Adobe introduced the Candid Moments feature in its latest version, Premiere Elements 2018. Basically, the feature is a "frame capture from video" tool with the perks of
- Auto analysis of the video to select best possible moments using criteria based on group of people, faces, focus, and interesting lights
- Export to Desktop (as jpg), Create Slideshow (including jpg saves to Elements Organizer), and Export to Timeline (as jpg) choices for the auto or manual selected captures
- According to Adobe new product material, "Wish you could capture those memorable moments in your videos as photos? Now you can automatically extract great photos from your raw video clip."
ISSUE
Premiere Elements 2018 offers the classical freeze Frame for captures as well as this new Candid Moments feature. Why one or the other?
FINDINGS
1. Freeze Frame can do frame captures from Timeline video or photos. Candid Moments can do Timeline frame captures from only Timeline raw video - emphasize raw. For example, the Candid Moments capture did not include any edits to the Timeline video prior to use of Candid Moments tool. Such edits included fx effects, scale changes, opacity changes; it did not work at all with Timeline green screened image. None of these issues existed when using a Freeze Frame capture. See Figures 1 and 2 for the Candid Moments - Freeze Frame comparison related to Timeline frame capture for a green screened image.
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| Figure 1. Candid Moments (Tools Menu/Candid Moments) Failure When Capture Was For Green Screened Image With Background Replacement. |
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| Figure 2. Freeze Frame Route (Tools Menu/Freeze Frame) Success When Capture Was For Green Screened Image With Background Replacement. |
2. Candid Moments offered products which were all jpg for its Export to Desktop, Create Slideshow, and Export to Timeline choices. Freeze Frame dialog's "Insert In Movie" put a bmp image on the Timeline, but the capture from video or photo route of Export & Share/Image/ gave the jpg with several options. Freeze Frame dialog's "Export" choice saves as jpg for the capture from the Timeline to a computer hard drive save location.
3. The quality of the jpg from "capture from video" for Candid Moments (Export to Desktop) versus Freeze Frame (Export) seemed essentially the same. See Figures 3 and 4.
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| Figure 3. Candid Moments Capture From Video. Export To Desktop Choice Gave Jpg. The Jpg Resolution = 1920 x 1080 (As Directed By Project Preset) |
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| Figure 4. Freeze Frame Capture From Video. Freeze Frame Dialog's "Export" Choice Gave Jpg Saved To Desktop. The Jpg Resolution = 1920 x 1080 (As Directed By Project Preset) |
COMMENTARY
In order to work Candid Moments needed raw video. Timeline editing of the selected video before use of Candid Moments created problems for the feature. The feature did not appear to embellish the captured image quality in the Candid Moments workspace, although it does offer auto selecting the best of the moments. However, this is made with the assumption that there is some acceptable quality raw video to start with.
Tools menu/Freeze Frame as well as the route Export & Share/Image/Frame or GIF or Custom seem to offer more task options than Tools Menu/Candid Moments. For limited examples -
- Export & Share/Image/Custom with its Advanced Settings offers the option "Export in Sequence" which provides for capture of all the frames in a video.
- Export & Share/Image/Frame offers choices of resolutions: HD 1080 1920 x 1080, HD 1080 1440 x 1080, HD 720 1280 x 720, and SD 480 720 x 480 while other routes will be dictated by the frame size of the project preset.
Work continues to be in progress for reviewing the accuracy of the details and updating when indicated.
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ATR
