Often when you buy a product, there are additional accessories that can enhance or extend its capabilities.
The same can be said for a non-linear editing program. The core application is the meat and potatoes, but plugins are tasty desserts. And who doesn’t like dessert?
Plugins can add some real creativity and production value to your project. They will, generally, save you a lot of time as well. I just purchased two plug-ins from FCPeffects. Organic Light Leaks are very popular right now. They are used regularly in commercials, music videos, and films. This was the main plugin I was interested in (cost was $39). Since FCPeffects offers a $25 discount on purchases over $75, it was a no-brainer to add another plugin to my cart (my total went from $78 down to $53). After carefully reviewing all the options, I decided on the 3D Perspective plugin. This allows basic 3D manipulation of your visual assets, and is normally something pro editing software ships with. I opened up FCP X to see if I could find it, but no luck. It’s interesting that Apple added multi-cam editing (and other advanced features) recently, but failed to provide this basic effect. In any event, I have 3D control now, and for $14, I’m not going to complain.
Crumplepop also offers some nice plugins. They are a little more pricey, but they do have some unique effects, not found on FCPeffects. Both sites offer a split screen plugin, but I’m going to go with Crumblepop, because not only can you make your split screens rectangular, but they’ve added angular split screens as well. Check it out here to see what I mean.
Not quite ready to buy a plugin? FCPeffects does offer a free drop shadow plugin to get you started. Crumplepop has two “lite” plugins that can be downloaded for free as well.
Now you’re plugged in!
