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Cinema 4D Release 13 Studio (Review)
It is getting harder and harder to look the other way when it comes to adding CG (Computer Graphics) to the independent filmmakers tool set. For serious indies that are looking to “up their game” Cinema 4D, the full studio version, is worth a long, hard look. Even TV shows are doing so much with green-screens and environment manipulation, that viewers are expecting a level of sophistication greater than ever before.
Yes, we all know that the story is King. However, with offerings like Maxon’s Cinema 4D (C4D), even humble filmmakers can have professional grade tools in their studio, which only expands on the ability to tell a good story. Read the rest of this story…
Posted in Reviews, Reviews (Software), Software
Tagged 3D, Cinema 4D, film, Maxon, r13, realism
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Tiffen DFX 3.0 (Review)
Traditional Hollywood and anyone who has ever put a filter in front of a camera lens, whether still or motion, has probably used a Tiffen filter or gel. They’re amazingly well-known in the cinematography and special effects community for filters and gels for getting amazing looks in the midst of production, but it’s only been fairly recently that they’ve delved into the realm of optical effects. Read the rest of this story…
Posted in Reviews, Reviews (Software), Software
Tagged after effects, dfx 3, final cut pro effects, magic bullet alternatives, plugins, tiffen
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InDesign CS5.5 (Review)
A short time ago, Adobe introduced CS5 and with it came some great features. But the forward thinking people at Adobe realized that as media evolves at an astonishing rate, new features must be added to their existing programs. Not wanting to wait until the release of CS6, Adobe introduced InDesign CS5.5, which adds some great new features specifically targeting publishers who want to publish across multiple platforms. Read the rest of this story…
Story CS5.5 (Review)
With CS5.5, writing with a partner is even easier than it was in CS5, and you can even set up permission levels to only allow them access to certain parameters. This is done very simply and becomes important when working with multiple partners or producers that you don’t want to directly edit your work. You can even access your scripts on your iPhone! (You can read them for changes and make comments, although, as of yet, you can’t actually change the script directly.) Read the rest of this story…
Premiere Elements 10 (Review)
Premiere Elements 10 does a masterful job of just skirting the line between professional and consumer friendly. Enough elements for a seasoned pro to explore, but simple enough for someone to slap together some footage and get it rendered quickly. Read the rest of this story…
Posted in Reviews, Reviews (Software), Software
Tagged Editing, entry-level, Photography, video
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Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 (Review)
As with version 10 before it, Vegas Movie Studio HD is an incredibly priced software suite. At below $100 you WILL NOT find a more feature-packed piece of software for editing. I’ve been using Vegas Pro pretty exclusively for the past few years and have always found it surprising in its efficiency and quality, so to get so much of that power for hundreds less, you can’t beat it. Read the rest of this story…
Ozone 4 (Review)
iZotope Ozone is a killer mastering plug-in, and the value of six mastering effects in one plug-in continues to amaze me. It would be well worth your money to buy this program just for the presets, especially if you simply cannot afford to pay an audio engineer to master your film. Simply using the presets with minimal tweaking will place your film in front of so many other independent films. This plug-in would benefit any filmmaker looking to make their work a step above of the rest. Read the rest of this story…
Digital Publishing Suite (Review)
As if dominating the market with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver (just to name a few) weren’t enough, Adobe has stepped into the realm of digital publishing with some amazing tools for both designers and filmmakers. Adobe Digital Publishing Suite gives creative folks with little to no experience programming software the ability to publish interactive apps for tablet devices such as the iPad, Android, and BlackBerry Playbook. Read the rest of this story…
Alloy (Review)
Finding a program that will make your film audio sound better does not have to be a confusing process. Most companies sell audio effects separately. You can buy this EQ for 100 dollars or that compressor for 200 dollars. But wouldn’t it be nice to have all of your basic audio processing tools in one intuitive program? Wouldn’t it be even nicer to buy all of these tools together for a reasonable price? This is where iZotope Alloy comes in. Read the rest of this story…
Nectar (Review)
Nectar’s ability to offer users access to several audio effects in one plug-in truly sets this plug-in above the rest. If that wasn’t enough, Nectar also gives you access to realistic pitch correction of vocals, which is very useful in adjusting the presence of an actor. Let’s dive into the heart of Nectar to see if this could be a plug-in you use on your next project. Read the rest of this story…
Dreamweaver CS5.5 (Review)
Adobe Dreamweaver has stayed on the cutting edge for years, and CS5.5 does not disappoint. If you are new to web design, you will probably want to read a bit about the basics of web coding, but the beauty of Dreamweaver is the ability to create a website without having to write any coding by hand. Whether you want to insert a picture, a link, or a menu bar, Dreamweaver makes it easy with tools built right into the program. And if you are already familiar with Dreamweaver, CS5.5 offers some fun new features, which we will look at in the ‘Depths of Options’ section. Read the rest of this story…
Altiverb 6 (Review)
The need for audio engineers to make tracks sound as if they are coming from various types of acoustical environments is as old as audio production itself, and has only intensified with the use of audio in film. Of course, when shooting for realism, the initial (and still the best) solution was to actually record the sounds in those environments – concert halls, theaters, living rooms, vehicles, etc. Then studio engineers like Bill Putnam Sr. and the like thought, “Hey, we have this facility with all kinds of rooms – why don’t we play back an audio signal miked in a dry room (one with little reverberation) into a wetter (more reverberant) room with a loudspeaker and mic the results?” And thus, the art of applying additional reverberation to tracks was born. The process has undergone a great deal of mutation since then, with the creation of reverb devices utilizing anything from metal plates, springs, a series electronic delay lines, all the way to modern digital equipment with powerful IC’s. Read the rest of this story…
3ds Max ECS 2012 (Review)
For the past several years, programs like 3ds Max, Softimage, Mudbox, and MotionBuilder were separate, unique experiences all on their own. Artists, as well as companies, had to ally themselves with one particular 3D application to supply most of their needs and be cautious when considering any other packages to add on that might throw a wrench in their existing pipeline. Since those days, Autodesk has been working to bring the biggest 3D applications used in the entertainment industry under one roof. But collecting all the most popular tools was not all Autodesk had plans to do. Read the rest of this story…
MotionStudio 3D (Review)
The titling options alone are exceptional, with literally hundreds of modifications you can do with your text. Clicking and dragging what you want done to the text couldn’t be simpler. Inserting provided graphics and overlays, quickly creating shapes and objects, and changing camera angles can all be done on the fly and then the program provides you with 3-D animation models for you to explore and insert. Once you’ve completed your animation/titling/graphic – you can render it to multiple types of video files and insert it easily into your project. Read the rest of this story…
Sapphire 6 (Review)
The latest version of Sapphire offers a very extensive set of over 240 plug-ins for every editing platform imaginable, including After Effects & Premiere Pro (which is the version I looked at for this review), as well as Final Cut 7, Autodesk, Avid, Nuke/OFX & Sony Vegas. Highly touted in this new release are many updates to the previous version including 6 new effects and 9 new transitions, updated LensFlare control as well as 3D lens flares (currently only available in actual 3D for After Effects), a preset browser and more. Read the rest of this story…
Posted in Reviews, Reviews (Software), Software
Tagged Award of Superiority, Plugin, Visual FX
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