SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 preeminent festival for groundbreaking work and emerging talent, will include 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,” said 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 Hosts Editing Panel – “Editorial Secrets from ‘Hail, Caesar!’ and ‘Deadpool’”

To help indie filmmakers get up to speed on transitioning to modern video editing techniques, Adobe will host a must-see panel at Sundance on Jan. 23 – “Editorial secrets from ‘Hail, Caesar!’ and ‘Deadpool,’” two much-anticipated features due out in February this year.

“Hail, Caesar!,” from Universal Pictures, is an all-star comedy fueled by a brilliant cast. When the world’s biggest star vanishes and his captors demand an enormous ransom for his safe return, it will take the power of Hollywood’s biggest names to solve the mystery of his disappearance. The film is produced, directed, written and edited by four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. The panel will include the film’s associate producer and postproduction supervisor, Catherine Farrell, and additional editor Katharine McQuerrey.

“Deadpool,” which 20th Century Fox releases Feb. 12, is based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero. The film tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. The panel will include director Tim Miller and Vashi Nedomansky, editing consultant and workflow specialist on the film.

These former Avid Media Composer and Apple Final Cut Pro filmmakers will discuss their approach to storytelling, state-of-the-art workflows and how and why they switched to Adobe Premiere Pro CC. The panel will be held on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 3:30– 4:30 pm MST at the Airbnb Haus (596 Main Street, Park City). For those unable to attend the panel, a recording will be available the following week at www.adobe.com/go/video.

“Adobe really revamped Premiere Pro CC from the ground up. I love the interoperability with other programs like After Effects CC and the ability to do quick composites,” said Tim Miller, director of “Deadpool.” “We need an uninterrupted workflow between the idea and output. Premiere Pro CC is clean and fast, which is what I want.”

Adobe Invests in Future Filmmakers

Adobe is also proud to sponsor the out-of-competition NEXT category of films at Sundance, featuring pure, bold works that combine digital technology with unfettered creativity. 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 creatives 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 special 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.

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,” said 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.”

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