Tiffen, I know you have been in the film/video world for years and are well established too. But I had no idea about your sweet plugins for FCP.

Tiffen Dfx Video/Film Plug-in is a top of the line plug-in suite that incorporates filters and lenses that Tiffen is so well known for and infuses it into Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Premiere Pro and Avid. It is a complete plug-in suite that adds glass filters, specialized lenses, optical lab processes, film grain, exacting color correction, plus natural light and photographic effects.

One of the best features of this plug-in is the usability. The Dfx Interface allows you to preview the tons of presets each filter comes with. Within the Dfx Interface you can customize the parameters of a preset to make it yours while viewing it in real-time.

There are so many different film looks it is absolutely ridiculous…which is a great thing. In the past I never dabbled with different film stocks because of price and I didn’t shoot with a film camera. Now that everything is digital those looks are fresh to a new generation of video editors.

Some of my favorite filters from Tiffen Dfx are the Light filters. You can add lights, gobos and even flags to your video. I love the gobo, simply adding a gobo to an interview gives the interview a fresh look. I’m so glad to have this product in my effects library. It will turn good looking video into beautiful looking video…but let’s not kid ourselves. It is always important to shoot it right the first time, great lighting, lenses and composition will always keep you looking like a pro. Now Tiffen Dfx 3.0 will make you stand out in the crowded field of professionals.

Price
$599…yeah, that stings the purse a bit especially with FCP X out and about and this is not yet ready for FCP X. The price of these filters are more than the upgrade to FCP X, there is a reason for that…the effects are amazing. But ask questions and research before you buy any plug-ins set. Will they upgrade to allow you to use these with FCP X? I mean FCP 7 will eventually fade once Apple gets it right with FCP X. Until then, if you have FCP 7 check out these filters for FREE for 15 days and do a cool project and impress your client or wow the audience at a film festival.

Tiffen Dfx Video/Film Feature Highlights

• 121 individual filters
• Thousands of customizable presets
• Simulation of Tiffen glass camera filters, specialized lenses, optical lab processes, film grain, exacting color correction as well as natural light and photographic effects
• Rosco and GamColor Gel libraries
• Rosco and Gam Gobo libraries for lighting effects
• 8 or 16 bit image processing
• Multi-processor acceleration

Tech Specs / Requirements

• Adobe After Effects CS5 and up
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and up
• Apple Final Cut Pro 6 and 7
• Avid 64-bit systems, Media Composer®, and Symphony™ v6.0 as well as NewsCutter® v10.0.

Windows:

• Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
• 1.0 GHz processor or faster
• Intel or AMD processor
• 1GB RAM (2 GB+ recommended)
• 1GB available disk space for caching and temporary files
• Open-GL capable graphics card
• Display with 1280 x 1024 resolution or higher
• Three-button mouse
• Wacom Intous 3 and 4 support

Macintosh:

• Mac® OS X 10.6.x – 10.7.x
• Macintosh Multicore Intel® processor
• 1GB RAM (2 GB+ recommended)
• Wacom Intous 3 and 4 support

All you X users should get your download on and enjoy this plugin.

ShrinkRay X from CrumplePop on Vimeo.

I love the preset browser where you can apply the preset to the footage and preview what it looks like before you load it. The tags are a HUGE bonus for the editor. The tags simplify things so it is streamlined for the editor. You can always tweak the preset once it is loaded on your footage and save it as a favorite, then rename it.

Receive a one-year subscription to FX Central with your purchase of Sapphire Edge. FX Central is the place to browse looks and view tutorials. Now, you can access the GenArts visual effects gallery presented as pre-built looks, regularly updated, easy to apply, and always of the highest quality. Stay ahead of the curve with fresh new collections and get the best look every time.

