Lasting memories
I honestly feel that the type of people who would benefit the most from this software would be families. Not just any family, but those who take tons of pictures and videos from holidays, birthdays and vacations. This doesn't mean that just because you don't have kids, this product isn't right for you. If you have any desire to turn your treasured memories into slideshows and polished videos and give them your own personal flare in the process, you need this product!

Another big help from Premiere Elements are templates. You can look through a huge list from categories like Birthdays, New Baby and Weddings. When you select a template for your video, you are giving a polished beginning and ending to your video with theme music, rolling credits and cute animations! Snapshots don't do this feature justice, but let's take a look at figure C.

FIGURE C


This is the "Family Memories" template. Soft music and floating petals make this kitten's first day at his new home something to share! Roll over picture for a larger image.

The "Family Memories" template, as an example, provides soft music and floating petals, making this kitten's first day at his new home something to share!

Speaking of sharing, Adobe made it easy to take your finished product and send it to friends, family and even the world! You can export your videos in just about anyway you see fit, from DVD and Blu-Ray HD, to YouTube. That's right. Adobe has joined up with YouTube to make uploading your videos a snap. You can get your movies right to your personal YouTube page, as shown in Figure D, directly from Premiere Elements, provided you have an Internet connection...and a YouTube account.

FIGURE D


Directly enter your user name and password, and your finished video will be uploaded for everyone to enjoy. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Adobe claims you can make a great video in 15 minutes. Was this accurate? Yes! By using the provided templates, you can have a decent video with smooth scene transitions and credits rolling at the end, without spending hours staring at the screen. However, should you want something more in depth, added audio or music, it will take a little longer.

That's a wrap, folks! Now comes the time where we here at Connected Photographer give products a rating. I'm giving Adobe's Premiere Elements 4.0 the much-deserved (and rare) 5-out-of-5 stars. Why? Well let me tell you how this product earned its grade.

First, it wasn't confusing to understand what you needed to do. Premiere Elements comes with a user manual with over 100 pages of how to navigate the software and make movie magic. Second, it was actually fun to use! Premiere Elements seemed to have unlimited options that kept me interested for hours. You'd be amazed what an amateur like myself can create with this software. You may even surprise yourself.

And finally, I'm giving this product a superb rating because it just deserves it, plain and simple. I was not as generous for the first disc in this set, but Photoshop Elements didn't wow me as much as the Elements did, though it was pretty good (we awarded it a 4-out-of-5).

So this concludes my review of the bundled set of Adobe Elements. It's image and movie editing made easy, and highly recommended by myself for anyone who wants to make memories that last a lifetime. It looks professional, it is professional, and you can't beat the cost. It's worth every penny.

OUR RATING: 5 of 5

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.