For a nonprofit to succeed, it takes more than the desire to make a difference. It takes the will to act and a plan to bring about genuine change. Ripple Effect Images has led by example in this regard since 2011, helping 32 aid partners to raise more than $10 million for women and children around the globe. Its efforts focus on seven areas of pressing need: water, food, healthcare, education, energy, economic empowerment, and climate change.

As for action, Ripple Effect’s team of Pulitzer, Emmy, World Press Photo, and National Humanities Medal honorees have produced more than 50 films and 45,000 images, documenting programs that improve the lives of women and girls everywhere.

The organization’s Creative Director and Executive Producer, Nacho Corbella, recently joined us at Adobe MAX to discuss why impactful storytelling is essential for nonprofits, and why his organization is about more than drawing attention to challenging issues. He also broke down how using Adobe solutions to create, share, and promote its stories has helped Ripple Effect to bring about genuine change for its partners.

Shining a light on women of strength

“Ripple Effect’s storytellers spend their days in the field, connecting with women who work tirelessly to improve their lives, their family’s lives, and their community’s lives, but society is not very good at shedding a light on their accomplishments,” Corbella explains. “Instead, the media portrays their realities as doom and gloom, which can make the issues they face feel distant and insurmountable. By contrast, Ripple Effect’s storytelling zooms in on the individuals directly affected by the challenges facing our planet today, letting their voices and the results of their efforts shine.”

Corbella’s sentiments echo those of Ripple Effect’s Founder, Annie Griffiths, a celebrated photographer who was also one of the first women in her field to work with National Geographic. Tired of media coverage that portrayed women as victims, Griffiths started Ripple Effect Images to tell “underreported, in-depth stories that show the strength and potential of women and how essential they are to their communities.”

“The individuals we document might not give Oscar-worthy performances, but people connect with them because they tell authentic, heartfelt, and believable stories.”

-Nacho Corbella, creative director and executive producer, Ripple Effect Images

Corbella cites Ripple Effect’s award-winning film Mapping Survival as a prime example. Mapping Survival tells the story of Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a nomad from the Mbororo pastoralist community of Chad who became a leader in the fight against climate change and a voice for Indigenous people across the planet.

“Ibrahim’s story resonates because her community’s problem is also a global problem,” Corbella told us. Her story was so powerful that Mapping Survival was picked up by Tubi, one of the largest free streaming services in the U.S., and by Amazon Prime. Additionally, Sir David Attenborough himself asked Ripple Effect to use clips from the film for content for The Earthshot Prize.

“Mapping Survival” turns a local issue into a global movement. Video source: Ripple Effect Images.

The power of Ripple Effect’s storytelling is also on full display in Free to dream. The film chronicles how Mayra Pop, an indigenous girl living in the tropical rainforest of Guatemala, sued her father for trying to force her into an arranged marriage at age 15. Fifteen hundred underaged girls are married in Guatemala every day, but with support from the Foundation for Eco-development and Conservation (FUNDAECO), Pop won the lawsuit and was able to pursue her true passion: education.

Today, she is fighting to help other girls in her community avoid forced marriage and take control of their lives. That’s what makes Free to dream so powerful. By telling’s Pop’s story, it highlights the value of educating the next generation of women about their fundamental right to be free from violence and abuse.

Positive change driven by powerful technologies

To tell human-centric stories, nonprofits need the resources to turn images and footage into compelling content that resonates with their audience and potential donors. In Ripple Effect’s case, that means creating 100% of its visual content within the Adobe ecosystem.

The organization’s films are edited and post-produced in Adobe Premiere Pro while all of its motion graphics are produced in Adobe After Effects. As for its expansive photo library, Ripple Effect catalogs every image in its collection with Adobe Lightroom, also using the software for color correction. Crucially for a nonprofit whose workforce is spread around the world, the integration between Adobe solutions allows teams to work, collaborate, and stay productive without being in the same building.

