Company

   

Reviews & Awards

Composite Wizard

"While After Effects has a nice selection of compositing tools, Red Giant Composite Wizard provides nearly two dozen filters that makes green screening easier than ever...Composite Wizard works easily well on video assets and text. It also provides a wonderful complement to Primatte Keyer."

MacDirectory - Trey Yancy    Read more

 

Datamator

"At $99, Datamator seems like even more of a bargain."

Trusted Reviews - James Morris    Read more

 

Holomatrix

"The resulting effects can be quite stunning, in my opinion, and with an absolute minimal effort."

IT Enquirer  - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

"Holomatrix is a good choice to save time and effort."

Pixel  - Petr Hamšík

 

"There are many tools within After Effects that can help you to achieve the same look, when compounded atop each other and adjusted with expressions…but this is highly time consuming and to be honest, not all of us are After Effects whizzes. Red Giant has built many effective plug-ins that 'take the tech' out of the creative process, and Holomatrix is another fine example of this."

Microfilmmaker - A.J. Wedding    Read more

 

"For 29 presets and a huge selection of alterable parameters, $99 is very reasonable."

Pro Video Coalition - Kevin P McAuliffe    Read more

 

Key Correct

“(Using) Red Giant Software's Key Correct 16-bit Spill Killer along with the all important Light Wrap in my final composites really helped to marry the elements."

The Ebeling Group - Melanie Franciosi, working on American Chopper for Discovery Channel    Read more

 

“…the edge tools in Key Correct enabled us to maintain a natural look on the big, layered composites all while keeping render times manageable."

Himani Productions - Kevin Kutchaver, working on Lost    Read more

 

Keying virtual backgrounds for "Hellevator" (Using Key Correct Pro, see page 2 of article)

Broadcast Newsroom - By Heath McKnight    Read more

 

Knoll Light Factory

Tutorial: Beam Me Up! How to Make Your Own Transporter [Using Magic Bullet Looks and Knoll Light Factory]

Blogcritics - Ed Driscoll    Read more

 

"If you want the best results you need to use Knoll Light Factory."

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett

 

5 Cows (out of 5)

"When it comes to lens flare no one does better than Red Giant Software's Knoll Light Factory."

Creative Cow - Aharon Rabinowitz    Read more

 

"I am now a big fan of Knoll Light Factory. While the focus of the plug-in is narrow, it's impact on a scene can be significant. Motion Graphics needs a little flash, and this plug-in provides it in a big way. Ease of use, fast renders, the huge amount of presets and stability of the program make it a perfect choice for directors, editors and motion graphic artists."

Renderosity - Ricky Grove    Read more

 

"Knoll Light Factory is an easy way to add some motion and interest to an otherwise static title, sweeping a slick-looking light effect across a title with a few keystrokes."

Videomaker - Ed Driscoll    Read more

 

Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop

"To wrap up this review, I believe Knoll Light Factory for Photoshop is an excellent and valuable addition of a photographer’s tool chest. If you shoot jewelry, or anything else that can do with a bit of visual spice like a subtle or dramatic lens flare, this plug-in does the job while leaving you in control of the end-result in ways that I have yet to see with other plug-ins that offer comparable functionality."

IT Enquirer - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Colorista

"AE users will certainly want [Magic Bullet] Colorista, as will anyone looking for consistent colour-correction tools."

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

"...anyone looking for a cross-application, cross-platform colour correction tool would do well to take a close look."

Mac User - Ben Frain    Read more

 

"My conclusion after working with [Magic Bullet] Colorista is that you can benefit from using this Magic Bullet plug-in if you’re running several different applications."

IT Enquirer - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

Music Video Fun [Using Magic Bullet Colorista]

Digital Films - Oliver Peters    Read more

 

Highly recommended

"I'm ready to make Colorista my desktop color corrector of choice. This decision is partly based on my good experience with the Red Giant team and its other products."

Digital Content Producer - Steve Katz    Read more

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Colorista

 

Magic Bullet Colorista II

"Color correction/color grading is really coming into its own these days with more quality cameras than ever before and affordable color grading tools everywhere you look. Colorista II adds a powerful new option to the mix … with no import/export/round-tripping!"

Studio Daily - Scott Simmons    Read more

 

"The versatility of the secondary masking/keying and the many controls Colorista II has to offer is amazing. It introduces much of the power of a full-blown color correction application in a single filter. Most other plug-in companies are just catching up to the original Colorista with their own color correction filters, but Red Giant has raised the bar again with Magic Bullet Colorista II."

