Adobe tells a new story on video

September 17, 2009:Adobe's new script development tool for video producers gives a payoff on the Web by embedding of descriptive metadata in online content.

A public preview of Adobe Story software, a new online and offline collaborative script development tool, is now available on Adobe Labs athttp://labs.adobe.com/technologies/story.

Adobe Story begins the planning and preproduction phase of video workflows and will be integrated with other products in the Adobe Creative Suite. Adobe Story automatically turns content in scripts into relevant metadata that can be used throughout the Adobe digital video workflow.

“Today, broadcast and media companies are looking for next-generation video workflows that transform how content is created and consumed,” said Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager of Dynamic Media at Adobe.

“By capturing valuable script information in the preproduction phase, Adobe Story provides these companies with a groundbreaking new tool that can radically streamline production workflows, reduce overall costs and make entertainment more interactive and engaging.”

Once information, such as script location and character biographies, are captured or entered into Adobe Story the valuable metadata will automatically flow into other products in the Creative Suite Production Premium toolkit, improving the efficiency for capturing clips and editing footage. When the video production is ready for online distribution, the metadata can also help viewers discover and search through content online to find their favorite characters, episodes or scenes, making the entire viewing experience more interactive and engaging.

Scriptwriting typically goes through several phases: initial outline, several drafts, final draft, shooting script and creation of a production shot list that accompanies the final script. Adobe Story is designed to help simplify and accelerate this process for virtually any creative endeavor.

Users can create a script from scratch using Adobe Story, or import scripts from a variety of applications, including Microsoft Word, Final Draft or export into Adobe PDF, text, XML, Movie Magic and CSV. Project participants can use Adobe Story to work online and offline and automatically synchronize input and comments once they connect to the Internet. During this phase, the software captures metadata such as scene locations and other pertinent information automatically, creating a more efficient end-to-end workflow.