Premiere Pro 22.4 update. What’s In The Box?

Software Update

by Digby HoganMay 13^th, 2022

Adobe Premiere Pro has never been one to take its foot off the “productivity” pedal and this latest release for May 2022 proves exactly that! The Premiere Pro 22.4 update (which makes my brain go 2+2=4 but that’s a whole other article), is jam-packed with helpful updates and time-saving enhancements that will make a mammoth difference to any Premiere Pro user. So, read on and get amongst the fuss!

There are 7 main and notable updates within the latest version of Premiere Pro from Adobe. Depending on what you use the program for, it will impact the rating you may give these updates, but all in all I think they have done a great job.

1. Export GIFs with transparency
2. Distribute objects in titles and graphics
3. 10x faster exports for 10-bit 4:2:0 HEVC on macOS
4. 10x faster exports for 10-bit 4:2:0 HEVC on AMD
5. Improved QuickTime Screen Recording Playback
6. Smart rendering improvements
7. HDR proxies

You can click on any of the above for more detail on each point, however I’d like to spend our story time together highlighting 3 of them, as I think they will have the most impact on the everyday Premiere Pro user. Buckle up, here we go!

Export GIFs with transparency

This, I think, is super cool, and being able to do so straight out of the Premiere Pro application and not needing to jump programs.

Adobe states:

The Premiere Pro 22.4 update now supports transparency when exporting GIFs, adding greater flexibility for short social media content.

Adobe Premiere Pro Feature Summary May 2022

And, I would have to agree with them, for those of you who know what a transparency layer on a GIF would allow for, you can see the green tick being drawn. In simple terms, it means anyone creating content can make a portion of that into a moving GIF, and then layer that over something without having a solid background in the way. (Your comedic replies in text messages just got a whole lot more customisable if you catch my drift!) Ultimately allowing for more creative opportunities and pathways in a shorter amount of time.

10x faster exporting for 10 Bit 4:2:0 HEVC

Now that may sound really specific, but that file type is more common than the brain may lead you to believe. In my opinion, anything that is 10x better or faster than it used to be is worth having a look at. Check out the below graph that shows the before and after render times with this software update across various lengths of content.

Distribute objects in titles and graphics

This may seem like an odd one to highlight, but stay with me here! This is essentially a small design tool/feature that greatly helps when creating graphics and titles within Premiere Pro. Of course, if you don’t do any graphic work within the application, this one won’t really have an impact on your day-to-day workings, but for someone who does, this could end up saving you days of fiddly time over the course of a year.

WWDD. What Would Digby Do?

I will be hitting the update button on my Premiere Pro, that’s for sure. Let’s hope they have ironed out the bugs and quirks prior to this release, as there’s not much more frustrating than updating a good version of your program to something that feels like it’s held together with paper clips.

You can grab yourself a free trial of Adobe Premiere Pro here if you haven’t had a go yourself.

What do you think? Do any of these jump out at you with life-changing potential? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!