Adobe Video Tools Shows Popularity Among Filmmakers at Sundance 2016

From independent productions to Hollywood headliners, 51 films debuting at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival used Adobe Premiere Pro CC as their primary digital editing software.

Sundance, the festival for innovative work and emerging talent, includes a total of 175 films made with Premiere Pro CC and other Adobe Creative Cloud tools. From in-competition feature films like Christine, Gleason, and Swiss Army Man to short films and documentaries, like Richard Linklater – Dream is Destiny, Premiere Pro CC usage at Sundance has increased 143 percent since 2015.

“With such an ambitious film, we needed the most innovative technology to push creative boundaries,” says Louis Black, Co-Director of Richard Linklater – Dream is Destiny, which will premiere at Sundance. “Our story relies on combining decades-old archival footage with interviews from the present. We cut the film in Adobe Premiere Pro CC with incredible results.”

Sundance filmmakers are reflecting the rapid adoption of Adobe’s video workflows. Recent Premiere Pro converts include the four-time Oscar-winning Coen brothers with Hail, Caesar!, director Tim Miller with Deadpool, director David Fincher and Oscar-winning editor Kirk Baxter with Gone Girl, and director Rhys Thomas and producer Lorne Michaels with Staten Island Summer.

Adobe Invests in Future Filmmakers
Adobe is also proud to sponsor the out-of-competition NEXT category of films at Sundance, featuring works that combine creativity and digital technology. Films debuting in the NEXT category that were cut using Adobe Premiere Pro CC include: Dark Night, Operation Avalanche, The Eyes of My Mother, and The 4th.

In addition, Adobe is partnering with Sundance Ignite through the company’s Project 1324 initiative, which provides up-and-coming producers with the opportunity to spotlight their work. Project 1324 and the Sundance Institute asked 18-to-24 year-old filmmakers to show “What’s Next?” The five winning filmmakers will be celebrated at the festival and receive a Sundance Ignite Fellowship, awarding them with opportunities to be mentored by Sundance Institute staff and alumni.

Latest Updates to Adobe Creative Cloud Video Tools, Coming Soon
On the heels of Sundance, Adobe will release updates to its Creative Cloud video tools.

New features available by the end of January include:

• 100,000 4K high-quality video assets will be added to the video content available in Adobe Stock. Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC users can search, download, and license this ever-growing collection of stock assets directly from their desktop apps. Adobe Stock, the company’s royalty-free collection of high-quality photos and illustrations, is already integrated into flagship products, including Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, and Illustrator CC. Cineware Live 3D pipeline (first introduced to After Effects CC in 2014) will be enhanced with improved workflow and greater performance. OpenGL rendering will now be available within the Cineware effect, providing increased speed over the software render option.
• Cineware Live 3D pipeline (first introduced to After Effects CC in 2014) will be enhanced with improved workflow and greater performance. OpenGL rendering will now be available within the Cineware effect, providing increased speed over the software render option.
• Option to use Live Link which synchronizes the timelines between After Effects CC and Cinema 4D making compositing more efficient.
• Artists can now choose to render specific Takes in a Cinema 4D project file, with support for Cinema 4D’s new Take System, introduced in its latest release R17.
• Performance enhancements in Premiere Pro CC.

“We’re thrilled to support the Sundance Institute and all the incredible artists whose ground-breaking work inspires us year after year,” says Bill Roberts, Senior Director of Professional Video Product Management at Adobe. “It’s their creativity that drives us to innovate and consistently deliver cutting-edge new features to bring every story to life in every medium, screen and budget.”