storage location based on the file path from emam. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 7
Export An editor can also export current Premiere Pro projects into emam. This function can be leveraged to power collaboration through emam users worldwide but to also preserve and protect the project in a long term archive. Furthermore, the export function supports workflows where Premiere Pro is used as a desktop ingest source for content into the emam library. An export option associated with the extension panel allows the editor to export the current working project in Adobe Premiere Pro to emam. Different steps of the export process include: i. Automatically save the Premiere Project if the work is not saved ii. Check for the emam Project existence in emam and prompt the user to create a new Project or update an existing emam Project. iii. Prompt the metadata screen for the editor, so that s(he) can enter the project details, tags, metadata and further more select a category. emam Metadata entry screen with, project details, categories, tags and custom metadata fields iv. Identify the elements in the projects and synchronize with the shared storage. Elements inside the locally attached storage will be automatically moved to the centralized shared storage for management by emam.. v. Adobe Media Encoder will automatically generate a proxy copy of the content for preview use in emam. The original native content and all associated metadata will be stored in the emam system. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 8
Refresh In a multi-user environment, it is highly beneficial for users to be able to work simultaneously on the same project. The Refresh option allows the extension panel in Premiere Pro to be updated with the latest information entered by other users from emam. Newly added Projects, Clips and Categories along with all the metadata will be reflected in the panel upon refresh. Collaboration from emam It is often difficult or impossible for stakeholders in different locations to access the content before and during the editing process due to cost, networking issues, and the inability of non-technical users to use editing systems. Authorized emam users can access content by using any web browser to collaborate on projects. Timecode- based markers, annotations, sub clips, logging, and other features enable worldwide users to work together seamlessly. emam Version 3.3 extends access for these functionalities with native applications for Apple ipad and Android tablets. Projects and Category Management In addition to creating emam Projects and categories, authorized users can set up or change which users are approved as well as adding or subtracting various elements. Categories are tightly linked with a long list of permission settings (including access) and assignments to one or more user groups. Projects are merely groups of assets shared as needed with individuals. emam Projects are directly accessible from the Premiere Pro extension panel. Categories in emam can be imported as bins in Premiere Pro. emam utilizes FCP XML to send emam Projects directly to Final Cut Pro 7 editors with associated metadata. Asset Options There are various tools that can be leveraged from emam to use with assets. The marker functionality can be utilized to place individual marks or comments on a video at different time code points. These markers are then searchable in the system and are also available for the editors within Premiere Pro. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 9
Marker Window opened in emam Please note markers made in the emam system will appear in Premiere Pro, as shown below. Adobe Premiere Pro showing Markers from emam I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 10
To mark sections of a video (time in/time out points), editors can make use of the sub clip function. Because the emam system manages the native content and offers transcoding, users can generate sub clips based on time-codes in almost any needed format. Furthermore, users are provided with the ability to send clips to almost any destination (e.g. the editor). The same functionality can be used to deliver EDLs to editors. emam Sub Clips tab The comment and tag features allow either long descriptions or short labels to be associated with an individual clips. Whether emam users push content to the editors, or whether the editor pulls the content from emam, the users can now make important contributions to the editing process. ebins for Review & Approve emam has the capability to power the review and approval process for editors. When the editor is ready, (s)he can click EXPORT to sync the Premiere Project with the emam Project. Authorized emam users can see the clips for review and collaboration as described. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 11
For review/approval and comments, clips from emam can be sent as an email link. The ebin function can send links of multiple files of any format (clips with associate documents and stills) with customized player settings, tracking, and security controls to a single recipient or an email list, simplifying the review process. Choosing elements to be sent to ebins works like an online shopping platform: users click a + sign to choose media to add to the shopping cart. Setting up an ebin to share emails to content in emam Recipients need to only open the email to access the ebin player. Different tabs will display videos, audios, images, and other documents. The recipient may be provided with a set of specific permissions which will allow them to comment, forward, and/or download the content. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 12
