24
Where do I go from here?
Naturally, after having such a great experience digging into native effects in After Effects and using them creatively, you might be curious as to what other effects are out there. I thought that I would take just a few words to whet your whistle about the third-party effects that are included with the current version of After Effects, as well as some other great effects companies out there.
Purchase Plugins Wisely 24.01
Just make sure that you’re temperate in your third-party effects purchases. Often, when After Effects is upgraded, plugins won’t work with the new version. I once purchased a suite of plugins, and then realized that they weren’t compatible with the current version of After Effects. I was told by the company that they would be supported in the current version of After Effects soon. Months later, their plugins still did not work, and I wasted my money. I’ve learned my lesson—it’s usually best to purchase third-party plugins when they’re needed for a particular job.
The Included Third-Party Effects
Every version of After Effects for the last several years has included a group of free plugins from third-party vendors (the term “third-party” just means a company other than Adobe). These change from version to version, which is one of the reasons that we’ve decided not to include detailed coverage of all of these effects in this book, as we’ve done with the other effects. Still, many users are left scratching their heads as to what these extra effects do. If it makes you feel any better about your purchase of After Effects, these third-party effects alone are worth thousands of dollars, which is significantly more than you paid for your copy of After Effects. Note that if you’re using an older version of After Effects you might have to go back to the original software disc or the download site to make sure that you’ve installed all of the included goodies.
Synthetic Aperture’s Color Finesse
Color Finesse (in the Synthetic Aperture category) is a color correction powerhouse.
After applying the effect, you’ll see a button in the Effect Controls panel that says Full Interface. Click that to open the real Color Finesse effect. As you can see, this is a color adjustment juggernaut, complete with scopes and all manner of color tools.
It’s really slow to launch and render in the timeline, so I honestly never use it. But it is the only place to get scopes in After Effects without an additional plugin. And it definitely is the most advanced color correction tool in After Effects on top of that. Another reason that I didn’t use it is that it required a separate serial number from After Effects. I always lose mine and it’s just too annoying to keep fiddling with.
Figure 24.1
The full interface of Color Finesse. Notice that there is no footage in the corner. There actually is on my screen, but it doesn’t show up in screen captures.
Other Third-Party Effects
What if you want to go even further? Well, in that case, there are loads of After Effects plugin companies that would love to take your money. I’ve tried most After Effects plugins out there, and I’ll share with you some of my favorites.
Trapcode Plugins
If you only purchase one third-party effect, then it absolutely must be Trapcode Particular. Particular is a particle system of the highest order. It’s intuitive and renders quickly, but its loads of options can almost be overwhelming. It’s almost like having a second After Effects within After Effects. Particular is famous not just for sparkles and such, but for all kinds of cool effects, such as the ever popular light streaks.
Note that all Trapcode tools are marketed by Red Giant Software (redgiantsoftware.com), which is great because Red Giant is one of the best companies out there. They have phenomenal customer service, they’re staffed by artists who love what they do, they’re based in the Pacific Northwest (HOLLA!), and they give out free tutorials and presets (and even free plugins) like they’re candy.
Figure 24.2
The Particular light streaks.
Similar to Particular, Trapcode also makes Form, which is like Particular, except that the particles just take the shape of an object, even a 3D object based on a 3D model imported from a 3D application.
Figure 24.3
The bubble this fairy is living in was created with Trapcode Form.
Another recognizable plugin is the Shine effect. This effect creates volumetric light that appears to shine out from objects. You can see this in the McDonald’s logo in some of their old commercials, as well as a financial company logo, and a rum company logo that I can’t remember the names of. Shine is relatively inexpensive, renders quick, looks great, is easy to setup, and has some great options for experimenting.
Trapcode also creates an entire suite of effects, almost all of which are quite impressive, and greatly add to the effects in After Effects. If the Cycore plugins are the watered down versions of After Effects effects, the Trapcode effects might be thought of as the super charged versions of After Effects effects.
The Keying Suite
This is a collection of tools (again by Red Giant Software) for keying and adjusting mattes. There are so many valuable tools in this collection, that I almost feel powerless when I have to go to a client facility and work without them. They are an extra purchase (and there are great tools in After Effects that work in this arena), but to me, it’s worth it. It’s almost like buying a good recliner, or eating at a great sushi restaurant, or taking the kids to Disneyland. Does it cost more? Yeah. But it’s such a great experience, it’s well worth the money.
Magic Bullet
The Magic Bullet set of plugins (also marketed and sold by Red Giant Software) was created by After Effects master Stu Maschwitz. This suite of effects was created to make video look more like film, which includes changing frame rate, colors, and more.
And Stu knows all about that. He co-founded a successful effects company called the Orphanage, and is quite the movie maker himself. He’s also written one of my favorite books on filmmaking, The DV Rebel’s Guide.
Magic Bullet has now turned into a suite of (mostly) color correction tools and apps. Magic Bullet also makes a growing suite of apps for the iPhone, iPad, and other devices. Mojo is a plugin that quickly adds a cinematic look. Magic Bullet Looks is a full featured color correction studio that allows you to select from pre-made looks, or construct your own look with a host of real world and intuitive tools. The popular Colorista color correction tool is now free from the Red Giant website, as it’s been replaced by the even more powerful Colorista II. If you’re into creating cinematic images and love color correction tools, these are definitely things to check out.
Optical Flares
Created and sold by Andrew Kramer at VideoCopilot.net, Optical Flares is one of the best investments you can make for After Effects. If you can only afford one plugin for After Effects, make it Trapcode Particular. But if you can afford two plugins for After Effects OR if you can’t afford Particular, then get Optical Flares. It’s an extremely powerful lens flare creation tool that adds production value and magic to everything it touches.
Figure 24.4
A still from my award-winning short film GODLIZZA, where I used Optical Flares to enhance the power of a baby destroying a city.
Neat Video Noise Reduction
As mentioned in Chapter 12, the noise reduction plugin from Neat Video (neatvideo.com) is one of the best noise reduction tools I’ve ever seen. You have to pay per host (e.g., Premiere, After Effects, etc.), but it’s worth it. This plugin takes a custom profile of each clip, and removes noise in such a way that your footage isn’t damaged. There’s also built in sharpening that works wonders. I do this with all of my footage before I send it out for final render.
And the Rest …
Of course, there are hundreds of other plugin makers out there. And perhaps there’s a third-party plugin out there that can save your life and sanity that I didn’t cover here. This is by no means a comprehensive list, or even a comprehensive list of the good third-party plugins. These are just some of my favorites and some of the more popular ones. There are also entire websites out there devoted solely to the topic of After Effects plugins. Keep your eyes peeled and your mind open to plugins that can solve your problems.