DV - Oliver Peters    Read more

 

"If you’re a fan of Colorista 1 then you’ll definitely want to spend the very reasonable $99 to upgrade to Colorista II. If you’re new to the game entirely then the $299 purchase price is well worth it as this is a full featured color grading tool that is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor (which was already a good tool) and leaps and bounds better than a lot of competitors."

Pro Video Coalition - Scott Simmons    Read more

 

"In the week since Colorista II has been on the market, I’ve seen a number of forum questions about it and the core issue many have is ...Why do you need Colorista II, or for that matter, any other color correction plug-in? I use Color and like it a lot, but it’s not the right tool for every project...

 

Another consideration is After Effects....By using Colorista II, you keep all of its horsepower, while still able to work with all of the other After Effects tools. Another situation of staying “in context”."

Digital Films - Oliver Peters    Read more

 

"I was glad to see that when Red Giant went to update Colorista, they didn't just throw in a couple of new features, they went back to the drawing board, looked at what Colorista did well, and what it didn't do at all, an made HUGE steps to make it a product worth picking up, or upgrading to.  I can easily see Colorista II becoming part of my post production process in the future."

Digital Producer - Kevin McAuliffe    Read more

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Colorista II

 

Magic Bullet Frames

8.8 (out of 10)

"Now you can buy Frames as a standalone package for $199, which is an incredible value for everything you get here. Not only are you getting the best 60i to 24p conversion tool available, but you're also getting four other plugins! That boils down to $40 per plugin, which is quite a bargain considering their high quality and usefulness."

Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Grinder

"Overall Magic Bullet Grinder is a great little tool. We’re only at version 1.0 so there’s a lot of room to grow. It can help make the life of the DSLR videographer a bit easier because you don’t have to think too hard about what you are doing. You use a simple interface to quickly perform a desired task. And best of all it’s affordable."

Pro Video Coalition - Scott Simmons    Read more

 

 

"At $49 Magic Bullet Grinder [is] a great, little utility that can come in handy in many different ways. At 1.0, I hope it grows to add some of the ideas I’ve suggested, but even with the current features, it makes life easier in so many different ways."

Digital Films - Oliver Peters    Read more

 

"There’s really no simpler way to convert DSLR footage for edit than that."

Studio Daily - Scott Simmons    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Instant HD

"Red Giant's asking price seems like peanuts considering the usefulness of this software."

PC Pro - Peter Wells    Read more

 

"...it will definitely be one of my go to tools!"

Filmaking Central - David Basulto

 

"Red Giant provides a neat working solution with Instant HD."

Mac User - Peter Wells    Read more

 

"Realistically, you can't expect the results to fool everyone but, the outcomes are excellent."

DV - Mark Christiansen    Read more

 

"Almost as fast as its name implies, Red Giant Software Instant HD scaling plug-in re-sizes footage quickly, up-converting digital video to a variety of high-definition formats."

American Cinematographer - Doug Bankston

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Instant HD

 

Magic Bullet Instant HD Advanced

"My bottom line is that [Red Giant] succeeds. Instant HD Advanced fits the bill just as they advertise. They have provided a simpler workflow, faster results and a higher quality output to an already excellent and useful editing tool."

Kenstone.net - Steve Douglas    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Looks

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"One of the scenes in [The Curious Case of Benjamin Button] is a fable told by Cate Blanchett. We were looking for ways to set this scene apart and decided to give it an old movie look, since it’s a movie-within-a-movie. To that aim, we settled on treating these shots with Magic Bullet Looks. The final version that appears in the film was processed through [Adobe] After Effects where we ‘baked in’ the effect. There are also a few other scenes throughout that received a little Magic Bullet love," said Angus Wall, editor of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Videography - Oliver Peters    Read more

 

Tutorial: Beam Me Up! How to Make Your Own Transporter [Using Magic Bullet Looks and Knoll Light Factory]

Blogcritics - Ed Driscoll    Read more

 

"If you're a Premiere Pro user who wants to get ahead by adding some spice to your production, consider some Red Giant plugins. I am confident that you will not be disappointed!"

Genesis Project, - Dennis Radeke, Adobe Systems, Inc.    Read more

 

Editor's Choice

"- the best effects are the ones the audience doesn't see. In that respect, Magic Bullet [Looks] really is magic."

