11/03, 8:15pm
New plug-in transfers FCP media to AE
Boris has released a new Adobe After Effects plug-in, Boris XML Transfer. The utility transfers Apple's Final Cut Pro program sequences to After Effects, preserving all aspects of Final Cut projects such as effects, audio, media clips, transitions, geometric transformations, and multi-clip edits. Trimmed clips retain full editing capabilities in Adobe After Effects, presented as stepped-up or stepped-down layers.
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10/29, 1:25pm
Offers new editing tools and bugfixes
CoreMelt has launched an update to its plug-ins for programs such as Final Cut Studio and After Effects. CoreMelt 2.23 offers five additional plug-ins, for instance allowing "fluid and flowing" graphic elements, shaded backgrounds, and the simpler creation of smooth glass, rough glass or water reflections. The two remaining plug-ins handle strobe transitions and adding CoreMelt masks and frames to a layer.
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10/20, 5:50pm
New tools for creating motion and still graphics
Noise Industries has introduced several new plug-ins that have been added to the FxFactory suite for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects. nVeil is a tool developed by Storek Studio for creating motion and still graphics. Users can build animations by filtering source imagery through vector graphics art based on the SVG format.
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10/06, 6:00pm
Simulates damage, jitter
Digieffects has released Aged Film, a new video effects plug-in for post-production suites that recreates the style of damaged filmstock. Customizable effects include dust, grain, scratches, frame jitter and color. Presets cover a variety of scenarios, including 8mm film, old home videos and shaky projectors. All effects are rendered at 16bpc.
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09/30, 12:50am
LiveToon catroon effects plug-in
Noise Industries has announced a new LiveToon plug-in, from its development partner DVShade, designed to increase the visual effects capabilities for Final Cut, Motion and After Effects. The latest plug-in is geared for creating and editing professional-looking cartoon, graphic novel, or sketch effects that can be added to footage. It includes over 10 integrated presets and provides a series of parameters such as posterization, saturation and cartoon edge lines.
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09/21, 11:15am
Plug-in supports various editing suites
Reg Giant has released a new video effects plug-in, Magic Bullet Mojo. The software recreates the look used in many Hollywood blockbusters, warming the color temperature of skin, while simultaneously cooling it for shadows and backgrounds. A central slider adjusts both elements in unison.
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09/10, 5:40pm
Matrox MXO2 LE
Matrox this evening launched a new portable breakout box aimed specifically at Mac users editing at a pro level with Final Cut Studio. The MXO2 LE takes SDI, component, RCA and 10-bit HDMI video input from cameras or other sources and puts them in formats immediately usable by Color, Final Cut Pro and other apps in the suite, such as Apple's in-house ProRes 4:2:2 HQ format. It can also work with non-Apple software like After Effects and uses an XLR power input, making it friendly to a MacBook Pro at a video shoot where XLR may be more common than AC outlets.
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08/26, 12:15pm
Stereo3D Toolbox plug-in
Dashwood has produced a new video effects plug-in, Stereo3D Toolbox, based on Noise Industries' FxFactory platform. The software converts footage from After Effects, Motion or Final Cut into stereoscopic 3D. Possible output formats include side-by-side, over/under, checkerboard, interlace and anaglyph; controls adjust for the requirements of each one, tweaking details such X-, Y- and Z-axis convergence, or zoom levels for each eye.
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08/19, 4:45pm
Continuum Motion Tracker
Boris FX has released Continuum Motion Tracker, which includes four specialized filters for gathering and utilizing motion data from video. The Corner Pin filter allows users to map media to a specific area on a moving object. Match Move locks the movement of one image clip to another, and includes functions such as tumble, spin, and rotate, as well as lighting and light wrap compositing.
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08/16, 2:50pm
FxTiles for Final Cut 7
Boinx Software and Noise Industries have announced the FxTiles software collection of 3D filters and transitions are now available for Apple’s Final Cut 7. The series of plug-ins are designed for both video and post-production users, and are based on FxFactory visual effects architecture. Some of the 3D filters and transitions include a Flip filter which divides the source image into tiles and then flips them into 3D space, and a Flip & Reveal transition which divides source images into tiles and flips them in 3D space, delivering the same portions of the destination image.
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08/05, 11:20pm
3D Serpentine plug-in
Zaxwerks has released 3D Serpentine, a new plug-in for Adobe After Effects that enables the creation of 3D path-extrusions, also know as animated noodles. The software works by using 3D paths to control the position, size and orientation of 3D graphics, and enables the creation of 3D effects such as shooting starts and film reels. Features include auto-orientation technology to prevent twists and distortions, end cap control, the ability to import custom head and tails objects from both ProAnimator and Invigorator, and image rendering and lighting functions.