Adobe Express is also an essential part of Ripple Effect’s workflow, helping its teams to produce brochures, film posters, slideshows, social media posts, text animations, and other materials with ease. For instance, Ripple Effect uses Express to create its annual reports. In-house design teams take advantage of pre-made templates to easily integrate graphics and images into the reports. Ripple Effect also used Express to create promotional materials for Mapping Survival, including posters, animated social media clips, and video thumbnails, as well as a pitch deck that helped it to secure new funding for the cause.

“As a small organization, we love the flexibility of Adobe Express. The interface is so user-friendly that anyone on our team can create fantastic-looking content quickly, even with minimal design experience,” says Corbella. “The extensive template library is a favorite, and the time we can save creating content is incredible. We especially value how images retain high quality.”

In some cases, Ripple Effect’s photographers work in remote locations without an internet connection. Instead of putting their content creation on hold, the team can prepare deliverables in Adobe InDesign and later export them to PDF using Adobe Acrobat, when they are back online.

“Collaboration is essential for our team. Doing all the work we do in the field and editing it later would be impossible without Adobe tools.”

-Nacho Corbella, creative director and executive producer, Ripple Effect Images

Ripple Effect is not alone in its reliance on creative technologies to produce impactful content and promote its broader mission. The challenge for most nonprofits is to access these solutions, especially those working with limited budgets and resources. That’s why Adobe is announcing the launch of two new initiatives to support these crucial organizations: Adobe for Nonprofits and Adobe Acrobat Pro for Nonprofits.

From creating content for fundraising, advocacy, and donor relations to managing PDFs and e-signatures, Adobe has the tools and services nonprofits need to thrive in today’s digital world. As of today, eligible nonprofits can gain access to Adobe Creative Cloud memberships at a discounted rate, Adobe Acrobat Pro for just $15 per year, and Adobe Express at no charge.

As for Ripple Effect, the organization is now leveling up its workshops for its journalists and partners by teaching them to use Adobe Express. Through these workshops, the organization is helping its communities to master new delivery methods for their content and storytelling while collaborating in real-time.

“The world is a bit of a mess these days but there are so many people pushing against the wheel to make it better. We want to pass our knowledge and skills to these individuals on the front lines because, at the end of the day, they are the ones driving change.”

-Nacho Corbella, creative director and executive producer, Ripple Effect Images

The video production landscape is undergoing a groundbreaking transformation, fueled by the power of artificial intelligence (AI). From automating tedious processes to unlocking creative potential, AI is redefining how editors and creators bring their visions to life.

Adobe’s AI Vision: Creativity at the Core

At the recent Adobe MAX last month, the Super Session showcased Adobe’s innovative approach to AI, emphasizing tools designed to enhance creativity and streamline workflows. By addressing common post-production challenges, these solutions are engineered to keep creators in their artistic flow.

How AI Eliminates the Mundane

Industry experts Meagan Keane and Kylee Peña from Adobe, alongside Versus Studio’s Brian Sanford and Justin Barnes who are known for shaping the visual identity of leading global brands, demonstrated how AI is revolutionizing the creative process. Their insights are shared in this engaging Super Session that showcases how AI elevates both efficiency and innovation in video production.

You’ll learn about:

Generative AI: Expanding Storytelling Horizons

Generative AI tools in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects open new dimensions in storytelling. Whether crafting fresh narratives or enhancing existing ones, these innovations enable creators to explore uncharted realms of visual expression, pushing the boundaries of imagination.

Assistive AI: Simplifying Complex Workflows

Imagine editing video as seamlessly as editing text. Adobe Premiere Pro makes this reality with the Text-Based Editing feature that auto-generates transcripts, allowing users to edit and rearrange footage simply by modifying the text in a dialogue panel. This not only simplifies editing but also ensures editing efficiency.

Poor sound quality can diminish even the most stunning visuals. The Enhance Speech feature in Premiere Pro uses assistive AI to clean up dialogue recordings, removing background noise and improving clarity, ensuring every word is heard.

What AI Means for Today’s Creators

AI integration in video production tools does more than save time, it empowers creators to focus on the artistry that truly inspires them. By automating repetitive tasks, creators can channel their energy into crafting content that captivates and connects with audiences on a deeper level.

