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Videoguys' NLE Plug-in Round-up 2000
Never before have you been able to add so many affordable plug-ins to your non-linear editing system!! In this article I'll review over a dozen software titles that will allow you to add amazing effects and features to your new or existing NLE system. Before I get into the review, lets quickly go over the basics.
A non-linear editing system consists of hardware (video capture card) to get the video in and out of your system and software to edit the video with. The software most used for video editing is Adobe Premiere. One of the coolest things about Premiere (and Ulead Media Studio Pro) is the ability to support plug-ins. Plug-ins allow you to add additional features such as 2D/3D titling, transitions, filters, special effects and more!
I'm now going to give you a quick lesson in some of the terminology I'll be using to describe each Plug-in. By understanding these terms, you'll be better able to understand and appreciate what plug-ins can do for you.
To make it easier to compare the plug-ins featured in this article, I've broken them down into 5 groups:GUI – This is the Graphical User Interface of the program. I really like a plug-in that has a simple to use GUI. Even better is a GUI that incorporates a selection tool with animated thumbnails and presets. Throw in a few templates and wizards and you'll be adding broadcast quality transitions and FX with a few mouse clicks!
Keyframing – This very important feature allows you set points in the timeline of the transition or effect. You set what you want the video to look like at these key points, and the software fills in the rest. As an example, lets use a 10 second picture in picture effect. I set my in point at the upper right hand corner. 3 second into the video I want the PIP to expand to ¼ screen in the lower left hand corner. At 7 seconds I want the PIP to start expanding to fill the entire screen by second 10. Without keyframing I would not be able to control where and when my FX and transitions take place. Keyframing is VERY cool!
Preview Window – Many of you who use NLE systems know that Premiere (and most other NLE software) give you a preview window that lets you see how your video will look before you output it back to tape. Well most plug-ins have their own preview window as well, so you can see how your new effect or transition will look. This window is usually small, but big enough to let you see how things will look. The best plug-ins offer you these previews in real-time, using your actual video. But, real-time previews usually still need to be rendered before you can output in full video quality.
The fun begins – This is a term I can't stop from using when I describe how most plug-ins work. You start by selecting one of the pre-sets or templates. "The fun begins" when you get into the advanced interface and unleash the real power and performance of the plug-in. You can customize and combine features to create your own unique results. Want to really have some fun, combine two or more plug-ins for even cooler results!!
Special FX Plug-ins
Lets face it; the coolest thing about non-linear editing is the special. The effects you can now add to your home videos for a few hundred dollars were only available to broadcasters a few short years ago, and they paid thousands for them! I must issue my standard warning about these plug-ins: Use them sparingly. Special FX are no substitute for an interesting story and good videography. If you overuse these FX your video will not only start to look silly, it will distract from your content. But used correctly, they can have BIG impact on your audience.
Boris FX 5
Perhaps the best-known and most widely used 3D transition plug-in is Boris FX. This plug-in has gotten significantly more powerful and easier to use over the years. The current version allows you to add all kinds of 2D and 3D transitions and special effects. The Boris GUI is really nice. The Library Browser gives you thumbnails of each effect. Click on a thumbnail and it appears in the preview window in real-time with your actual video. Now that you've selected your basic FX, the fun really begins. The transition is loaded directly into the keyframer. Now you can customize it and add to it. While it's a little intense at first, the power you get is incredible. With a little practice, you'll be creating your own multi-layered transitions and FX!
Boris FX is also available in more expensive versions. Pro supports many of the highest-level NLE Apps and adds additional features and FX. Red is their broadcast level product, which is used by the networks, cable and TV producers in Hollywood and all over the world.
Pinnacle Hollywood FX
Hollywood offers a very clean and easy to use GUI as well. One of the coolest features of Hollywood FX is that it utilizes the OpenGL power of today's 3D graphics cards to accelerate rendering. The FXmark utility helps you optimize your settings to get the best results with your particular PC configuration.