Computer Video - Peter Wells

 

Best Buy

"The LookBuilder has one of the best designed interfaces around."

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Looks

 

Magic Bullet Mojo

Best Buy Award

“[Magic Bullet] Mojo is an excellent, swift tool for day-to-day colour correction tasks, and is affordable enough even for those who don’t work with live-action footage regularly.”

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

"It's a simpler, trimmed-down version of the suite. Need to warm the color temperature of your actor's skin while making shadows and backgrounds cooler? Simple. A single slider adjusts both elements in unison...It's pretty cheap too, which makes a reasonable excuse for an impulse buy."

Millimeter - Dan Ochiva    Read more

 

"[Magic Bullet Mojo] makes creating these effects incredibly easy."

IT Enquirer  - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

"I can definitely appreciate a plug-in like Magic Bullet Mojo that allows me to add value to a project quickly. Especially if I just have a trailer I am trying to get to someone quickly, or just want to audition some different looks for people."

Microfilmmaker - A.J. Wedding    Read more

 

"[Magic Bullet] Mojo is ideal for applying film look to your video material, without having to plunge into a complex grading system. The render results are fast and look great. With a price of only $99 this plugin should not be missing in any edit suite."

MacWelt (Macworld Germany) - Andreas Zerr

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Mojo

 

Magic Bullet PhotoLooks

"[Magic Bullet] Photo Looks takes the hassle out of creating unique-looking images."

Advanced Photoshop - Josie Reavely

 

"The results [of Magic Bullet Photo Looks] are impressive."

Macwelt (Macworld Germany) - Mike Schelhorn    Read more

 

"The result [in Magic Bullet Photo Looks] can be quite dramatic –much more so than with any other plug-in."

IT Enquirer - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Quick Looks

"$99 for over one hundred looks is an excellent deal, considering that works out to less than one dollar per look. If you are working on a (very) tight budget, and can't afford Looks, pick up Quick Looks, and then upgrade at a later time!"

Pro Editing @ Home - Kevin McAuliffe    Read more

 

"So if you do want to extend the range of appearances available to your favourite professional-grade video editing app, Magic Bullet Quick Looks offers decent value."

Trusted Reviews - James Morris    Read more

 

Essential Final Cut Pro Plug-Ins

"This is a fantastic idea for editors looking to easily and affordably get into Magic Bullet's amazing suite of tools and plug-ins. Once you purchase, download and install the plug-in, it appears under the Effects Tab, in the Video Filters folder. It's only one filter and you drop it onto the video you want to change."

Broadcast Newsroom - Heath McKnight    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Steady

“The plug-in dealt remarkably well with the footage and the end result was a massive improvement.”

PC World - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

“As for [Magic Bullet] Steady’s antishake abilities, you may wonder why you need them when both After Effects and Final Cut Studio’s free Motion 3 app already offer similar features. The simple answer is that Magic Bullet Steady is quicker and easier to use.”

Mac|Life - Helmut Kobler    Read more

 

“The Steady filter is fairly intuitive, easy to apply and considerably quicker than Final Cut's Smooth Cam filter.”

Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group - Steve Douglas    Read more

 

Magic Bullet Suite

4.5 (out of 5)

"Magic Bullet has been updated into this brand new Suite 2008. And guess what? This package is still the ultimate tool for color correction and stylization."

Computer Arts (France) - Stephane Nicolle

 

4.5 Cows (Out of 5)

"Overall the suite is sweet. Apart from a few hiccups, this set of plugins is awesome. It covers a lot of ground and can be used by all AE artists. Lots of controls for the control freaks, one-click presets for the newbies, and everything in between. I would concur with the review of a couple years ago--MBS 2008 is an outstanding buy and well worth the price tag of a $199 upgrade, $399 cross-grade, or $799 (new). "

Creative Cow - Tim Johnson    Read more

 

Best Buy

"Overall, it’s an essential purchase for music-video makers, ad directors, and anyone who wants to give their work a truly professional visual appeal."

Digital Arts - Richard Wentk    Read more

 

"[Magic Bullet Suite] there is, quite simply, nothing to touch it."

Mac User - Martin Southwood    Read more

 

"Video pros now have a real option when it comes to creating true filmlike quality."

Macworld - Anton Linecker    Read more

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Magic Bullet Suite

 

PlaneSpace

Tutorial: Introducing Red Giant PlaneSpace

Digital Jiuce - Kevin P. McAuliffe    Read more

 

Primatte Keyer

"Primatte Keyer offers excellent results, and does so almost instantly."

