Adobe CS4 - expanding beyond saturation point
I remember testing and reviewing Adobe Creative Suite 1. It felt bit, full, comprehensive, rich. It wasnt perfect; it groaned and grunted under certain strains, it stumbled and was clumsy in a range of areas. But it felt like the future. It pointed towards an holistic and integrated production future.
Then there was CS2 and I tested it and reviewed it and wrote about for various magazines and websites. And it was big, and dense and packed with features and options and add-ons and extras.
And not long after I had started the deep dive into the CS2 tarpit attempting to wrangle such a huge production entity, they asked what I'd like to see in CS3...? Bugger me, I cant quite get my head around the contents and options of CS2 let alone think about what else you might add for CS3. Bug fixes, changes in process, these are the surface level stuff (important certainly) but considering 'What Else..?" is a much bigger picture.
So along came CS3 and the pieces at last started to fall into place - the integartion become central rather than periphery. The holistic aporoach to delivery become a core function not an ancillary add-on. CS1 and CS2 felt like a good value bundle of separate applications. CS3 at last really started to feel like a singular entity - a singular system with various arms.
There were elements missing, certainly. Ultra and OnLocation felt like outsiders. Adobe Audition was dropped from the bundle which was major loss. Soundbooth has some good tools, Premiere has very good audio tools of its own but even the two together arent a match for the excellent DAW power of Audition.
Then there was the incomplete Mac and PC parity. Premiere on the Mac is a great thing but the number of features in the Help files marked with (Windows only) - AAF support being most notable - left CS3 feeling like a job incomplete.
None the less CS3 did feel like maximum density, the software saturation point. To this stage Adobe had avoided bloatedness and continued to delivery density intrinsically connected with functionality. But how much more can you pack in?
Well here comes CS4. Delivered today to the world. I have been playing with various demos of CS4 applications over the past couple of months and just when I thought there would be little to excite and simple a CS4 delivering refinement rather than advancement, I find I am surprised to be surprised.
I wont get into it here and now. Reviews, articles and tutorials will follow here on DMN and the DigitalBasin but I thought Id compile my short list of 3 key new things in CS4 that have caught my attention (and they are not necessarily the most obvious)
1. Soundbooth is now Multi-Track
Whilst its a far cry from being a replacement from Audition and arguably lacks the musicality of Apples Soundtrack Pro or Sonys AcidPro, it is none the less a very functional multitrack tool with great potential for audio preparation and syncing in dual-system sound projects. the audio to text feature is also something that sets the mind buzzing with potential possibilities.
2. The new Adobe ASND file format.
Acting like like a hybrid between a project file and a dedicated multi-channel bundle format, ASND has really grabbed my attention. A file for building multi track assemblies that possesses a built-in mix down, can be used as a singular waveform file but is in fact a reference file back to the multi-track with live-update between applications. It also a snapshot feature to remember past history. The possibilities for this format are HUGE and I hope that Adobe continue to develop and exploit the little gem they have created. And dare I even hope that other developers might adopt the format...?
3. Metadata, Metadata, Metadata
This is the most important word in 21st century media production and the entire Adobe suite has embraced it like a dog chasing a care tyre. media management, coordination, tracking, revision, workflow, processing, distribution and delivery - all running the engine of effective metadata.
But I do have one question..... Where is Ultra? One of the best keying systems Ive ever used. Adobe acquired it when they bought serious magic. But despite its (windows only) presence in CS3 there seems no mention of it in CS4....
Posted at 07:10PM Sep 23, 2008
by Mike Jones in general |
