PowerDirector makes the overall task simpler but doesn't support the Neat Video plug-in. Since I often just want to process a single clip, like a demo for an article, the overhead of doing this in Premiere Pro is annoying, but something I've learned to live with. As an example, with a fair amount of effort I've put together a drone video workflow that uses D-Log footage, an input LUT, noise removal with the Neat Video plugin, and custom presets for Neat Video developed by TheFilmPoets. Just as with PhotoDirector, your enthusiasm for PowerDirector may have a lot to do with how ingrained you are into your current toolset. ![]() To work with a specific clip when editing you select the clip and then either Fix/Enhance to bring up a palette of adjustments, or Tools for certain built-in and plug-in tools. For those still burning DVDs, there is a final module called Create Disc. If you'll be recording live, you can start with Capture otherwise, you can jump right into the Edit module to import and process your clips, and then head to Produce for rendering output. Similar to Premiere Pro, PowerDirector uses a step-through-workspaces workflow, although they are more like the well-defined modules of Lightroom than the "soft" grouping of Premiere Pro's workspaces. PowerDirector's UI will look familiar to users of other video editors, but you'll need to adapt to the way its workflow is structured. But CyberLink has instead decided to provide a full-on competitor, sporting a simplified interface, to Premiere Pro (and Final Cut) with its PowerDirector product. ![]() Elements, and soon Project Rush, are designed to provide simplified versions with fewer features. It is really designed for creative professionals who specialize in video. PowerDirector: the Power of Premiere Pro With an Elements-Like Approachįor anyone who doesn't edit videos for a living, Premiere Pro is a daunting - and expensive - application. Turning that around, you can also create Motion Stills from a video clip, by highlighting a portion you want to move and keeping the rest frozen. I find that especially interesting since one issue with video is that it isn't as easy to view or share as a still image, so a way to capture motion in a single image is intriguing. On the more-innovative side, it can also extract a series of frames from a video and turn them into a multi-exposure still frame. PhotoDirector also adds a Dehaze command, in line with other popular editing packages. To accompany that there are various Style Packs. On the snazzier side are some AI-powered Style features, starting with a Style plug-in. Tethered shooting has also been added, which should be a big win for many who work in a studio - a key market for CyberLink. CyberLink has added Adjustment Layers, Clipping Masks, and Layer Groups. Speaking of Photoshop, one of the biggest updates in PhotoDirector 10 is to help it match the Layers capability found in Photoshop CC. In Photoshop this is accomplished with a simple pixel-based preset for the Crop tool. ![]() For example, to crop and resize an image I had to use the Crop tool from the Global Adjustments (which are non-destructive a la Lightroom), then resize when I exported it (this is a task I need to do all the time when preparing images for various websites like ExtremeTech). That can be frustrating, at least at first. To use PhotoDirector effectively, though, you really need to get into the spirit of how its modules are designed to work together. ![]() The Library module is not as full-featured as the one in Lightroom, but it offers typical features like tagging and search, plus the increasingly common option to enable facial recognition. The result is an all-in-one, value-priced alternative for your full image editing needs. If you're an Adobe user wondering about whether PhotoDirector has something to offer, imagine a single application that took the modules of Lightroom, added some of the Guided Edits features of Photoshop Elements, and then extended itself through most of the features found in Photoshop CC. While still promoting the individual purchase of its applications, CyberLink has taken a page out of Adobe's book by offering a "365 Subscription" option that provides some exclusive content - along with product updates and plenty of Plugins, Style Packs, and even some 3rd-party add-ins. CyberLink's collection of editing tools have long been an alternative to Adobe's Creative Cloud, but now the company has made the comparison more clear by wrapping them into a unified offering branded Director Suite 365.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |