As I mentioned in my previous post, Digieffects' Damage is a fun new plug-in compatible with most professional video editing programs that does just what it promises: making shiny clean new video look (literally) like it's from a ten year old videocassette or pulled off a nearly out-of-range UHF channel via a bumpy flight through in the ionosphere.
But some of Digieffects’ earlier plug-ins have effects worth checking out in their own right. So let's take a look at Damage's predecessor plug-ins: Delirium, Aurorix, and Berserk, each of which contains 20 to 40 individual plug-ins, and currently bundled together in a downloadable three-pack by Digieffects.
Apparently dating as far back as the late 1990s based on the copyrights of the products' user manuals, all of these effects can be dropped into the timeline of an editing program such as Premiere Pro, or a compositing program such as After Effects. (Check Digieffects’ Website for full range of compatible programs.) But unlike Damage, a few of the effects require long render times, so pre-rendering work along the way may be necessary to see the full impact of an effect.
The plug-ins in this bundle range from effects that create weather elements such as snow (the powdery stuff outside in cold weather, not the stuff on a 1972 TV screen that Digieffects’ Damage program creates), fog, rain, fire, and lightning.
Beyond those effects, let’s quickly explore some of the more intriguing plug-ins in this three-pack. COP Blur recreates the infamous pixilated effect that the long-running Cops TV series and numerous investigative reports use to block out the face of a protected informant or accused suspect. Thermograph will come to your "Emotional Rescue." Newsprint will make any video look like a moving image equivalent of a photo in a newspaper; this could be combined with an image of mocked-up newspaper text to generate the very cool effect shown here and here. Laser will, understandably enough, easily add an emerging laser beam to any toy sci-fi gun held by your actors. Earthquake creates the infamous “shakycam” effect that Hollywood is increasingly relying upon in its big-budget effects movies. Finally, VideoLook overlays the sickly green tint of an early monochrome monitor from the ‘60s through the 1980s. Welcome to the Matrix! (Note that the color of the tint and the intensity of the VideoLook effect can be adjusted in the effect’s controls.)
Article comments