PE11&12: AutoLevels/Temporal Smoothing

INTRODUCTION

Auto Levels/Temporal Smoothing. What is that all about? According to Adobe documentation

"......Auto Levels automatically corrects the highlights and shadows. Because Auto Levels adjusts each color channel individually, it may remove or introduce color casts, which are tints to a clip. ......has one or more of the following properties:

Temporal Smoothing

Specifies the range of adjacent frames used to determine the amount of correction needed for each frame, relative to surrounding frames. For example, if you set Temporal Smoothing to 1 second, Premiere Elements analyzes the frames 1 second before the displayed frame to determine the appropriate adjustments. If you set Temporal Smoothing to 0, Premiere Elements analyzes each frame independently without regard for surrounding frames. Temporal smoothing can result in smoother‑looking corrections over time........"

The Adobe document also includes description for other Auto Levels properties such as Scene Detect, Black Clip, White Clip, and Blend with Original.

ISSUE

But where is Auto Levels/Temporal Smoothing in Premiere Elements 11 and 12?

SOLUTION

Premiere Elements 10 and Earlier

Properties Palette

In versions of Premiere Elements earlier than 11, Auto Levels can be found under Edit Header/Effects/Video Effects/Adjust/Auto Levels. Once Auto Levels is applied to a video clip, it can be adjusted via Edit Effects and the clip's Properties Palette/Auto Levels Panel which expanded shows the sliders for

• Temporal Smoothing (0.00 to 10.00 seconds)

• Black Clip

• White Clip

• Blend With Original 

as well as a check mark place for Scene Detect which is grayed out at Temporal Smoothing = 0.00, but becomes active with Temporal Smoothing greater than 0.00.

Timeline Clip's Rubberband

Also, if the tiny triangle next to Opacity in the Timeline clip's title is clicked on, the clip's rubberband* can be made to represent Auto Levels:Temporal Smoothing (seconds) instead of Opacity:Clip Opacity.

The above locations shown in Figure 1 are demonstrated  in Premiere Elements 10 Windows, but are the same for Premiere Elements 4, 7, 8.0/8.0.1, and 9.0/9.0.1 Windows.**

Figure 1. Premiere Elements 10 Windows. AutoLevels: Temporal Smoothing. Timeline Clip's Rubberband And Properties Palette Locations In Workspace.

 At the Timeline clip's rubberband level it can be seen that the properties choices for Auto Levels include

• Temporal Smoothing (0.00 to 10.00 seconds)

• Black Clip

• White Clip

• Blend With Original

And, once the rubberband is moved greater than 0.00 seconds, a Scene Detect choice is automatically included in the list accessed at the rubberband level.

At the Properties Palette or clip's rubberband level, the Auto Levels can be keyframed.

Premiere Elements 11 and 12

Adjustments Palette

The Premiere Elements 11 and 12 workspaces are dramatically different than those found in versions of Premiere Elements earlier than 11.  In versions 11 and 12, Auto Levels can be found included in the Lighting Panel expanded via Adjust Tab/Adjustments Palette/Lighting Panel expanded. There is no "Temporal Smoothing" anywhere to be found there. Clicking on the "more" button of the Lighting Panel reveals "more" options for only

• Brightness

• Contrast

• Exposure

• Black

• White

as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Premiere Elements 12 Windows. Expert Workspace. Auto Levels (No Temporal Smoothing) In Adjust Tab/Adjustments Palette/Lighting Panel Expanded.

 Timeline Clip's Rubberband

However, in Premiere Elements 11 and 12, the AutoLevels/Temporal Smoothing appears to have survived at the clip's rubberband level that is seen in versions of Premiere Elements earlier than 11.

In Premiere Elements 11 and 12, if the tiny triangle next to Opacity in the Timeline clip's title is clicked on, the clip's rubberband can be made to represent AutoLevel:Temporal Smoothing (seconds) instead of Opacity:Clip Opacity.

Figure 3. Premiere Elements 12. AutoLevels:Temporal Smoothing (Greater Than 0.00 Seconds) At Rubberband Level In Expert Workspace.

At the Timeline clip's rubberband level it can be seen that the properties choices for Auto Levels include

• Temporal Smoothing (seconds)

• Black Clip

• White Clip

• Blend With Original

when Temporal Smoothness at 0.00 seconds. But once the rubberband is moved greater than 0.00 seconds, a Scene Detect choice is automatically included in the list at the rubberband level.

At this clip's rubberband level, the Auto Levels can be keyframed.


_____________________________________________________________________________
* Rubberband is the orange line that runs horizontally across the clip's middle. Typically for a video clip it represents Opacity, for an audio clip Volume.
**Work was done on Windows 7 Professional SP1 64 bit, and Premiere Elements Mac was not looked at since a Mac computer is not available to us.


ATR