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07/13, 7:10pm
Trapcode Particular 2
Red Giant has released Trapcode Particular 2, an Adobe After Effects plug-in used to generate 3D particles such as sparks and burning embers. The update includes a new shaded particles feature that enables each particle to be lit by every light in a scene, along with a Shadowlets effect that allows users to add shadows and enhance the depth of field. Trapcode Particular 2 also offers Streaklet, a particle that replicates the long-exposure lighting effects featured in iPod and Sprint commercials.
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07/09, 7:55pm
Sapphire plug-in rentals
GenArts has announced a monthly rental option for its flagship plugin effects, Sapphire. The plugins can be rented for $170 per month; far less than the $1699 purchase cost of the plug-in for After Effects or Final Cut Pro. This option is designed to allow artists who work on a project basis to avoid purchasing the costly full license of the Adobe After Effects plug-in or an Apple Final Cut Pro FxPlug. GenArts allows rental users to apply up to two months of rental fees as credit towards purchasing a permanent license of Sapphire.
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06/17, 7:10pm
ParticleMetrix ships
Noise Industries and Idustrial Revolution have launched a new particle generation plug-in, ParticleMetrix, for visual effects applications. The plug-in works with Apple's Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express and Motion, along with Adobe's After Effects CS3 and CS4. ParticleMetrix is based on FxFactory and converts objects and text into particle effects, such as snow, fire, ice, bubbles, sparkles and more. The plug-in provides a library of pre-designed effects, with controls for rotation, size, gravity and other custom settings.
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05/06, 3:25pm
Free Boris FX EPS Filter
Boris FX has released a free EPS Extrusion Filter for Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE customers. The filter can be used to import and extrude Adobe Illustrator layered vector logos and graphics in Adobe After Effects. Users can take advantage of full integration with AE's 3D camera and lighting systems, with the same 3D material presets and free-form deformation properties found in other Boris filters.
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05/05, 7:50pm
SUGARfx pulgins released
SUGARfx has released two new plug-ins, SUGARfx H.U.D., and SUGARfx Radial Wave. Each plug-in extends the visual-effects capabilities of Adobe After Effects CS3/CS4, Apple Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Express. The H.U.D. plug-in layers the original footage to appear as though the viewer is looking through different pieces of technology, such as an old camera or binoculars.
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04/17, 11:20am
FxFactory plug-ins update
Noise Industries has announced updates for three FxFactory-based plug-ins, intended for use in After Effects CS3 and CS4 along with Final Cut Studio and Express. EasyLooks 2.5 simplifies color grading, with options including diffusion and brightness adjustments. The update implements a faster rendering pipeline, as well as a vignette effect, new overlay controls and a three-way color corrector.
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04/15, 8:50pm
Boinx FxTiles effects
Boinx Software and Noise Industries have released FxTiles, a collection of 3D filters and transitions based on FxFactory for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects. The plug-ins are designed for video and post-production users. A Flip filter divides the source image into tiles and then flips them into 3D space, while a Shatter filter animates the tiles and a Spread filter offsets each tile.
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02/05, 4:35pm
Continuum Cmplt. 6 AE
Boris FX has published Boris Continuum Complete 6 AE, an updated version of its filter collection for After Effects and Premiere Pro. The upgrade provides just under 200 extra filters for video editors, including 13 new ones, such as Extruded Text, Extruded Spline, Layer Deformer and DV Fixer. Users can now also import After Effects Mask Paths into filters, which help to control geometry.
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01/12, 11:50am
Magic Bullet Quick Looks
Red Giant has released Magic Bullet Quick Looks, a new set of color-correction plug-ins for video editors. The software represents a scaled-down version of Magic Bullet Looks, which provides a full range of tools for tweaking visual styles. Quick Looks eliminates most custom options in favor of over 100 presets, based on the cinematography of famous films and TV shows.
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12/12, 9:25am
After Effects CS4 9.0.1
Adobe has posted an update to After Effects CS4, the most recent version of its video effects software. The patch, v9.0.1, makes upgrades to Mocha, enabling it to properly read QuickTime files. Also improved are Dynamic Link workflows, though Adobe has not specified the differences in the new code.
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11/20, 1:50am
Cycore effects packages
Cycore has released two effects packages for Adobe After Effects, CFX Path Tools and CFX Sphere Utilities. CFX Path Tools contains two plug-ins that utilize After Effects mask path functions. "Wiggle Stroke" allows for basic frame wiggling or even geometric wire animations. Three basic modifiers are used to displace the stroke, including basic noise, wave noise, and wave functions. "Rakka" can handle multiple repetitions of a layer, allowing it to be animated along a mask path. Controls are provided for the flow design and characteristics.
