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Magic Bullet Suite Used on Sundance and BFI Shorts Entry

San Francisco, CA, November 18, 2003 – Red Giant Software today announced that Landing Light Films, based in Windsor, UK, used Magic Bullet Suite to complete its first short film, Failing to Stop. The film was subsequently entered into both the Sundance Film Festival and BFI Shorts competitions. Magic Bullet Suite allowed the filmmakers to achieve a cinematic look and retain and enhance the image quality of the short when it was converted from a 25I to a 25P format.

“Magic Bullet Suite is the last link in the chain of the ‘micro budget’ DV filmmakers’ armory. Overall, the software offers a way to create an ‘authentic’ film look for a DV movie while ensuring maximum quality in the finished product,” said Nigel Stanton Warren, co-director and producer at Landing Light.

Landing Light used Magic Bullet Suite to remove some of the color artifacts introduced by DV compression. The Magic Bullet deinterlacer was able to retain the quality of the images—where the production company’s previous attempts at the progressive “film look” had resulted in loss of vertical resolution or seriously degraded the image quality. Landing Light also designed a custom look using the software’s Look Suite that suited the tone of the film, helping to ensure consistency from shot to shot.

Because Failing to Stop was made on a micro budget, it was shot with DV video equipment. The intention, however, was to create a finished product with as close to a film look as possible. During each production phase, the team used film industry techniques to achieve the flavor of a short movie rather than a video production. All of the post production on the film was completed in the “digital domain” including editing, digital coloring, compositing, and sound processing.

Pricing and Availability

Magic Bullet Suite consists of a set of five Adobe After Effects plug-ins that take original, high-quality digital video and converts it to 24 frames per second. The process reduces many of the artifacts present in digital video footage. The software, which works on both Macintosh and Windows platforms, has been used on numerous productions selected for prestigious US and international film festivals.

Magic Bullet Suite comes in two versions: Magic Bullet Suite Standard Definition (SD) for $995 USD, supporting NTSC and PAL video solutions and Magic Bullet Suite High Definition (HD) for $1,995 USD which has no resolution limit.

Magic Bullet Suite is sold exclusively through Red Giant Software. Browse to www.redgiantsoftware.com for more product information.

About Landing Light Films

Landing Light Films is an independent filmmaker based in Windsor, UK. The production company was founded by Martin Ian Rushent and Nigel Stanton Warren, on leaving Strodes College’s City and Guilds media production course. Failing to Stop is the first short to be made under the Landing Light banner. Acting as Co?Director and Producer, Stanton was responsible for the production of the film and undertook a number of other craft roles to complete the short. Rushent wrote the story and the screenplay and co-directed the short. For more information, visit www.landinglightfilms.co.uk.

About Red Giant Software

Red Giant Software LLC (www.redgiantsoftware.com) offers a vast range of visual effects plug-ins, with over 30 packages designed for Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Avid. The product line features industry-leading effects for designing realistic fire, rain, and water; adding popular looks; and creating perfect keys. Red Giant effects have enhanced feature films such as Angels & Demons, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Mummy 3, and added sparkle to cable and broadcast content from NBC Universal, Food Network, ESPN, Disney, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV, and TNT.

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