There are actually multiple levels of Hollywood FX. I've decided to focus here on Bronze. Copper is the 'lite' version that comes bundled with some Pinnacle cards (Pinnacle purchased Hollywood FX in 1999). Bronze offers you over 100 transitions, multiple levels of video and keyframing. What I really love about the 3D transitions in HFX is the animation. My favorite is video 1 folds up into a paper airplane and sales off into the sunset of video 2. There are transitions for wedding & event video, sports, travel, and corporate work. You name it, there are transitions here for you. And if you want more, you can download them for a very modest fee from Club Hollywood on their website.
The Silver version comes with 200 transitions. It lets you mix up to 30 video tracks and you can create your own custom FX! Gold and Platinum versions that are even more loaded and powerful are also available.
Pixelan SpiceMaster & Spices
Spices are 2D gradient transitions, which allow one video track to dissolve and flow into the other. There are over 500 assorted Spices now available. Some of today's most popular capture cards come with an assortment of Spices. SpiceMaster is the new GUI that lets you take full control of your Spices and customize them for your video. SpiceMaster lets you see all your Spices as thumbnails. Click on a thumbnail and the fun begins. You can move the center of the effect to any point on the screen, change the edge softness, transparency, add shadows and more. Best off all, you can see everything you are doing in real-time in the preview window!
One of the things I really like about using Spices is how fast they render. Basic Spices are real-time with my DV500. With the new 1.2 version and a dual processor system, you'll get even the most complicated “SpiceMastered” transitions to render in near real-time!!
The other important thing you need to know about Spices is that if you use them correctly, they can draw your audience into your video and make it more interesting. Unlike 3D FX, Spice transitions are not distracting. They just simply happen.
Media Mania Pro Edition
This handy dandy animation and compositing software gets mentioned in this article because of the value it packs. For about $100 you get morphing, masking, keying, ghosting, drawing and titling. It's a grab bag of gee wiz effects at a price that makes it a must have for anyone wanting to add that next level of creativity to their videos.
Matrox Flex 3D
This is hardware plug-in technology that Matrox has created that utilizes the power of a special version of their top rated G400 graphics card. By using Flex 3D the Matrox RT2000 can perform page-peels, PIP and other very cool 3D transitions in real-time. The only way you can get Flex 3D is by buying an RT2000. If you love 3D transitions and you are looking for a new video capture card, the Flex 3D transitions are as cool as any 3rd party plug-in.
The RT2000 version 2.0 is due to ship very soon. With this release Matrox has added a slew of new 3D transitions (including particle & tile FX) that are completely keyframable! All registered owners of the RT2000 will be able to download version 2.0 (and all the great new FX) when it is released.
Canopus Xplode & Soft Xplode
Canopus has there own 3D transition plug-in that they now include with all their DV Raptor & EZDV cards. Soft Xplode is similar to Hollywood FX in that the transitions engine uses the power of your graphics card for acceleration. While these 3D FX are rather simple, they do enhance the video capture card bundles.
If you want more powerful FX and even faster results, the Xplode AGP card gives you Xplode 3D transitions in near real-time. These transitions are much more sophisticated then the SoftXplode versions. You can have multiple moving video images on the screen at the same time. These more complex effects will require rendering, but the Xplode AGP graphics card accelerates it nicely. The Xplode card is included in the MegaRex bundle. You can also buy it as a stand alone card for about $400. This will let you add Xplode FX to most Premiere or Media Studio Pro based NLE systems.
Titling
The biggest knock you'll hear about Premiere is its lousy titling capabilities. While adequate for basic titling, it just isn't going to cut it for most serious digital videographers. Thankfully the following plug-ins more then make up for it.
Boris Graffiti
Sure 2D titles are swell, but if you really want to blow your audience away, you need animated 3D titles that fly on, off and around the screen. Graffiti uses the Boris FX keyframer to give you full control of every aspect of your 3D titles. Titles can fly, spin, twist, and rotate all over the screen. You can move individual portions of the title around as well. When it comes to 3D titling, you can't beat Graffiti for the price. One catch to all this 3D capability is long render times. I've created 30-second title sequences that took over a half hour to render. I'm told the next release, (hopefully available by the time you read this), will cut rendering times by as much as a third!
