This paper will explore using the Panasonic P2 recording system with the Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4). More than just video editing, CS4 is tightly-integrated suite of applications intended to cover every aspect of video and content creation, from acquisition in the field, to editing and effects, to audio, through to export and delivery.

Three applications in the Creative Suite are principally involved in the P2 workflow – Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Encore. They are available in the Production Premium and Master Collection versions of CS4.

Adobe has supported P2 since version 3.1 of Adobe Premiere Pro in Creative Suite 3. Many of the techniques described in this paper are applicable to CS3 programs, but with CS4, the level of integration and operability in the P2 environment has been greatly enhanced.

The application in CS4 most relevant to working with P2 material is Premiere Pro, the suite’s non-linear editor. Most work with P2 content will be done in Premiere Pro, and it will be through Premiere Pro that most of the other CS4 applications will usually be accessed in the P2 workflow. Premiere Pro provides complete, native timeline support for all P2 recording formats with the exception of AVC-Intra. Premiere Pro supports DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO HD at all frame sizes and frame rates, both 60 Hz- and 50 Hz-based. (It also supports all frame sizes and frame rates of AVCHD.) There is no transcoding; all formats are supported in their original MXF wrappers as recorded by the P2 camera.

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