Last month I reviewed GenArts Sapphire, the phenominal plug in system that gives editors some serious new tools to use with Final Cut Pro, After Effects, and Motion. I could definitely see that the plug in was an amazing addition to any editor’s toolkit, but I knew that I wasn’t taking full advantage of its features. Having seen a demo of Sapphire at NAB showing how it was used in Iron Man, I knew I definitely wasn’t yet at the level that would allow me to comprehend how it was used to its fullest. I contacted GenArts and Class on Demand to see if I could get some extra training as I worked on the review, and they responded by shipping me a copy of Class on Demand’s new “Complete Training for GenArts Sapphire.”
This training DVD was a huge eye opener! I felt like Neo entering the real world when I was awakened to the amazing things that could be done with Sapphire plug ins.
The DVD comes with all of the project media so that you can participate in the lessons, and try out the effects on your own. The project media is pretty extensive, over a Gb of high quality footage to work with, and an FCP project file that you use to create a commercial while following step by step instructions.
To be honest, before this training set, I had never used After Effects because I was just too lazy to learn a new interface. I was happy in my little Apple world. The effects you can create with Sapphire can be done in Final Cut, Motion, or After Effects, and Todd Prives works on all sides of the pyramid in this video. With his guidance in the After Effects interface, even I was easily able to pick up not only the way to use Sapphire, but also how to use After Effects. This was an extra bonus for me, since I now feel fairly confident that I could do many of my own effects. That example is my way of saying that the training video is very easy to comprehend, no matter what skill level you are at.
