Final Cut + ? = great video effects

[jrm1561]

I'm using Final Cut Express 4 and I'm looking for a good special effects program to use. Can anyone recommend a good effects program to use and I would appreciate if it was for a Mac.

[LantisEscudo]

There is Motion, though I think that's only available in the Final Cut Studio. If you have an Intel Mac, you can get After Effects CS3 or 4 for Mac as well.

[Bauzi]

If you didn´t: Have a look at your possibilites of your version first. Let´s see what you can already do with it. Look up for some tutorials and try to do the same in your program. You´ll see if you really need an additionla effects prog.

I think that Final Cut already has a got solution for good effects. I don´t think that they kicked all of these possibilites out of the express version.

[jt_x]

Well you might want to look at Particle Illusion, its made for doing effects.

[jrm1561]

If you didn´t: Have a look at your possibilites of your version first. Let´s see what you can already do with it. Look up for some tutorials and try to do the same in your program. You´ll see if you really need an additionla effects prog.

I think that Final Cut already has a got solution for good effects. I don´t think that they kicked all of these possibilites out of the express version.

Final Cut E4 does have some effects but I'm looking for more of the complex visual effects.

[jt_x]

Complex Effects can be done with this tool here: http://link-protector.com/x-15111
but dont expect it to be easy to do such things. I'm not sure about the actual version but till version 8 there was a mac version apart from the windows one.

[Brad]

Before you go looking for software, do you even know what KIND of "special effects" you want to do? Or are you just thinking about how you can make your video look "cool"? I'm not trying to sound condescending, but it's something you should ask yourself. Let us know, and then we can guide you in a better direction.

[jrm1561]

Before you go looking for software, do you even know what KIND of "special effects" you want to do? Or are you just thinking about how you can make your video look "cool"? I'm not trying to sound condescending, but it's something you should ask yourself. Let us know, and then we can guide you in a better direction.

Well one of the main effects I'm looking to do, for example I got a video clip of someone looking at a tv but the image on the tv is a other clip from a different series. Now if my version of Final Cut has that ability then my bad for not looking hard enough for it.

[jt_x]

Before you go looking for software, do you even know what KIND of "special effects" you want to do? Or are you just thinking about how you can make your video look "cool"? I'm not trying to sound condescending, but it's something you should ask yourself. Let us know, and then we can guide you in a better direction.

Well one of the main effects I'm looking to do, for example I got a video clip of someone looking at a tv but the image on the tv is a other clip from a different series. Now if my version of Final Cut has that ability then my bad for not looking hard enough for it.

sounds like rotoscoing to me. not sure if your software can do this. you could download GImp and mask it fame by frame. other than that vegas or premiere might be better programs for this.

[Niotex]

Final Cut has 8 point [garbage] masking. For something as simple as a rectangle tv screen its more then sufficient.

http://beautardy.blogspot.com/2008/02/g ... t-pro.html

When you've done that simply position the other clip behind it.

-edit/
There are even plugins that support up to 50 point garbage masks. But this will work perfectly for you right now, so no use over complicating things. When doing extensive masking/rotoing [animated objects/chars] I recommend to use stuff like Photoshop/Gimp instead. As the name suggests "garbage matte/masks" are for quick and dirty things. But they also work fine for simple shapes such as screens.