The ebin player To support multiple rounds of editing, approval and collaboration, emam maintains copies of all of the information sent in ebin messages. Editors can add or subtract assets, change versions, rearrange the order of assets, and change recipients before sending a revised link. An authorized user can reopen the ebin message at a later time to add or remove the asset without having to resend the message. Distribution Once the editorial process is completed, final sequences and projects can be easily distributed using the emam system. The delivery option in emam can offload the transcoding/rendering and distribution workflow from editing workstations onto the emam servers. This frees up the edit stations for other sessions. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 13
Users can choose individual assets or group of assets to be added to the delivery queue. They can also select the required format(s) and destination(s) for the assets. With the numerous formats available, most organizations will select a list of delivery profiles for emam users. emam has integrated with Amazon and Microsoft Windows Azure cloud platforms and the flexible MediaPaas consortium to provide cloud delivery and storage. Accelerated file transfer is available using File Catalyst or other similar systems. Customers can easily use any CDN system for distribution. When the native copy is not needed, the ebin function can be used to widely share email links. emam also has the ability to create sharable video player links or embedded web codes for distributing over social media platforms or in websites. Archive and Storage emam directly manages content, whether in local or remote storage, in cloud storage, or by using a HSM system to pull content from an LTO archive. emam supports hybrid environments, where content is kept in multiple storage locations, with proxy copies served from the most appropriate location. emam also has the ability to keep proxy copies for offline (on the shelf) archived content, and trigger notifications as needed to retrieve the content. The emam archive module can securely preserve final projects, elements and sequences in multi-tiered disk, cloud and LTO archive storages. Editors are now aware of all the possible current and historical media to increase productivity while minimizing expenditures associated with localized or redundant storage. Sequence Sharing An alternative workflow is available where emam is not managing the Premiere Pro project. Often this is suitable for emam Online cloud platform, where the system is used to share proxy copies of content but does not manage the native content in storage or archive. The emam system stores a H.264 copy for all of the collaboration features. To obtain the original/native copy users will send an eorder, which will trigger an email notification for order fulfillment. With the Export to emam plugin, Adobe Premiere Pro can be used to ingest sequences directly to the emam system. The export plugin uses the fast and powerful Adobe Media Encoder to perform the background encoding to prepare the H.264 copy of the sequence for remote preview. The emam ingest process moves the content to online cloud storage after extracting the embedded metadata. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 14
Export to emam option in Adobe Premiere Pro File Menu The rendered sequence can be viewed in emam from any standard web browser or mobile device. From the emam system, users can collaborate on the generated sequence. This is especially useful for generating ebins for review and approval as detailed above. Conclusion Together emam and Adobe Premiere Pro offer a seamless integration, which allows editors to access the MAM features within Adobe Premiere Pro without leaving the interface. emam tools can be used from tablets or any web enabled device, anywhere, anytime, to review, annotate, mark, perform rough cuts, create projects and assign projects to editors. The integration of emam with Adobe Premiere Pro can be beneficial for editors, producers, and organization as a whole, as it offers: 1. Collaborative Editing 2. Project Management 3. Version Control 4. Permission and Security 5. Easy Access to the Content Together Adobe Premiere Pro and emam offer a comprehensive, highly-integrated workflow with speed, performance, and features that video professionals need to deliver high-quality productions. I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 15
Contact Danielle L. Riesel Marketing Manager danielle@empressmam.com P: +1.888.808.3856 Shaun McTernan Senior Vice President Shaun@empressmam.com P: +1.888.808.3856 M: +1.843.540.1398 Empress Media Asset Management, LLC 306 W 38 th Street, 9 th Floor New York, New York 10018 www.empressmam.com I n t e g r a t i n g A d o b e P r e m i e r e P r o a n d e M A M f o r a C o l l a b o r a t i v e W o r k f l o w Page 16