Pinnacle TitleDeko
This is Pinnacle's 2D titling plug-in that is now bundled with all their DCxx/DVxx cards. TitleDeko is super easy to use and the titles look great. When used with their real-time cards, you can superimpose static titles over your video in real-time. Moving titles have to render (for now). My inside guys tell me that real-time scrolling and crawling will be added in the next release.
Inscriber TitleMotion & Title Express
TitleMotion is one of the best know titling plug-ins for professional NLEs. Not many folks realize that they offer a very affordable version for Premiere. While creating your titles in TitleMotion requires a bit more effort, they do look great. When you look at some of the preset titling templates, you may recognize them from your favorite cable or local news program. These presets are very easy to use and will give your video a broadcast look.
Title Express is a special version of TitleMotion made for the Matrox RT2000 and now included in version 2.0. With this plug-in you can add great looking titles that output in real-time. Title Express is very easy to use. Just pick a preset, type in your own words and put it in your video.
Cayman Graphics PowerCG
This is a little known program the really gets the job done. The version for Premiere is quite inexpensive and you can download a fully working trial version from their website. If you are thinking about adding a titling plug-in but you're not sure which one, give PowerCG a test drive, you might find yourself very happily surprised.
Audio for Video
One of the most overlooked aspects of video production is audio. But if you watch a video with a nice soundtrack behind it, you'll see that not only does it add pacing and emotion to your video, it can make the video appear to look better!
Sonic Desktop SmartSound
This is my favorite program for adding my own unique background audio tracks to my video. It is extremely easy to use, yet you can create a fantastic soundtrack that compliments your video perfectly. SmartSound lets you build your soundtrack by stringing together multiple music tracks. You select the duration. Each soundtrack has an intro and outro, so there are no sudden stops in your music. You can get additional palettes of music to fit every type of video work. What I really like about this is that the music clips are labeled based on the content of the video you are going to use it with. Even I can understand what 'romantic', 'high action' and 'excitement' mean. You do not have to have any musical ability at all to create the perfect soundtrack to your video. If you need to change the length of your clip, SmartSound automatically shrinks or expands the entire soundtrack to fit perfectly. If you ask me, using SmartSound is very smart!
Sonic Foundry Sound Forge
If you want to do some audio editing the program to get is Sound Forge. It is the industry standard. It allows you to not only grab audio from CDs, but you can mix multiple tracks in multiple audio formats. You can equalize your footage, add effects like reverb and echo, and lengthen or shorten clips with minimal impact on pitch. All these functions are fully keyframeable and you get plenty of tools to lock in and sync your new soundtrack to your video.
Sound Forge is the industry standard for audio editing for video. It gives you power and performance comparable to a professional audio mixing studio. If you have any kind of musical talent, this program will be much easier to use. That said, I have no musical talent at all, but Sound Forge is one of my most important editing tools.
Sonic Foundry Acid
Acid uses loops of canned music to allow you to create you own soundtracks. It is very easy to use. And if you just need a minute or two of music, you can easily put together something. Acid was originally designed for musicians, for creating additional tracks for there recording studios. I have friends who are talented musicians; they can create an entire soundtrack with multiple tracks that sounds incredible. I have no musical talent. When I create Acid soundtracks more then a minute or two in length this becomes painfully obvious. It's not that I don't like Acid, it's just that I don't have the skill to use it to its full capabilities. If you have even a small amount of musical talent you will love this program. Unfortunately I do not.
Compression
When you want to take your hi-resolution video and put it on CD, DVD or the web, you have to compress it. When you do this, you will have to sacrifice some video quality. A 10 second DV file is 35 megs in size!! Imagine how long it can take to download that file with a 56K modem. Even with broadband access, these clips are just too big to share. A CD holds 660 megs of data or a measly 3 minutes of DV footage. Thankfully we now have several different compression tools that allow us to get more video in a tight place at better quality then ever!!
