OT:AE compatible Plug-ins

Just curious about this. What AE plug-ins do you all use with FCP? I'm talking the AE plug-ins that are compatible with FCP such as Boris Continuum Complete and Magic Bullet for Editors, etc.

Kind of want to know which is most popular with ya'll

Thanks

Mike,

In the past, I've used with FCP:
Effects Essentials
Eureka! (FCP Only)
G Filters (FCP Only)
Boris Continuum and RED
DFT 55mm
CGM (FCP Only)
CHV (FCP Only)
Trapcode
Digital Anarchy
Red Giant: Knoll & Magic Bullet
dvGarage
Pinnacle Image Lounge & Composite Wizard
Re:Vision Twixtor
Real Viz Retimer
Sapphire
Lyric
Grain Surgery
Joe's Filters (FCP Only)
DigiEffects
Stib's Filters
Synthetic Apeture
Too Much Too Soon
Ultimatte
Virtix

And of course:
Telly's FX

A full list of the plugins that work with FCP is on the DVD that comes with my book. Check it out.



Kevin Monahan
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Hello, Michael!
The one I find truly amazing is Color Finesse. A fantastic color correction system, with most of the functionality found in really high-end CC systems. A new version was announed last year, but it wasn't released as far as I know. If FCP at some point gets decent masking tools, the usefulness of CF would be spectacular!


Bear in mind, however, that usually the plug-ins that work well (like Color Finesse or Continuum) are not just regular AE plug-ins but are adapted to FCP in someway. Unfortunately, FCP supports a very old AE plug-in spec, and the really cool AE plug-ins (like the ones from Trapcode) won't do anything useful in FCP (since they can't take advantage of mask paths, cameras, lights, adjustment layers, etc.). Another problem with AE plug-ins is that they work in RGB space, so using them in a YUV sequence frequently brings gamma/color shifts. Because of all this, I prefer using AE plug-ins in AE. And in FCP, I feel the best ones are the ones made by the FXscipt geniuses, Graeme Nattress and Joe Maller.

Boris Contiuum is also amazing, but very expensive IMHO. I usually prefer plug-ins that work in the host interface (like Continuum) rather than the ones that kind of take control of the whole thing (like RED) with their own timelines and such, especially since FCP has a good interface for keyframe animation.
All the best



Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

yeah, I'm looking to see which AE plug-ins adapted for FCP you all use. What is most popular with you. Know there are a ton of them but what is the one AE compatible plug-in you can't live without? Or is there one?

Color Finesse

that is really the only AE one I ever really use in FCP



David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]

How popular do you think Color Finesse is among FCP users David?

I'm not David, Michael, but I would say Color Finesse is really popular. Maybe "popular" is not the right word, probably "important" is more accurate.

I know HD online/finishing houses that use it prominently (is that an English word). I'd say at high end FCP suites it's almost a must have, since clients are so impressed by how much of what you normally do on a Davinci system can be done with Color Finesse, inside FCP. As a consultant, I saw several FCP systems for online use get aproved BECAUSE of Color Finesse. If you want to impress someone, fire Color Finesse. That's how good it is!

Also, a lot of these users were thrilled with the announcement that Color Finesse was going to work with control surfaces, just like in those expensive color correction rooms. But that version wasn't realeased, unfortunately.

All the best!



Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

Funny...Color Finesse does not work (never did) with my FCP 5.0.4. It's my favorite CC tool to use in AE.

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Grafixjoe, just in case: The AE version and FCP version are not same one. The version bundled with AE Pro won't work with FCP.
If you have the FCP version, maybe you need an update for FCP 5.0x. The latest version is something like 1.57
All the best,
Adolfo



Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

If it's a FCP version...then it's not an AE plug-in. This should be made clear that they are 2 different purchases. FCP uses some AE 3rd party plug-ins without having to purchase FCP versions (which is what I thought Mike was referring to).

Mike? Are you looking for AE 3rd party plugs that work in FCP?

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Hello, Grafixjoe.
Please read one of my first replies on this topic. There are some AE plug-ins that have versions adapted to work properly in FCP. They are AE plug-ins only in the sense that they are written using the AE plug-in architecture. They are modified a bit to work properly with FCP. For practical purposes, they are After Effects plug-ins with the same functionality and usually the FCP specific version has no extra cost.

As for Color Finesse: I understand that if you go and buy it from Synthetic Aperture, you'll have the right to use it with both AE and FCP (separate versions). On the other hand, the version that comes with AE is a bundle deal and that's another reason why it will only work with After Effects. The license and serial number you get is for using it with AE.
All the best!



Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

I'm only talking about AE plugins that have been adapted to work with FCP. Color Finesse is one. Magic Bullet is another Twixtor is one. 55mm plugins from DFT is another Boris is another.

i haven't used them, but i've played with the 55mm plug ins.

wow!
classy, and then some.
really nice looks based on traditional lens-filters

Adolfo, i just need to clear something up about CF:
are you saying that it can't do power windows in FCP?
that's a drag. that'd steer me away from an FCP grade, i think.

cheers,
nick

"Adolfo, i just need to clear something up about CF:
are you saying that it can't do power windows in FCP?
that's a drag. that'd steer me away from an FCP grade, i think"

Nick: I didn't want to go deeper into that, because I don't want Mike to think we're hijacking the AE plug-ins topic! (Mike, I do believe this is very relevant to the subject).

I am not sure what the exact capabilities of power windows in DaVinci are, but as far as CF goes, the masking/region limiting capabilities are provided by the host application, ie a lot in After Effects, very little in FCP.

As you surely know, masking tools in FCP have always been very very weak since V1.0, and Apple never updated or improved them since then. Very simple geometrical shapes (circles and rectangles), and 4 or 8 point polygonal masks (no bezier or b-splines at all) that are incredibly painful to animate (because incredibly each node is a separate property for keyframing). Some plug-in developers, like CHV, created plug-ins for bezier masking inside FCP, but they are really akward - developers don't have the proper programming "hooks" for it in FCP. They're compromise solutions.

I am suprised we are not all screaming at Apple for better masking tools as a #1 feature request. I sent a couple of request messages to the team, but gave up when Motion came out. The message I saw was: FCP is not going there.

Again, I believe the supposedly "upcoming" Color Finesse 2 is supposed to have built-in masking (because it's also designed to work in a standalone mode).



Adolfo Rozenfeld
Buenos Aires - Argentina
www.adolforozenfeld.com

Adolfo Rozenfeld wrote:

> Also, a lot of these users were thrilled with the announcement
> that Color Finesse was going to work with control surfaces,
> just like in those expensive color correction rooms. But that
> version wasn't realeased, unfortunately.

I wouldn't say wasn't released rather hasn't been yet
Bob says they are working at getting it out soon



David at Movies Rock in Toronto
[www.tofcpug.com]