Powerdirector 18 essential update#
Powerdirector 18 essential professional#

It's a bit tricky to use the feature with fast-moving subjects and a lot easier when the subject and shape are fairly static. For example, if you are designing an animated thought bubble, you must know approximately where your subject is in the frame to make sure the bubble moves with the subject. One thing I found somewhat counterintuitive is that you may have to memorize elements of the video that are not in front of you. The shape designer is straightforward, easy to use and infinitely customizable. If you choose to save the module, you can reuse it in other projects and even edit its contents with new text, colors and other elements. The shape designer tool gives you another creative way to add unique elements to your videos. Additionally, the new Ultimate version lets you customize your editing workspace by undocking and moving the library window, timeline and preview windows anywhere you want. You can also display two mini-audio meters as you preview your video on the timeline. You can now edit 4K video and activate a dual preview, which gives you a high-resolution preview as well as a second window showing the contents of your library. The new Ultimate version introduces audio scrubbing, which means you can hear as well as see your preview on the timeline. This version also adds under-the-hood improvements, like its performance on 8+ core processors and multithreading, which facilitate the new 4K-preview quality.

Powerdirector 18 essential professional#

The Ultimate edition also supports additional professional formats and cameras - like HDR video and MXF (8-bit 420 AVC), Apple ProRes (10-bit 422), and Sony XAVC (8-bit) video files - and comes with 18 new transition effects. If you go for the more expensive Ultimate version, you also get a new Shape Designer that you can use to add vector shapes, complete with autofit text and key-frame controls, to your footage. While the previous version debuted nested projects, Version 18 now lets you combine clips and edits to reuse in different projects via the PIP (picture-in-picture) designer.

Powerdirector 18 essential update#

A major interface update lets you arrange tracks in whichever order you want, as opposed to just the top-down order of previous versions.