Media Cleaner Pro 4
This is the industry standard, all-purpose compression suite. It supports all 3 of the leading web streaming formats; real video, Microsoft ASF and Quicktime. In addition it supports a host of other compressions including MPEG1. What I really like about Media Cleaner is that the tools allow you to optimize your footage for the limited bandwidth. Many programs will convert and compress, Media Cleaner gives you the best controls over your compression.
With their recent aquisitions of Terran, Digital Origin and key technology from ICE, Media 100 now offers some very exciting bundles that make Media Cleaner even more productive. CleanerEditDV Suite combines Edit DV, Media Cleaner Pro, After Effects and a FireWire capture card for a complete DV to web content creation solution. The Media Cleaner PowerSuite combines the ICE accelrator hardware with a special version of Media Cleaner Pro that speeds up compression by 5x. This means a single G4 equipped with the PowerSuite can outperform 5 idividual G4s cruching the video without it!
Vitec DVD Toolbox
DVD Toolbox gives you everything you need to take your DV footage and create hi resolution DVD or CD Roms. It includes a very fast MPEG1 & 2 converter that supports variable and fixed bit rates. You also get Vitecs DVD authoring software.
If you are looking for a complete capture, digitizing, editing and authoring solution for DVD content creation, check out Vitecs new DVD Cut Machine. You get the DVD Toolbox, plus an MPEG2 capture card and MPEG2 editing software for around $750!!
Sonic Foundry Stream Anywhere
If you need to take your video and put it on the web, Stream Anywhere is a very nice little package. Not only does it let you convert your clips to all the popular web formats, it will batch convert them into multiple streming foramts. Stream Anywhere also gives you templates for posting these clips on your website.
You can also add interactivity with commands and markers that can be used to lauch other web events. You can also embed watermarks in your video streams to protect your content from unauthorized users.
Sonic DVDit! SE
DVDit! SE is really a top-notch easy to use DVD & CD Rom authoring program. The reason it gets listed here is because they also include an MPEG2 software converter. What I really like about this is that you design your interactivity first, using the actual video clips. Once you are ready to create your DVD or CD, the program will automatically convert all the clips for you to MPEG2. This is very productive and saves you from having to convert everything first, then author.
More and more capture cards that support MPEG2 are now bundling with DVDit! LE. This version is quite limited. If you want to create anything more then a simple single menu, you'll want to upgrade to the SE or PE versions. These upgrades are quite affordable and you get a lot of bang for your buck!
Productivity
This is the area where I basically list any utility that makes the editing process easier.
Videonics Command Post
About the only thing I miss about linear editing was having a jog shuttle. Well now you can add one to your NLE system. The command post is a USB device (Win98 & Win2000 only) that gives you jog shuttle control of your FireWire devices and your preview & monitor windows. You also get 16 additional buttons that come pre-programmed for NLE short cuts. All of these buttons can be re-programmed to any shortcut you want. The only things I don't like about this product are the T-bar and the joystick. Why don't I like them? Because I can't use them! Now if only Videonics or Adobe could create a clever use for them, Command Post would be perfect!!
Digital Juice NLE
This is a 16 CD collection of backgrounds and short animations that you can very easily import into your video projects. They really come in handy for titling sequences and as a background when your flying in multiple picure-in-picture effects.
DV Logic DV Elements
What you get is 30 DV quality animated loops that you can integrate into your DV timeline. What you can do with these gorgeous loops is up to you. Each one has a beautiful, flowing movement to them. The colors are clean so you can easily superimpose titles & graphics over them. For around $100, this a very inexpensive product that can make your productions look much more professional.
If you are shopping for a new video capture card, spend a little extra to get one that ships with one of these two NLEs so that you can expand your system with plug-ins. With the video capture card business becoming so competitive, many capture cards come with a handful of plug-ins. We call this the bundle. You can save big money getting a capture card that comes with a loaded bundle. If your new board is bundled with a 'lite' version of a plug-in, you can upgrade to the full version at a very reasonable cost. You will also find that many retailers and integrators can give you special prices on plug-ins if you purchase them with your capture card or turnkey system. We refer to this as a soft bundle. Make sure you ask about any bundle specials they may be offering when you shop. You will be amazed by how much you can save!
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