At over 150 plug-ins, FXFP is deep in tools to choose from. The plug-ins are grouped into 11 categories: Blur, Color Corrections, Distort, Generators, Glow, Halftones, Sharpen, Stylize, Tiling, Transitions and Video.
The deepest section is the Transition category claiming 28 of the plug-ins followed closely by Stylize which has 27.
It is tempting to simply look at the quantity of the plug-ins and say, “Yea, there’s plenty of options,” because there are so many. That would be missing the true value of the plug-ins in FXFP. I think it’s fair to say that there is no one plug-in in FXFP that is an I-Must-Have-That-Now tool. However, what ends up being impressive is the level of nuance in every tool and the animation that is part of many of them.
These plug-ins are work horses rather than stars of the show. While they can be used independently, they really are to be used as part of bigger picture as a seasoning rather than the main course. The presets alone shave experimentation time from the schedule and are possible because of the extra control over effects. I say extra control because many of the stock effects that come with AE and FCP are good, but very elemental. FXFP supercharges more mundane capabilities by adding an increased depth of options for each tool - controls for little things that become significant when integrating FXFP into other plug-ins or tools you may have.
For example, the Pop Art filter reproduces a 4-up “Andy Worhol-esque” heavy threshold controlled presentation of video with color controls for each panel plus distance between layers, threshold, sharpness controls and more. Throw in a few tasty presets and a complex visual is created fast and easy.
Need a 24-like transition between concurrent scenes? Done. Simply adjust size, location and duration of panels and clips - all within a couple of clicks.
As always, everything can be key framed, too.