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11/19, 1:25pm
Simulate: Camera for CS4
Digieffects has published a new plug-in collection, Simulate: Camera, intended for the video software in Adobe's Creative Suite 4. The plug-ins are intended to simulate various camera and film errors, which can add interest to footage that is otherwise too sanitized. Archive is used to reproduce various decay and contamination effects, while Overexpose is able to ramp up highlights and generate flickering.
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11/10, 12:25pm
Red Giant Warp released
Red Giant Software has released Red Giant Warp, a new sets of effects generation plug-ins for video editing suites. Contained in Warp are three different tools, beginning with Corner Pin, which takes material from outside clips and pins it with a different perspective inside a working video. The plug-in additionally sports extra offset controls and integration with Mocha for After Effects.
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11/07, 9:30am
FxFactory Pro 2.0.5 ships
Noise Industries has released FxFactory Pro 2.0.5, adding support for After Effects CS4 and four new plug-ins. The plug-ins include Random Close Up, Whoosh, Cube and Upscale. Concurrent to the new release is the new free plug-in, Pan and Zoom. FxFactory Pro offers a total of 140 plug-ins, with hardware acceleration and high-quality source compatibility. The plug-ins also allow for customization.
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09/30, 1:25pm
Boris FX CS4 updates
With Adobe Creative Suite 4 launching next month, Boris FX says it will offer free updates to compatible plug-ins for Boris Continuum customers. The full list includes Boris Continuum Complete 5 AE, Final Effects Complete 5 AE, Boris RED 4.x, Boris FX 9.x, Boris Graffiti 5.x, Boris Blue 2.5, or any Boris Continuum Unit. The company specializes in 3D compositing and vector graphic products for broadcast, post-production, film and multimedia markets.
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09/23, 1:50pm
Adobe CS4 unveiled
Adobe is calling the latest release of its ubiquitous Creative Suite a milestone -- but users expecting a radical change will probably disagree. CS4 is less about fancy new features, and more about workflow -- that is, making the products work better together. The Suite, officially unveiled Monday night, contains hundreds of refinements designed to "bring down the walls" in the creative process, by making it easier to move content between applications and by adopting a consistent user interface across the entire suite. Adobe has also added more web-accessible content and Connect Pro meeting software for instant communication between artists and developers. There are new features as well, but the real meat in this release is the improved integration, efficiency and collaboration tools.
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09/05, 12:45pm
Motype FxPack text effects
Noise Industries, in collaboration with Yanobox, has announced a new visual effects plug-in, Motype FxPack. Users working with After Effects CS3, Final Cut Express, or Final Cut Studio can implement Motype to create text or title animations. A Motion Mixer function allows the motion of the characters to be defined by geometric transformations or other properties, and random characters and symbols can be added as needed.
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09/03, 10:25am
Video Gogh 3 released
RE:Vision Effects has published Video Gogh 3, the latest version of its video post-effects software. The software attempts to simulate the look of various kinds of paintings and illustrations, such as oil, chalk and watercolor. The third edition adds a variety of features, most notably the option for animated and custom brush sets, with user-selectable brush images and render styles.
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07/08, 1:25am
Test Gear 2.0 for CS3
Synthetic Aperture is now shipping Test Gear 2.0, a new version of its video and audio monitoring software designed for Adobe After Effects CS3. Test Gear features a waveform monitor, vectorscope, and other diagnostic displays -- all of which are fully integrated into After Effects CS3's user interface. Version 2.0 also adds Universal Binary support for Intel-based Macs as well as enhances all of the test instruments by adding full support for 32-bit floating-point projects. Synthetic said that video footage imported into After Effects now properly displays values above 100 IRE and below 0 IRE on the waveform monitor, slice display, and histogram and a new Gamut Display has been added that clearly shows the "legality" of the levels in the image. Test Gear 2.0 requires Adobe After Effects CS3 (and is not compatible with earlier versions of After Effects). Test Gear 2.0 is currently shipping for $125 per license ($95 if downloaded via the company's web site). Upgrades from previous versions of Test Gear are $50 (download only).
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07/02, 12:20pm
RGS offers Instant HD Adv.
Red Giant Software has launched Instant HD Advanced, its new plug-in for Adobe's After Effects. It offers higher quality than the scaler in After Effects or Red Giant's own Instant HD plug-in, which HD Advanced replaces, thanks to the super-resolution feature in the new plug-in. It also offers built-in deinterlacing and denoising controls that improve the quality of any interlaced material. It is available now for $400 and works with Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.2 and later. It requires Adobe After Effects CS3 on an Intel Mac with 1GB RAM.
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06/23, 12:15pm
Red Giant's Radium Glow
Red Giant Software has announced Radium Glow, a new 3D glow simulator that goes beyond simple blurring effects. Instead of just adding simple blur, the software gives pinpoint control over the glow effect and has edge effects, masking and output functions. The three included plug-ins add neon-style effects and can be combined with Red Giant's Trapcode Particular (the company's separate 3-D particle plug-in) and other plug-ins to give sparkle and shimmer effects. Radium Glow is available now for $100 and works with on Mac OS X 10.4.4 or later, on After Effects, Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Avid AVX.
