Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

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ElitePirateUpsilon
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by ElitePirateUpsilon »

Hey, I've been editing in Windows Movie Maker for most of my editing life (except for when I can steal my friends' macbooks and use iMovie), and I'm just about ready to stick a fork through my head. I've honestly had it, and I've made the executive decision to upgrade to a better program. I only have around 100-120 dollars to spend on software, and I was thinking of settling on Adobe Premier Elements. Whenever I ask people about good editing programs for windows they always seem to tell me to go with adobe premier pro (which is 600 dollars more than I can afford), but I was just wondering whether or not the elements version is still able to make higher-end AMVs and can do most of the things that premier pro can do. Thanks!
dokool
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by dokool »

I think the 'Org has a couple thread about Elements, you may want to check there.

You might also want to look into buying a copy of an older version of Premiere such as 6.5.
Bret
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by Bret »

Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and Apple's Final Cut Pro are staples in the pro and semi-pro industries. They've both been used to produce everything from indie films to AMVs. As you know, they're also fairly expensive products, and both sport somewhat of a learning curve.

Premiere Elements is geared toward general consumers, but that doesn't mean it's featureless (the program is still highly rated). You won't get as many of the detailed features and advanced functionality as Pro, but when you're moving up from WMM, Elements should be more than adequate.

Even still, Adobe has recently made the majority of its products available online for trial use. I suggest downloading and installing Elements and Pro CS3. You can use both programs for 30-days with full functionality. Get your video elements together and try creating something in both programs. You may find that you prefer Elements!

I'm going to guess you're a student. If you are, you can apply for discounts at the Academic Superstore. They offer Pro CS3 for $340 and Elements for $60.

There's also a chance your school or community college has a class which utilizes Premiere Pro. If so, you may be able to acquire a free educational license.

Cheers, and good luck!
ElitePirateUpsilon
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by ElitePirateUpsilon »

Hey, thanks so much for your help. I ended up getting Premier Elements (even with the discount I still couldn't afford Pro CS3), and it works amazingly well. I was kind of worried before I got it since I'd heard some criticism in user reviews that Premier Elements had been freezing, especially with Vista (which I was dumb enough to install), but I haven't had a single problem that any of the reviews warn of. I completely recommend Premier Elements for any PC User tired of Windows Movie Breaker.
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BDragonD24
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by BDragonD24 »

Vista has been making advancements to prevent the issues that many were having with programs such as elements. In fact SP1 is going to be deployed shortly, which should solve any of the silly issues people may still be having.
Hinano
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by Hinano »

Elements + Vista gave me a headache but I've managed to find ways around some problems (especially when it comes to encoding.)

I used to edit with DIVX files but now I have to use XVID or it gets screwy. You just gotta play around with it but it can be really frustrating at first.
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basharoftheages
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by basharoftheages »

[quote=Hinano]I used to edit with DIVX files but now I have to use XVID or it gets screwy. You just gotta play around with it but it can be really frustrating at first.[/quote]
Editing with any lossy file types is just asking for trouble. They'll just randomly stop working as you noticed. They can also corrupt your project files - not to mention they're frame inaccurate and the compression artifacts make the video look like crap.
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pettruchio
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Adobe Premier Elements: Worth it?

Post by pettruchio »

When it comes to software I am computer illiterate. I used Elements when I couldn't figure out WMM. Elements worked wonderfully for me and its very simple to learn. I recommend Elements for anyone who just doesn't understand programs like that.
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