Whether you’re a seasoned editor or an aspiring storyteller, AI tools in or used in conjunction with Premiere Pro and After Effects are transforming what’s possible. With insights from industry leaders and cutting-edge technology at your fingertips, the future of video creation is not just brighter—it’s smarter.

Generate Video Powered by the Adobe Firefly Video Model

Now in public beta, Adobe is offering those with an AdobeID the option to join the beta of Generate Video. Visit the Adobe website to join the waitlist.

Looking to enhance your editing skills? Dive deeper into the world of color grading with Adobe Premiere Pro by joining an exclusive session led by industry expert Karl Soule which was recently presented at Adobe MAX. Whether you’re an experienced editor or just getting familiar with the essentials of color management, this in-depth class will give you the tools to elevate the quality and aesthetic of your video projects.

Color is more than just a visual enhancement—it’s a powerful tool that can transform the mood, style, and technical quality of your videos. Karl Soule will walk you through the techniques needed to make the most of Premiere Pro’s color tools, especially the Lumetri Color panel.

What You’ll Learn
This session will cover key strategies to improve both the aesthetic and technical aspects of your color grading. Here’s what you can expect to learn:

Mastering Scopes for Color and Brightness Adjustments 
Understanding scopes is crucial for spotting and correcting color and brightness issues in your footage. Karl will guide you through how to use these essential tools to identify problem areas and make precise corrections for more balanced, professional-looking results.

Creating Custom Looks and Saving LUTs
Want to develop a unique visual style for your project? You’ll learn how to create your own custom preset looks in Premiere Pro and save them as LUTs (Look-Up Tables) that you can use across different projects and software platforms.

Working with LOG Footage
LOG footage offers greater flexibility in post-production, but it can be tricky to work with. In this session, you’ll learn when and how to apply transforms for LOG footage in Premiere Pro, and when to leave them off to maximize the dynamic range and color depth of your footage.

Utilizing Color-Managed Workflows
Color consistency is key, whether you’re editing for broadcast, film, or online platforms. Karl will explain how to use color-managed workflows to ensure accuracy across different devices and environments, so your colors look great no matter where your content is viewed.

Handling HDR Footage in SDR Sequences
HDR footage brings incredible visual detail but integrating it into SDR (standard dynamic range) sequences can be challenging. Karl will show you how to effectively work with HDR footage, ensuring that it looks sharp and vibrant even in SDR outputs.

Whether you’re producing content for film, television, or online platforms, mastering color grading will set your work apart. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from an expert and take your editing to new heights!

For more free, in-depth training on Premiere Pro and After Effects, check out AdobeVideoTraining.com.

We’re so excited to share that today, the Television Academy — the organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry — is honoring Adobe with two Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy® Awards: the Philo T. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award, honoring companies whose contributions have made a measurable and significant impact on how television gets made — and a second Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy for the development of Adobe Substance Painter.

Together, the awards recognize Adobe’s 40-year-history powering the creative workflows of editors, animators, visual effects artists, photographers, marketers, studio executives, and more with tools including Premiere Pro, After Effects, Substance 3D, Photoshop, Illustrator, Frame.io, and Acrobat.

“At Adobe, we’re driven by empowering filmmakers to transform their boldest ideas into captivating realities,” said Ashley Still, senior vice president, Creative Cloud. “It’s an incredible honor to accept two Emmys® from the Television Academy this year. These awards are a testament to our talented team, who work every single day to unlock new creative possibilities for the entertainment industry. Those most deserving of acknowledgment are the artists and creative community who rely on Adobe tools to bring their stories to screens of all sizes. We are grateful to be a part of your creative process and are in awe of the incredible work you produce.”

Creators are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re very proud of the role that our tools have played behind the scenes, in the hands of talented video editors and visual effects artists who create groundbreaking television. We are thrilled to see our community of editors and artists celebrated for their own achievements — so let’s turn the spotlight on just a few of the many incredible creators recently recognized for their own Emmy award-worthy work.

Impacting how television comes to life

Kelly Lyon, ACE received two Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Picture Editing for a Variety Special” — one for “ John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.“ and the other for “ Tig Notaro: Hello Again ” — both of which were edited with Premiere Pro. Lyon says that “Premiere Pro’s transcription tool (Speech to Text) and text window were incredibly powerful” as part of her overall workflow.

