Premiere Pro and Apple iMovie are both video editing applications but that is where the similarities end. Premiere Pro and iMovie have different purposes and work on different operating systems. Which app is best for you? Well, it depends on what you need to do and whether you use Apple products or not.

What Can Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple iMovie Do For You?

Premiere Pro is a powerful editing program that lets you create professional and polished videos. Import footage, move clips around, trim, and snap them together. Add a title sequence and insert some graphics. Set the video to music or adjust the sound and color. Premiere Pro will convert footage to a format or size that works with different social media platforms and devices. Not only is Premiere Pro powerful in its own right with its many presets and easy-use-keystrokes, but it also works well with other Adobe programs like Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Audition, and other applications that are included in Adobe Creative Cloud.

Apple iMovie can edit video shot on an iPhone, add some effects, and upload it to different social media platforms. It can’t do as much as Adobe Premiere Pro, but it has some easy-to-use templates and filters. With iMovie, you can create content for social media quickly and easily.

What is Adobe Premiere Pro?

Premiere Pro is a video editing tool used in the post-production phase of all kinds of videos from YouTube and social media ads, to documentaries and feature films. Premiere Pro allows you to go from raw video footage to finished product. It is part of Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes more than twenty applications to let you focus on particular aspects of the video editing process.

Video footage is imported into Premiere Pro and the best portions are put together into a file. Then you can open other Adobe programs inside of Premiere Pro to fix, change, or add to the video:

  • Adobe Audition to correct audio levels, adjust dialog, or add a musical soundtrack. 
  • Lumetri Color to grade or change color levels. 
  • After Effects to add graphics for title sequences, insert animation, and remove elements from the video. 
  • When you are finished, Media Encoder processes the video into forms that can be uploaded wherever you choose.

Premiere Pro is capable of turning out professional-quality videos and has been used to produce television shows and movies, including the Netflix original series, Mindhunter, and films such as Deadpool, Gone Girl, and Hail Caesar. 

What is Apple iMovie?

Apple iMovie is a free, streamlined editing app that comes installed on Apple devices. You can shoot, edit, and share videos from your iPhone to social media. The editing abilities are limited but it is easy to learn and use. It has some templates, filters, and limited green-screen effects that can help make videos for social media more interesting. 

You can also move your video from your phone to a Mac to finish editing in Final Cut Pro. Easy share buttons allow you to send your content through email, text, or social media. 

Essential Features of Adobe Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro is a video editing program that can combine video, audio, and images together and then export them as a video file. The user interfaces on Adobe programs look and function similarly, so if you are familiar with another Adobe product like Photoshop or Illustrator, the Premiere Pro workspace may be easier to learn. 

You can run Premiere Pro on a Mac or PC with at least 8GB of RAM, though 16GB or more is recommended. A dedicated video card works better than integrated graphics. This program is for people who want to produce video and need a program with professional-level tools and functions. One of the advantages of Premiere Pro is the ability to edit video from a wide variety of cameras and formats. 

Another plus for Premiere Pro is that it integrates smoothly with other Adobe apps such as After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Audition, and Media Encoder. Also, there is no need to transcode files before editing. Another popular feature is scene edit detect, which finds all of the cuts in a pre-edited video file.

Premiere Pro is highly customizable. You can set up your workspace to your own specifications and set your own keyboard shortcuts, although there are plenty of those in Pro to start with. With the customization and the way the different Adobe apps work together, one of the best things about Premiere Pro is how efficient the workflow is. 

Essential Features of Apple iMovie

Apple’s iMovie is intended for people who want to make and post videos quickly and is easy to pick up. You can edit, add titles, music, some simple special effects, and do some simple color correction before uploading it to your channels. There aren’t any stock footage or audio libraries available with iMovie.

The newest version of iMovie lets you edit videos shot in iPhone13’s Cinematic mode by modifying the depth-of-field and changing focus points throughout the sequence. You can choose between Movie or Trailer mode to use pre-set templates, one of which makes your video look like a graphic novel. You can export videos in 4K resolution very easily, and one of iMovie’s biggest selling points is that it is free. 

History of Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe released Premiere in 1991 for the Apple Mac. It was one of the first digital, non-linear editing programs. Premiere Pro came out in 2003. It was known as Premiere Pro CS, which stood for Creative Suite, until 2013 when Adobe changed the name from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud. The current version is officially known as Adobe Premiere Pro. 

History of Apple iMovie

Apple iMovie was first released in 1999 on the iMac DV. It has been included with the purchase of any new Mac or iOS device since 2013 and has been free to all users of Apple products since 2017. The current version is iMovie for iOS.

How to Purchase Adobe Premiere Pro 

Adobe offers a monthly subscription to Premiere Pro with a 7-day free trial available before purchase. This allows you to edit some videos before deciding if you want to pay for it. For a few dollars more a month, you can get the full Creative Cloud, which includes Rush and many other applications, plus storage as well. The cost of a monthly subscription to Premiere Pro is $20.99. A monthly subscription to Creative Cloud is $52.99. 

How to Purchase Apple iMovie

In a word, you don’t. Apple iMovie comes with any Apple device for free.

How to Learn Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple iMovie

If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can learn iMovie by watching tutorials and following instructions. If you need more power or want more editing features, it’s a good idea to learn how to use professional editing software like Apple Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.

There are many tutorials available from Adobe and others to get you started in Premiere Pro, but if you are planning to switch careers and become a Video Editor, learn to use Premiere Pro. There are many tutorials out there to get you started, but editing software is complex and many people find it easier to learn technical information through classes.

You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn Premiere Pro. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.

The best way to prepare for a career shift to a technical field like video editing is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run for a few weeks to a few months and will cover video editing in much more depth than tutorials can. Another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality sample video portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.

It’s easy to learn Adobe Premiere Pro and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s Premiere Pro courses. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online Premiere Pro courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other courses in Premiere Pro in your area.