Adobe has announced a range of new audio features for its video editing app, Premiere Pro. The company says the updates deliver “an intuitive new audio experience … that makes editing faster and easier than ever before.” Currently, the new features are only available in the beta version of Premiere Pro.
Interactive fade handles
Interactive fade handles on clips are one of the innovative new audio features in the Premiere Pro beta. Audio clips now have handles on the ends which you can simply click and drag to create a variety of custom audio fades. If you have used audio editing programs such as Audition or Pro Tools you will be familiar with a similar way of working. As well as adding fades and crossfades, you can drag to change the shape of the curve, giving exponential fades rather than simple linear ones.
AI-powered audio category tagging
Another new feature in the Premiere Pro beta is AI-powered audio category tagging. This automatically identifies your audio files. It then labels your clips with icons for dialogue, music, sound effects or ambient noise. In addition, clicking on the icon gives you access to the most relevant tools for editing and adjusting each type of audio.
Other new features
Clip badges have been redesigned in the Premiere Pro beta, so it is now easier to see which clips have effects. You can also click on the badges to quickly add new effects or adjust effect settings. The Premiere Pro beta also features more modern and intelligent waveforms that dynamically resize when you change the track height. In addition, Adobe has improved clip colors to make it easier to see and work with audio on the timeline.
Enhance Speech tool
Adobe’s Enhanced Speech tool instantly and automatically removes unwanted noise and improves poorly recorded dialogue. The feature was first introduced in the Premiere Pro beta back in September 2023. However, Adobe has announced that Enhanced Speech will become generally available to all Premiere Pro customers in February 2024.
What we think
The new audio editing features being rolled out in the latest Premiere Pro beta are designed to make your workflow simpler. The interactive fade handles are a great addition and will be welcomed by anyone who has worked with audio editing software. It’s also good to see Adobe continuing to roll out AI-powered features to take over the more mundane jobs such as category tagging your audio. Beta versions of software are not as stable as full releases so we wouldn’t recommend using them for important projects. However, they are a vital part of the development of new software. You can also give feedback to Adobe on the new features to help improve Premiere Pro.
Pricing and availability
The latest Premiere Pro beta is available now for users with the relevant Adobe subscription.