Lyon also used Frame.io: “I love Frame.io,” says Lyon. “For both specials, we used Frame.io to share and review cuts. Collaborators really liked being able to leave comments on the video timeline, so I would always know exactly what changes they wanted and where.”

“I love Frame.io. For both specials, we used Frame.io to share and review cuts. Collaborators really liked being able to leave comments on the video timeline, so I would always know exactly what changes they wanted and where.”

– Kelly Lyon, ACE, editor “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.” and the other for “Tig Notaro: Hello Again” (nominated for two Emmys in Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming – 2024)

Some of these features have enabled developments like The People’s Court switching to Adobe Premiere Pro as well as what it means to utilize Team Projects with Premiere Pro but there’s so much more to say about all of them. How can these improvements be seen with the more efficient propagation progress thanks to Adobe Sensei with Roto Brush 2? We captured insights from various members of the Adobe team to find out these answers and more.

There’s more to learn about with 2021 performance improvements that Adobe has made with hardware optimization related to performance boosts across the ecosystem with M1, multi-frame rendering for After Effects and an intentionally long Beta cycle that specifically supports Adobe plug-in partners. Find out more here.

More streamlined workflows thanks to Productions, ST2 and more

The remote working environment that so many people have shifted to have made Productions in Premiere Pro essential on a whole new level. Designed for collaborators working on shared local storage, Productions allows users to divide their edits into smaller pieces, based on the existing Premiere Pro project format. Productions connects the projects, making them into components of the larger workflow, helping videos editors to keep projects and assets organized and efficient.

Fully remote and hybrid workflows that are now pervasive at every level have raised questions about whether Productions or Team Projects are the best fit for a given project. While there is no one answer to such questions, the Adobe team has provided insights around how to best approach these decisions. They’ve also gathered feedback from users who are exploring these answers for themselves, helping the Adobe team capture the insights they needed to make keys updates. 

“We made some improvements with how label colors work in Productions and being able to Reverse Match Frame based on user feedback,” said Abhi Singh, Senior Product Manager, Premiere Pro at Adobe. “Those are just two examples of improvements and we intend to keep improving Productions. The feedback has been consistent from 2020 to 2021. Customers working with long timelines/large projects are very positive about Productions.”

As an additional resource, the best practices guide for Productions explores distinct scenarios, helping some to rethink Team Projects for certain smaller jobs without gigantic amounts of media. Those types of specific insights have helped the Adobe team further refine other features that came make things that much easier on video editors like Speech to Text (S2T).

The S2T features released in July were a big deal for users looking to leverage Premiere’s integrated and automated workflow for creating transcriptions and captions. New transcript editing and alignment tools that can generate captions automatically with custom titling and caption styling have made things simpler, but is the major advantage of S2T more about not having to use 3^rd party software for such things or because of the inherent new capabilities of S2T itself?

“A key advantage of Speech to Text is that video editors don’t have to leave Premiere,” said Teresa Demel, Senior Product Manager at Adobe. “That said, S2T in Premiere is a replacement for other free AI services. Of our early access users, 35-40% of users had never done captioning before. This opened up a new (and essential) workflow for them. Another 40% were using free AI transcription services (Facebook, YouTube), which cost our users time.”

A recent Pfeiffer Report highlights how S2T helps users work twice as fast as a 3^rd party workflow. The comparison to those using Online Transcription or Manual Transcription is not even close.

Being able to quantify that same kind of improvement was the impetus behind Adobe’s work to introduce new 3D tools in After Effects that have been described as perfect for both advanced users and beginners. However, these very different types of users will be able to measure the value that these tools represent to them in very different ways.

With improvements like the easier manipulation of layers using the new 3D gizmo, onboarding time for beginners should become less of an issue. On the other side of that, the interactivity increase given by the new Draft 3D mode allows advanced users to design at the speed of thought. With it, they’ll finally gain the flexibility of compositing their elements smoothly and with easier navigation within that 3D stage. Drawing a distinction between how each will measure the value of these new tools wasn’t really the point for the Adobe team though.

