PEG Reveals 2.0: My Favorite Piece of Editing Software
Being creative means there isn't always a right way or wrong way of doings things. Over the years, everyone forms their own ways of working, their own tricks-of-the-trade and finds their own favorite things! This series focuses our talented creative team and their thoughts on a few production-related topics.
My Favorite Piece of Editing Software
Jeffrey
It has to be Adobe After Effects. I love it as much as the next person for its ability to create amazing visuals with the right person behind the wheel, but even more than that I love it for its sheer “do anything” nature. With other programs there’s always that moment when you want to do something a little unique, and you think “How am I going to do that in this program with these tools….”. If that question has no good answer, the go-to fix is always “just do it in After Effects”. It’s a rare day that you think up an idea and (with the right approach) After Effects can’t do it.
Josh
Adobe After Effects is by far my favorite editing software. You can turn a blank slate into something super unique and eye catching with just a few shape layers! The depth of After Effects can’t even be explained, I have more of a coding background and I get to use that in After Effects in a really fun and challenging way. The coolest new thing in the program are MOGRTS and they are amazing for what we do at PEG. They are full animations that can be edited in other software like Premiere Pro! How cool is that?
Craig
Adobe After Effects would be my choice. The range of this program and what it can yield really appeals to my love of that variety of videos someone can make. It appeals to my love of animation and making simple objects and scenes come to life. It appeals to my interests in creating effects with making something unique and visually engaging. It appeals to my sense of satisfaction in giving identity to a video with motion graphics, lower thirds, and logo splashes that make the brand shine. Every project that uses After Effects really feels it yields a unique result and application and it’s amazing as different as these results seem, it’s all possible through this same program.
James
When editing I like to use any tool available to me, but when choosing favorites I’d have to go with Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe After Effects would be a close second, but what keeps it from being number one is Premiere’s intuitive interface and overall versatility as a non-linear editing program. It’s compatibility with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Audition and Adobe After Effects makes it the “must have” program to create a dynamic video on every level. Don’t get me wrong, it does come with its issues of crashes and errors, and without recent feature updates it probably wouldn’t have been my favorite, but in my eyes there’s no program that’s more useful.
David
While I’ve traditionally been a Final Cut Pro user, Adobe Premiere has really grown on me these past couple of years. It’s a much more organized editor, and really allows me to have very technical edits. While it may not yet be well optimized for our new Mac Pro’s hardware, its ability to dynamic link with other applications like Adobe After Effects and Adobe Audition is a godsend when it comes to revisions. Adobe Lightroom deserves an honorable mention as well. I’ve taken a liking to photography lately, and Lightroom is really powerful tool for getting the most out of your photos. It’s quick and intuitive, allowing me to stay creative without diving too deep into settings.