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05/28, 4:10pm
Red Giant Trapcode Horizon
Red Giant Software on Wednesday unveiled updates to two of its products, while also introducing a new plug-in for Adobe After Effects called Trapcode Horizon. The new plug-in allows users to generate three-dimensional effects to create photorealistic backgrounds and QuickTime VR-like panoramas. Red Giant Software claims Horizon ties automatically into the software's 3D camera, ensuring that the background image is drawn from the active camera's point of view. Trapcode Horizon is selling for $100, available from the company's website.
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04/10, 10:50am
Red Giant: 5 new products
Red Giant Software has announced it will show five new products at the upcoming NAB convention in Las Vegas, including Trapcode Horizon, Instant HD Pro, Radium Glow, Magic Bullet Steady, and Primatte Keyer Pro 4. Trapcode Horizon is a new plug-in designed specifically for After Effects users doing 3D work. Due in the second quarter of 2008, the plugin is designed to help video editors match the camera with any virtual background, enabling the generation of motion in 3D in a true 3D space. It is priced at $100.
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04/10, 2:05am
Test Gear 2.0 for CS3
Synthetic Aperture this week announced Test Gear 2.0, a new version of its video and audio monitoring software specifically designed for Adobe After Effects CS3. Expected to be demoed next week at NAB in Las Vegas, Test Gear offers a waveform monitor, vectorscope, and other diagnostic displays that are now fully integrated into After Effects CS3's user interface. Version 2.0 also adds Universal Binary support for Intel-based Macs. Version 2.0 enhances all of the test instruments by adding full support for 32-bit floating-point projects. Test Gear provides motion graphics artists and video editors with a variety of test instruments to make objective measurements of their visual and audio work, all from within Adobe After Effects. Test instruments include waveform monitor, vectorscope, histogram, image slice display, and audio tools.
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04/10, 12:35am
Ambric Am2045 GT for Mac
Ambric today unveiled plans to show its pre-release version of Am2045 GT on the Mac platform at this year's NAB conference. The Am2045 GT is a video reference platform that allows video professionals users to accelerate HD MPEG-2 and HD H.264 encoding for distribution on platforms such as Blu-ray, Flash, and DVD. The hardware also accelerates Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and After Effects CS3 via a plug-in.
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04/07, 11:35am
New Digieffects plug-ins
Video plug-in maker Digieffects has announced two new plug-in series, Natural Forces and Simulate. The former will launch with "Vapor," which replicates fog, haze, clouds and smoke, and "Aqua," which imitates other forms of weather as well as various water effects. The Simulate plug-ins are more direct, adding lighting in the case of "Illuma," and namesake filters in the case of "Camera."
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03/19, 1:55pm
Damage Effects
Digieffects has begun shipping Damage, a new set of plugins for video and film post production professionals. Damage is a collection of four effects designed for post production professionals who want to create an extensive variety of digital and/or analog defects, errors and artifacts in their footage. It supports Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Autodesk Combustion and Boris RED.
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03/06, 10:45am
dvGarage product updates
dvGarage recently unveiled updates to Conduit Suite and dvMatte Pro, its respective Conduit nodal composition tool and chromakeying software. Conduit suite brings with it Conduit Live, a new standalone nodal capture tool which offers users real-tie video compositing and analysis of any live digital footage. The Studio bundle also includes Conduit for Motion, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, and After Effects. Conduit Suite is selling for $199, available from dvGarage's website.
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01/25, 3:15pm
Adobe recoils from QT 7.4
Adobe is recommending that users refrain from downloading and installing the latest QuickTime 7.4, which was released last week following the Macworld Expo keynote. According to the company, QuickTime 7.4 introduces serious incompatibility problems with both After Effects and Premiere Pro, which can prevent both programs from working properly. After Effects and Premiere Pro users can reportedly resolve this issue by utilizing Leopard's Time Machine and reverting their systems to a previous state.
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01/23, 10:15am
Adobe InDesign, AE updated
Adobe today released several updates to its software applications for professionals, including After Effects, InDesign, and InCopy. The Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional software 8.0.2 update provides Panasonic P2 format support, Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard compatibility fixes, Mac OpenGL support for supported video cards under Mac OS X v10.4.10 and v10.5, and other important fixes. The update for its professional video editing solution is 106.3MB and is available online. Adobe also noted that the Adobe InCopy CS3 5.02 update, for its provides key fixes in the areas of character alignment, undo and redo, text and fonts, dictionaries, import/export graphics, and others; the installer includes fixes from all previously released InCopy CS3 5.0.x updates (and previous InCopy CS3 5.0.x updates are no longer available separately.
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