“Building a strong foundation to work within a 3D space was something we knew all our users would benefit from, whether they are learning to put their first design in motion, or have been using After Effects for all their compositing work for years,” said Christine Goldby, Senior Product Manager at Adobe. “Requests for better interactivity while designing motion graphics meant bringing in a faster Draft 3D renderer. And adding in a native ground plane and 3D controls for the composition were important first steps in navigation within that space.”

Adobe’s new 3D tools in After Effects support users taking the next step in terms of what they want to do with their 3D workspace in After Effects, no matter where they are with their skillset. Providing that kind of creative support connects with the ethos of Adobe Sensei, which is dedicated to providing that same type of support in a way that’s never been possible.

The Past and Future of Rotoscoping

Adobe Sensei was designed to bring the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to experiences. That’s everything from enhancing creative expression to accelerating workflows to driving real-time decisions. But what does all of that mean on a practical level? Look no further than the new version of Roto Brush.

Powered by Adobe Sensei and completely different than the former feature, Roto Brush 2 uses artificial intelligence to locate and stick to the edges of roto subjects. Roto Brush 2 turns a tedious manual process into something much more, unlocking the creative possibilities of rotoscoping for a much wider audience. Projects where rotoscoping would have been too time-consuming to even consider are now possible on a tight deadline. Users can more efficiently see propagation progress with Roto Brush 2, but that’s just one example of why it’s made such an impact.

“The Roto Brush UI has been streamlined and polished to make it easier for users to see their progress,” said Victoria Nece, Senior Product Manager, Motion Graphics and Visual Effects at Adobe. “In most cases, Roto Brush 2 requires fewer correction strokes, giving users high-quality results without frame-by-frame adjustment. That’s one of the reasons we’ve seen an explosion of motion graphics relying on these techniques over the last few months. Having animated text placed behind people seems especially popular in TV commercials right now and that’s easier than ever with Roto Brush 2.”

Users familiar with the Roto Brush tool are able to build on their skills using classic control like Motion Threshold and Motion Damping. There is much less need to tweak settings to get a quality tracking result with Roto Brush 2. The Refine Edge tool creates detailed mattes of complex edges like hair and options within the Roto Brush effect like Use Motion Blur enable users to easily create a seamless composite.

For any user who prefers the first Roto Brush, the previous Roto Brush engine is still available as an option and remains supported. However, Roto Brush 2’s Sensei-based machine learning technology offers such a dramatic improvement in both speed and quality that few have switched back to the older approach.

Those kinds of dramatic improvements with Roto Brush powered by Adobe Sensei are just one example of what it can do. Numerous success stories when it comes to automating time-consuming tasks have been fueled by Adobe Sensei, highlighting what future improvements to other tools might look like. While those are in the works for future updates, the Adobe team is always looking to hear from users to better understand how their challenges can better define or enable these updates.

Learn about 2021 performance improvements with hardware optimization and multi-frame rendering for After Effects here.

How can users look for and find these features? User feedback has also impacted recent hardware improvements that the Adobe team has made, but what are some of the practical differences that users should be leveraging with them? Do these updates address a core concern for After Effects users? We captured insights from various members of the Adobe team to find out these answers and more.

There’s a lot more to learn about 2021 performance improvements with streamlined workflows thanks to Productions as well as Speech to Text as well as feature innovations powered by Adobe Sensei. Find out more here.

Hardware Optimization

A year ago, we detailed improvement with hardware decoding in Premiere Pro for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, but the hardware updates related to native M1 support for Premiere Pro, Media Encoder and Character Animator that Adobe released this year represent a whole new level of capability. This native support on Apple computers using the Apple silicon M1 chip has allowed users to work that much faster.

Some of that speed improvement is the result of Creative Cloud being such a deeply interconnected set of tools, which has enabled performance boosts across the ecosystem with M1. The speed improvements that users have seen on account of this support in Audition, Premiere Pro, Photoshop and more are very real. How will any of the lessons with these improvements to specific programs factor into future M1 support for apps like After Effects?

