Hands-on editing with Adobe's Remix [VIDEO]

Note: This post has been updated from it's original publishing. It now contains a hands-on video overview of Remix.

Adobe's Remix is a new Web-based video editing tool that will be provided free to all Photobucket members in the coming weeks. Remix allows you to string together and edit short video clips. We covered the announcement of the online video editor last week, but got our hands on it this morning.

Remix is essentially a stripped-down version of Adobe Premiere Elements. You get a timeline with clips and transitions, along with a source bin containing all the media from your Photobucket account. Adding clips to your movie is as simple as dragging and dropping. There's also a handy clipping tool if you feel like cutting out the boring bits. There are only three transitions to choose from, and they're all fades. This might seem like a letdown, but honestly if you've ever edited video before, you know some of the flashier transitions aren't necessarily better than the fundamentals.

To put the finishing touches on your movie you can add titles and all sorts of cheesy digital overlays, like a police hat or gingerbread people (both genders are provided). You also can add thought or chat bubbles with customizable text. What really feels off about adding all these effects is that you can only add one to each clip. There is a way to get around this--by cutting your clips into pieces to make them separate--but it would be nice to have a separate timeline for overlays, as the majority of video editing apps provide.

You also can add music to your film, though not your own. The library of music clips is fairly large, although you've probably never heard the tracks. There's no way to add voice narration.

When you're done with your masterpiece, there are the standard URL and embed links, but no way to locally save or export your video to other formats. No doubt Adobe wants you to buy one of its video editing programs for this. This also means there's no way to archive your videos--you've got to rely on Photobucket to keep running.

I like Adobe Remix for the casual stringing together of clips. It's really easy to use and quite fast. The Photobucket integration is spot-on, but don't be surprised if you see Remix popping up in other sites, since the partnership isn't exclusive. It will be interesting to see where it shows up next.

See also Jumpcut and EyeSpot.

[s836apg]

Adobe web video editing

Do you think Adobe will release tools allowing developers to build web based
video editing apps?

[Josh.Lowensohn]

potentially, but probably not for now...

There's a lot to be said for licensed branding and a bonafide API for smaller sites, but I think in this space Adobe is offering a free tool that comes with built-in advertising for their Premiere product line. In a kind of "if you like this but want more, try Premiere" sort of way. Unfortunately, for now it seems limited to major sites.

On that tangent, expect Remix to pop up in other Web services in the coming months.

[bioleal26]

Question about the Demo

Hi Josh, at the Demo of Adobe's Remix you captured the session/movements at screen almost in real time.
I was wondering if you guys recorded the screen with a camera... or used software to capture the screen session.
If it was software, what software it is. I tried Adobe Captivate 2, but it only captures screenshots, and it doesn't play as Flash video.
Great demo....

[Josh.Lowensohn]

I use camtasia

Hey thanks for the kind words. There are a bunch of screen capture apps out there, most of us reviewers at CNET use Camtasia. It is a paid-for software, but pretty cheap considering it comes with editing and publishing tools. It's also really easy to use and has some powerful zoom and pan controls (just use them sparingly).

Here's the URL: http://www.techsmith.com/

Thanks for reading.