Features

• 350+ unique, pre-built looks generated from 18 effects and transitions
• 64-bit quality
• Powered by the Sapphire engine
• Streamlined and intuitive user interface
• GPU-accelerated for Nvidia CUDA cards
• Multiprocessor support
• Ever-expanding library of professionally built preset looks
• Visual browsing of presets applied to user media
• Includes one-year subscription to FX Central, GenArts’ cutting-edge preset browser, which allows editors instantaneous preview-and-apply capabilities
• Stylize and color-correct your footage with effects such as FilmStyle, FilmDamage, and TVDamage
• Numerous transitions utilizing natural looking lighting effects such as DissolveLensFlare, DissolveGlow and DissolveGlint

Price
$299 for over 350 effects and transitions plus a one-year subscription to FX Central ($99 value) is a great addition to your effects library. The great thing about these looks are they inspire you to create and think outside of your normal looking video. These will be implemented right away on my next project.

version X lacks at least 10 main features required by any professional who uses Final Cut on TV studios, Feature Film editing, Production and Post-Production houses.

• Add ability to import and export XML files natively;
• Add ability to import previous Final Cut Pro projects natively;
• Add ability to export OMF files natively;
• Add ability to change a project’s frame rate after it’s been created;
• Add ability to read and write projects stored on an network or SAN volumes;
• Add ability to switch the Final Cut Pro X layout to a more traditional 2-monitor setup;
• Add ability to preview true video signal, independent from the 2-monitor setup;
• Add support for Multicam editing;
• Add support from capturing and recording to tape, not only via capture now but also via batch capture and print to tape natively;
• Add support for importing image sequence files such as DPX and OpenEXR;

I can’t imagine why Apple would take out these features. Right now I have no proof because I refuse to buy it due to the fact I can do all my work on a fast and stable system. When I need to upgrade, I’m sure my clients will let me know. Not Apple.

What’s even more troubling is according to the Stark Insider, Apple is censoring negative reviews of their products.

Thanks Sean for the find and for the great laugh.

The one thing is I respect how WRLP has handled the transition. They gave the 6 of us plenty of time (4 months) to look for other work, allowed me to leave for a week for a freelance shooter gig as well as taking time off for interviews. I have been submitting resumes across the country and am available to work anywhere in the world. I had a very good opportunity to work nearby and had 2 interviews and they went with another candidate. I have no time to whine or complain about why I wasn’t selected for that position for the second time in 2 years (passive aggression). But I continue to look for full time employment. While I do that I’m also looking for freelance work to help supplement my income.

You will be seeing changes in the format of FCProducer as I customize the website to be a more professional outlet for my freelance opportunities. I will be creating a new Youtube channel specifically for FCProducer and will be adding more tutorials, reviews and interviews with other amazing filmmakers as well. It is all about using social media websites to cross promote my skills to the world. I will also be accepting requests for new tutorials…anything my FCPeeps would like to see?

I love what PHYX has done for pulling the perfect chroma key. Keyer 2.0 is an amazing plugin for FxFactory that will allow you to pull the perfect key in Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects or Final Cut Express.

If I had PHYX Keyer 2.0, 4 years ago my job would’ve been so much easier. Instead I rendered overnight and sometimes had to make a correction that would send me back to re-render. My editing name is Sir Render. With this, you can pull the green and make your subject look so much better with the Lightwrap feature. Hands down this plugin rocks and I’m so very happy to review it. Go ahead and download it and try it out for free for 14 days. This is a plugin for FxFactory that works with Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects and Final Cut Express.

Requirements
Mac OS X Leopard / Snow Leopard
Version 10.5.8 / Version 10.6.3
Mac with Intel processor

ATI, NVIDIA or Intel HD* graphics processor

Final Cut Pro
Versions 6 and 7

Motion
Versions 3 and 4

Final Cut Express
Version 4

Adobe After Effects
Versions 8, 9, 10 and 10.5
(CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5)**

* The Intel GMA 950 and X3100 are not supported.

** Mac OS X 10.6.3 (or later) is required to use 64-bit versions of FxFactory plug-ins in Adobe After Effects.

Are you a geek and want to know? Go ahead and fill out the information on this website and you will get a link in your email to download the white papers.

Awesome find from a reader of this blog. Thanks Matt!