3D World - Chris Kenworthy

 

"I had never done green screen work, but took a workshop at NAB and learned all I could. You can use the Keying filters in FCP, but a much better product is Primatte Keyer 4 by Red Giant Software. It makes popping the key simple and effective and as close to one button removal as you can get."

Digital Journalist - PF Bentley, World-renowned photographer    Read more

 

Psunami

"Yes, it only does one thing, but it does it well. Very convincing underwater footage can be created with Psunami when combined with volumetric light and caustics."

Millimeter - Steve Katz

 

"We've explored a number of ways to create water effects from scratch for still and motion graphics. But there are innumerable situations where simple displacement maps and lighting effects, like those we've learned, won't do the trick. And so we turn to effects plugins that promise to take over where our manual skills leave off. Today we look at one such plugin--Digital Anarchy's Psunami for Adobe After Effects."

Digital Producer - Dave Nagel    Read more

 

Radium Glow

"Radium Glow takes the term "glow" to another level."

Animation Artist - David Basulto    Read more

 

"Radium Glow is a must have for any Motion or After Effects user. It is an extremely solid, highly customizable tool that will add amazing “glows” to your footage. We give it 5/5 stars for abilities and price (just $99!)."

Filmmaking Central - David Basulto

 

"To see where Radium Glow has the edge over the built-in AE Glow, I tried a few comparison tests, using motion graphics samples and some high definition footage."

Gray Machine - Harry Frank    Read more

 

Text Anarchy

“Text Anarchy is itself a whole world of effects.”

Spectrum - David Duberman    Read more

 

"I am amazed at the number of controls that the plug-in provides and the complexity of effects that it can create... At first glance, Text Anarchy 2 represents an amazing collection of text effects with more possible adjustments than any creative professional would ever want. The documentation is remarkably extensive and well written. The plug-in is basic enough that a user can become productive immediately... This one is a must have."

Kenstone.net - Ned Soltz    Read more

 

ToonIt

"No other plug-in out there does this cartoon look as well."

Studio Monthly - Marc Franklin    Read more

 

"Most large video-effects filters collections – and many NLEs – include filters that claim to turn real-world footage into cartoon. However, every one we’ve seen has been rubbish. ToonIt isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ve seen so far..."

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

“You have surely seen the many commercials on television and in film where the actors have been transformed to cartoon versions of themselves. [ToonIt] is a real time saver for anyone who wishes to recreate much of the cartoon like effects that seem so ubiquitous as of late."

Kenstone.net - Steve Douglas    Read more

 

Tutorial: Create a Custom Cartoon Effect with Red Giant ToonIt (requires a Premium Content subscription)

Studio Monthly - Sean Safreed    Read more

 

Trapcode 3D Stroke

"Once again, this plug in finds its way into more and more work because of its ability to create organic 3D effects from wavy snake like lines, to orbiting text, to handwriting effects and more."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

9 (out of 10)

"With the Trapcode 3S Pack, Red Giant Software has once again proven that it's one of the top plugin companies out there."

Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham    Read more

 

"Full-featured, fast, and come with good support and a large user community."

SF Cutters - Rich Young    Read more

 

Tutorial: Create Animated Titles with Trapcode in Final Cut Pro

Studio Monthly - Sean Safreed    Read more

 

Trapcode Echospace

"Extremely complex animations are possible with this plug in and the time you save due to the automation features is considerable."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

"Trapcode’s Echospace plug-in is one of those tools that’s so useful, you want to cry, “Why isn’t this built into After Effects."

Macsimum News - Dennis Sellers    Read more

 

Trapcode Form

"Form is the plug in that has everyone talking. Unlike Particular or other particle systems, the particles in FORM are immortal. As they never die, you have a different workflow. You can simulate particle death if you want by adjusting opacity, but the strength here is how easy it is to generate 3D terrain flyovers and unusual animations."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

"Trapcode Form offers plenty of bang for the buck." (Access to Review requires a Premium Content subscription)

Studio Monthly - David English    Read more

 

8 (out 10)

"Form was extremely simple to install. It picked up my After Effects CS3 plugin directory and all I had to do was hit next a few times and then enter a serial number. I wish all installations went this smoothly."

Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham    Read more

 

Tutorial: Creating Design Elements in Trapcode Form (requires a Premium Content subscription)

Studio Monthly - Harry J. Frank    Read more

 

Trapcode Horizon

"The time saving quality of this plug in alone for generating complicated scenes more than justifies the price of the Suite. Couple this with Particular 2.0 which is also included and you have a stunning array of tools to bring your ideas to life."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

"While Trapcode Horizon is great with panoramic photography, it can also be used for projecting layers of masked objects. More than a one-trick pony, Horizon provides a playground for the imagination."

MacDirectory - Trey Yancy    Read more

 

“Trapcode Horizon is a great companion to the other 3D plugs such as Particular and Form, etc.”

 - Aldy Waani    Read more

 

"This is a must-have plug-in for 3D environments inside After Effects.”

Motionworks - John Dickinson    Read more

 

Trapcode Lux

"Unlike AE lights, LUX lighting is truly 3d and therefore delivers much more believability in comps. You can create point lights, or spot lights and have them co-exist and interact with each other to create completely realistic and believable lighting setups."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

"I give Lux a Strong Buy recommendation."

Digital Media Net - Stephen Schleicher    Read more

 

Tutorial: How Trapcode Lux Rocks Your Lighting Setup

AV Video Producer - Kevin McAuliffe    Read more

 

Trapcode Particular

"Particular 2.0 is the Big Kahuna of particle systems. With this in your arsenal of tricks, there is little that you won’t be able to accomplish. I’ve had Particular for several years and I’m still finding out things about it."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

"If you haven’t already got it, add Trapcode Particular 2 to your must-have list."
Best Buy Award

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett

 

"The best [After Effects] particle plug-in. Period...$99 upgrade price is a no brainer."

Kevin McAuliffe - Digital Media Net    Read more

 

"While many plug-in suites and compositing applications include particular systems, none measures up to the mighty Particular."

Digital Arts - Neil Bennett    Read more

 

Recommended

"Particular is stunning. It’s beautifully put together and the creative possibilities are endless. As of now, all other third-party particle systems are redundant; if you’ve got After Effects, go out and buy this as soon as you can." (Click Read more to open PDF.)

Computer Arts - Computer Arts Staff    Read more

 

Read more Reviews & Awards for Trapcode Particular

 

Trapcode Shine

"...subtle Shine effects can be used to add that extra punch that will separate your work from the run of the mill stuff. This is simply a must have effect."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

9 (out 10)

"With the Trapcode 3S Pack, Red Giant Software has once again proven that it's one of the top plugin companies out there."

Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham    Read more

 

"Well, I'm sold on Shine. And for tightwads like myself, Shine's low price tag and fast render times make it, well... shine."

Creative Cow - Dave LaRonde    Read more

 

"Full-featured, fast, and come with good support and a large user community."

SF Cutters - Rich Young    Read more

 

Trapcode Sound Keys

"This is a plug in that will keep you up nights playing (as will all the others, so budget a large block of your time to take the phone off the hook and lock the studio door). It’s fun and allows you to make your audio file control any keyframable aspect of your comp."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

Trapcode Starglow

"Starglow is one of those plug-ins that you might not think of immediately as a “must have” but in reality, if you do any corporate work or are involved in TV spots, Starglow can be a real benefit to your program...This is a perfect way to add subtle reflections or highlights to a scene without having to fool around with complicated lighting."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

9 (out 10)

"With the Trapcode 3S Pack, Red Giant Software has once again proven that it's one of the top plugin companies out there."

Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham    Read more

 

"Full-featured, fast, and come with good support and a large user community."

SF Cutters - Rich Young    Read more

 

Tutorial: Create Animated Titles with Trapcode in Final Cut Pro (requires a Premium Content subscription)

Studio Monthly - Sean Safreed    Read more

 

Trapcode Suite

"Each of the plug-ins standing alone would rate a solid 5 Cows, so the compilation Suite also makes perfect marks for usability, selection, support and functionality. A lot of Suites have things that you’ll never use; The Trapcode Suite has 9 plug-ins that will get a workout in any studio. Remember, you can purchase any of the plug-ins as a stand alone, but by getting the suite, you save a considerable amount of money."

Creative Cow - Jim Harvey    Read more

 

Warp

"The quality of the results can of course not be discussed; they’re simply excellent if not perfect."

IT Enquirer - Erik Vlietinck    Read more

 

"...for reflexions and for setting up 2D planes in 3D, this plug-in is a good choice."

Digital Production (Germany) - Andrea Zerr