Adobe introduces color grading environment in Premiere, expands Firefly video tools

Adobe announced a set of updates across its video production applications ahead of the 2026 NAB Show, led by a new color-grading workflow in Premiere aimed at editors who handle finishing work themselves.

The announcements span Premiere, Firefly, After Effects and Frame.io, and target workflows that increasingly combine traditional editorial tasks with generative AI output and distributed team collaboration.

Color Mode enters public beta in Premiere

Adobe released Color Mode in Premiere as a public beta, a color grading environment the company said was built specifically for editors rather than dedicated colorists. The tool is designed to keep editors inside Premiere for color work rather than requiring handoffs to specialists or separate grading applications.

Adobe said Color Mode was developed in a private beta with hundreds of editors before its public release. The beta is available today to Premiere subscribers, with general availability scheduled for later in 2026.

The broader Premiere 26.2 release includes effects and transitions built on technology from Film Impact, Object Masking with Sharp and Smooth edge modes, and a searchable Sequence Index panel for navigating longer timelines. Adobe also updated the application’s handling of offline media, with path tracking that works across drives and operating systems.

Kling 3.0 models added to Firefly

Adobe added Kling 3.0 and Kling 3.0 Omni to the generative video models available in Firefly, the company’s AI creative application. Kling 3.0 is positioned for general video generation with storyboarding and audio-visual synchronization features. Kling 3.0 Omni adds controls for character consistency across shots and allows users to specify duration, camera angle and camera movement for individual shots.

The Kling models join more than 30 third-party and Adobe models already available in Firefly, including Nano Banana 2, Veo 3.1 and Runway Gen-4.5.

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Adobe also expanded the Firefly Video Editor, the browser-based timeline where users assemble generated clips with uploaded footage. The update adds Enhance Speech, an audio cleanup tool already available in Premiere and Adobe Podcast, along with controls for managing noise, reverb and level balance across dialogue, music and ambience. Adobe Stock is now integrated into the editor, giving users access to more than 800 million licensed assets without leaving the application. The editor also gained basic color adjustment controls for exposure, contrast, saturation and temperature.

Adobe Firefly Foundry, a service that allows studios to tune Firefly’s models to their own brand and franchise content, remains available for media and entertainment customers.

After Effects adds AI-assisted matte tool

After Effects 26.2 introduced Object Matte, a tool that generates mattes of moving subjects through a hover-and-click interface. The release includes a Quick Selection brush for refinement and a Refine Edge tool aimed at difficult areas such as hair.

Adobe’s research teams also previewed MotionStream, a project focused on creative controls for shaping and refining generative video output. The company did not provide a release timeline.

Frame.io Drive streams project media to the desktop

Adobe introduced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application that mounts Frame.io projects to a user’s computer and makes the media accessible in Finder or Explorer as though stored locally. Files open directly in Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects and other applications without downloading, with local caching handling playback performance.

The application is built on Frame.io Mounted Storage, an architecture that streams media as applications request it. Adobe said the streaming technology is provided by Suite Studios.

Frame.io Drive builds on the existing Frame.io Transfer application and is aimed at productions with contributors working across multiple locations. Adobe said all media, metadata and permissions remain within Frame.io and are not shared with third parties.

The application will roll out in phases. Enterprise customers become eligible today, with other Frame.io plans following. A waitlist is open for other users.