Source: 爱上MAC | Software download link: Adobe Prelude CC 2017 for Mac
Adobe Prelude CC 2017 is a professional video logging and rough-cut tool designed specifically for pre-production workflows in film and video production. As a member of the Adobe Creative Cloud family, it integrates seamlessly with Premiere Pro and After Effects. Its core value lies in efficiently organizing, tagging, transcoding, and rough-cutting large volumes of footage, laying a solid foundation for subsequent fine editing. This article provides an in-depth analysis of its interface, workflow, and operational tips.
I. Detailed Breakdown of the Core Interface and Workspace
After launching Prelude, its interface is mainly divided into the following core areas, with a clear layout designed to achieve efficient media management.
- Top Menu Bar and Application Bar: Contains entry points for all software functions. The left side of the Application Bar provides quick workspace switching buttons such as “Logging” and “Project”.
- Project Panel (Upper Left): This is the “brain” of your project. It displays all imported media bins, sequences, and sub-sequences in a tree structure. You can create folders here to categorize and manage your media.
- Source Monitor Panel (Center Left): Used to preview the original media selected in the Project panel. You can play back, view metadata, and perform initial logging here.
- Record Panel (middle right/bottom): This is one of Prelude’s core workspaces. In this panel, you can add detailed markers, comments, and subclips to your assets, and define in/out points to prepare for rough cuts.
- Timeline Panel (bottom): Used to assemble rough cut sequences. You can drag marked clips or subclips here, arrange them in logical order, and form an initial cut version.
- Metadata Panel (right side): Displays and edits detailed technical metadata (such as codec, resolution, frame rate) and custom metadata for the selected clip.
II. Complete Workflow: From Creating a Project to Exporting
1. Create and Set Up a New Project
Action: After launching the software, click the menu bar File -> New -> Project..., or use the shortcut Cmd + Shift + N.
Location: The pop-up dialog box.
Details: Name the project and choose a storage location. The project file extension for Prelude 2017 is .plproj. It is recommended to create a separate folder for each project.
2. Import Assets
Action: Click the menu bar File -> Import..., or directly drag folders/files from Finder to the “Project Panel”.
Location: Project Panel.
Details: Supports common video, audio, and image formats. After importing, assets will be displayed in the project panel as a list or icons. You can create “Asset Bins” (shortcut Cmd + B) to categorize them.
3. Log and Mark Assets (Core Step)
Action: Select a clip in the project panel and double-click to open it in the Source Monitor. Play or drag the timeline to find key positions.
Add Markers: During playback, press the M key, or click the “Add Marker” button below the Source Monitor. This will create a marker on the timeline.
Open the Log Panel: Click the “Log” button in the application bar, or press Cmd + 5 to switch to the Log workspace. The Log panel will then expand below the Source Monitor.
Detailed Logging: In the Log panel, you can:
- Set In/Out Points: Use the
I(In) andO(Out) keys, or click the buttons on the panel. - Create Subclips: After setting the In/Out points, click the “Create Subclip” button and name it. Subclips will appear as separate items in the project panel, making it easy to manage highlight segments.
- Add Comments: In the marker field, enter descriptive text (e.g., “Opening shot,” “Interview – John”).
- Add Markers: Use predefined markers (such as “Select” and “Review”), or customize marker colors and names.
4. Build a Rough Cut Sequence
Action: Click the menu bar File -> New -> Rough Cut..., or use the shortcut Cmd + N and select “Rough Cut” in the dialog box.
Assemble: From the Project panel or Record panel, drag the marked clips or subclips directly onto the Timeline panel. You can arrange them freely in chronological order.
Trim: On the timeline, move the mouse to the beginning or end of a clip. When the cursor changes to the trim icon, you can drag directly to fine-tune the in and out points.
5. Send to Adobe Premiere Pro or Export
Send to Premiere Pro: This is the most commonly used output method. Select your rough cut sequence in the Project panel or timeline, and click the menu bar File -> Send to Adobe Premiere Pro.... Prelude will automatically create a Premiere Pro project file (.prproj) containing all asset links and the rough cut structure, and open it in Premiere Pro for fine editing.
Export as File: If you need standalone video files, you can export a “Batch List.” Click the menu bar File -> Export -> Batch List..., and choose a format such as CSV or FCP XML. This is typically used to exchange edit point information with other software, rather than exporting the video itself.
III. Advanced Tips for Common Features
- Batch Logging: Select multiple assets in the Project panel and switch to the “Log” workspace. Use
Cmd + KandCmd + Lto quickly jump between multiple assets and log them continuously, greatly improving logging efficiency. - Voice Logging: In the Log panel, click the “Voice Logging” button (microphone icon) to add voice annotations while playing back assets. The software will automatically convert voice to text markers (system support required).
- Custom Shortcuts: Click
Prelude -> Keyboard Shortcuts...to customize shortcuts for any operation according to your personal habits. - Metadata Templates: In the “Metadata” panel, you can create templates containing commonly used information (such as cinematographer, copyright) and apply them in bulk to selected assets for unified management.
- Quick Search: Use the search box at the top of the Project panel to quickly locate assets by filename, marker content, metadata, and more.
IV. Common Issues and Solutions
Q1: When importing certain formats of assets, the software does not respond or reports an error.
A: Prelude CC 2017 may have limited support for certain newer codecs (such as H.265/HEVC). Solutions: 1) Ensure macOS and Prelude are updated to the latest versions available in 2017; 2) Consider using Adobe Media Encoder or other tools to first transcode the assets to formats with better Prelude compatibility (such as Apple ProRes 422).
Q2: Markers and comments are lost after sending to Premiere Pro.
A: Make sure the correct option is selected when sending. In the “Send to Adobe Premiere Pro” dialog box, check the “Include Markers” option. In Premiere Pro, markers will appear on the timeline.
Q3: The software runs slowly and playback stutters.
A: 1) Check whether the footage is high resolution (e.g., 4K or above) or high frame rate, which puts pressure on the hardware. Try selecting a lower playback resolution (e.g., 1/2 or 1/4) from the drop-down menu under the Source Monitor. 2) Make sure that in Prelude’s Preferences (Prelude -> Preferences -> Media), the cache folder is located on a high-speed hard drive (e.g., an SSD).
Q4: Cannot find the “Send to Adobe Premiere Pro” option.
A: Please confirm that you have selected a “rough cut” sequence or a bin containing clips, rather than a single unprocessed raw clip. This feature is mainly intended for organized sequences.
V. Keyboard Shortcuts Summary (Mac Version)
| Function | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| New Project | Cmd + Shift + N | Create a new .plproj project file |
| Import Files | Cmd + I | Open the Import Files dialog box |
| New Bin | Cmd + B | Create a folder in the Project panel |
| New Rough Cut | Cmd + N | Create a new rough cut sequence |
| Play/Pause | Spacebar | Play in the Source Monitor or Timeline |
| Add Marker | M | Add a marker at the playhead position |
| Set In Point | I | Set the In point in the Ingest panel |
| Set Out Point | O | Set the Out point in the Ingest panel |
| Jump to Next Clip | Cmd + K | Jump to the next asset during batch ingest |
| Jump to Previous Clip | Cmd + L | Jump to the previous asset during batch ingest |
| Switch to “Ingest” Workspace | Cmd + 5 | Quickly switch to the ingest interface layout |
| Switch to “Project” Workspace | Cmd + 1 | Quickly switch to the project management interface layout |
| Zoom In Timeline | = | Increase the timeline display scale |
| Zoom Out Timeline | – | Decrease the timeline display scale |
| Save Project | Cmd + S | Save the current project |
