In the last 2 years we have uploaded around 200 videos to this channel. This means we have spent a lot of time editing so any new shortcut we find to make the process quicker is like winning the jackpot.
The team over at Palette have sent over their Palette gear to try, and see if it can improve our editing workflow.
What is the Palette Gear
Palette is a modular hardware device that allows you to set program shortcuts by using the buttons, sliders, and dials.
For example, instead of using the mouse to click on the volume and move it up and down, you can use the slider or dial to do this.
Using a physical button is quicker, easier, and it just feels much nicer to carry out such a task.
The Palette Gear can do much more than just change the volume of your computer’s sound, but we will get into that later on in the video.
There are a few different kits you can buy, and the one we have is the expert kit which goes for $300.
How to Set Up
I am not going to go into all of the details of how to set up the Palette as there are lot of videos already on YouTube from Palette that explain that, and also it is super easy to do.
It’s really just plug and play. Dive into the functions and work out what layout works for you.
If you are used to using programs like Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, or Lightroom, this will be a breeze to set up. It just takes time to get used to it.
The Design
You will not be disappointed with the design of the of the Palette Gear, it’s actually made filming the b-roll for this video very easy because it looks so cool.
The arcade style buttons feel like arcade buttons, the sliders are smooth but have a nice hard stop, the dials turn with ease and have a nice click when you press them down.
The LEDs come in handy to customise your setup, and it helps you colour code your setup.
For my editing profile in Premiere Pro I have them set to purple, with the two buttons set to green as they control something else.
When I switch to my colour correction profile I have the buttons set to red, and when I am using Spotify I have the two controls set to green.
And the rest are black out as they have no controls assigned to them, which was my choice.
Changing the colours is super easy and there are thousand different design and workflow combinations.
I have the Palette setup right above my keyboard. I did have it to the side at first but that meant I could only really use one hand to access it, and having it above the keyboard means I can work with the buttons from left to right which feels a lot more natural.
Everyone's desk setup will be different, you just need to spend a little bit of time to work out what is best for you, and like I said earlier it’s easy to change the setup.
At first I selected one of the many pre built profile which are supplied with the Palette, but you can also download other user profiles from their website.
Start with these and learn what you do and don’t need, then it’s time to customise.
This is my setup.
The first two buttons are set to simply skip forwards and backwards between the different profiles, this will be come clear in a minute.
I have a number of different profiles installed with my most used being for Adobe Premiere Pro where I have 5 different profiles.
The first profile is for when I am just editing a project together, with controls to zoom in and out of the timeline, jog through the timeline, and change the audio track height which makes doing this simple task much easier.
The next two profiles are for when I am using the Lumetri colour grading plug in. I have it set up so grade 1 can change the temperature, tint, exposure, contrast controls.
Then grade 2 has the controls for highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, and saturation just like the basic colour correction in the Lumetri panel.
This is why I have the first two buttons set to switch forwards and backwards between the profiles so I can quickly access all of the setting I use the most.
You can just use one of these buttons to skip through the profiles, but it does mean you can only skip forwards until you get back to the start.
Other profiles I have for Premiere Pro are controls for the creative tab in Lumetri to change the percentage of the LUT, add a film fade, and change the vibrance.
Then a profile to change the scale, X and Y position of a clip.
I did try to use the Palette to edit audio as there is a profile already setup which has all of the shortcuts to add keyframes and edit, but I felt it was slowing me down.
Using the mouse and keyboard shortcuts does this same task a lot quicker.
The other profiles i use are for Lightroom, which has a similar set as the colour grading options from Premiere Pro, and also for Spotify which is a nice bonus to have as I use it every day.
You can also use the Palette for other programs like After Effects, Audition, InDesign and many others are being added.
My Recommendations
Like I said we have the Expert Kit which is the middle kit, but what's good about the Palette gear is that you can buy everything separately.
So if you find out that you need more buttons you can just buy the buttons.
For my current workflow which is mainly using the Palette for colour, I think I would get rid off the sliders completely and add more of the dials.
The reason is because the dials can perform 3 actions, they can dail left and right which can change a number value higher or lower, and you can also press them down to perform a different action, like reset the setting it controls.
Also if the slider is not in the center when you start to move it, the controlling value jumps to where the slider is so you have to move it back to the center to start from 0. The dials always start from 0.
Final Thoughts
So, should you get a Palette Gear?
If you are like me and use Lumetri to colour correct and colour grade or use lightroom to do the same with your photos on a daily basis, I think it is a must.
You can definitely do all of this without the Palette, but it does make it a lot easier and quicker.
The Palette is not a replacement for your mouse and keyboard, it is an extension and helps you fine tune your control over your workflow to allow you to be more creative.
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Equipment Links
🎥 This episode's kit/gear/equipment:
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