“After Effects users are adopting this new platform remarkably quickly,” said Victoria Nece, Senior Product Manager, Motion Graphics and Visual Effects at Adobe. “This is an opportunity to accelerate their creative process a step beyond the speed increase they’ll see with Multi-Frame Rendering.”

We’ll come back to Multi-Frame Rendering, but it’s important to detail these hardware updates because over a year ago, Adobe highlighted playback improvements for H.264 and HEVC on Windows. Those GPU accelerated rendering and hardware encoding improvements were taken to another level in 2021. What do these improvements mean on a practical level though? And how can users make sure they’re seeing and using them as they should?

“Users will see improved playback and seeking/scrubbing with H.264 & HEVC being accelerated,” said Abhi Singh, Senior Product Manager, Premiere Pro at Adobe. “These performance improvements are very noticeable on 10-bit 4K footage HEVC footage. In terms of seeing them, the nice thing about the GPU accelerated improvements is that the user does not need to do anything additional. The improvements just work for those that have the chipsets for which we have GPU accelerated improvements.”

With hardware improvements like this, the actual difference they can make typically comes down to allowing users to do something they had been doing in a faster manner or creating a more efficient process to accomplish that same task. These accelerated improvements allow users to define such things in a far more holistic manner rather than an either/or when it comes to speed and performance, which brings us back to Multi-Frame Rendering.

Multi-Frame rendering for After Effects Improvements

The same kind of dedication to holistic improvement was at the core of the update around the Multi-Frame Rendering features that were rolled out as a public beta in 2021. Adobe designed the Comp Profiler (Oscar the Snail) to help with time management while users are in the midst of creating. This doesn’t just speed up final render, but it speeds up the process of creation. Now they can pre-render a layer with a heavy effect, or even replace that effect with a different one. They can use proxy video footage, all of which reduces what has been a challenge that the Adobe team has heard about on multiple levels.

“The psychology of waiting is emotionally taxing,” Nece continued. “After Effects users often want to do really complex things and push the limits of our tools. Their clients expect them to make magic. This means that motion designers are striking a balance between powerful content and the time it takes to render. When we sat down with customers to talk about what they need in a rendering tool, we discovered that time management was a recurring theme. Motion designers were watching the old Render Queue to see which layers were lagging. They looked at Time Remaining to see if they should get a cup of coffee, go to lunch, or go home at night. And if they returned to their desk and discovered that their render failed, they cried. And yes, we’re talking about literal tears.”

New render queue notifications are allowing users to sleep at night and avoid those tears. When they see a “successful render” notification on their phone, they can know their project will be ready in the morning rather than just hoping that will be the case. All of this feedback has confirmed how long users have waited for the opportunities that render queue notifications offer. It has allowed After Effects users to feel confident about stepping away for whatever reason, knowing that they’ll be alerted once their render completes.

That ties into a better experience overall though, one beta user said their renders went “from seconds per frame to frames per second.” This speed increase has unlocked new workflows, with more rapid iterations leading to more creative experimentation. It’s given users more time to explore, refine and polish their work. Users were also excited about the opportunities presented by the Composition Profiler, especially when it came to understanding and optimizing complex projects handed off by another artist. “It’s like getting a Googlemap of traffic instead of just sitting in traffic,” said another user.

These Multi-Frame Rendering for After Effects improvements are connected to a much larger effort on Adobe’s part to best optimize their plug-ins to support all system cores. Allowing After Effects to take advantage of multi-core CPUs for improved export and preview-rendering performance is a key element of a longer than normal public Beta that was designed to speed up workflows.

“Our Beta cycle was intentionally long due to the expansive number of plug-in partners that After Effects supports,” said Michelle Gallina, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Create Cloud: After Effects at Adobe. “We provide weekly updates to our partners that are Multi-Frame Ready and we expect all of them will be ready by the time we fully release the shipping version of After Effects.”

Adobe has created a “Multi-Frame Ready” logo that their partners use to indicate which plug-ins have been optimized. Look for the MFR-ready logo on their website to ensure those plug-ins have been optimized to best support all Adobe system cores.

Learn about 2021 performance improvements with streamlined workflows and feature innovations powered by Adobe Sensei here.