Video FX, Plugins, Saving Presets

pilsner wrote on 3/31/2010, 4:32 PM

I've got a slew of questions about video fx. I've used the movie studio awhile so am not totally new, but feel like I'm missing something completely with customising video effects. Here goes:

1.) Suppose I use some Video FX more often then others. Can I make a folder anywhere and copy fx to it?

2.) Suppose I use a combination of FX, say B+W, FilmGrain, and sharpen. Can I save this combination of FX for easy access? (I'm not asking about the "paste event attribute" functionality, I'm looking for a more general means of saving these effect combo's across projects). Also, I seem to be able to save effect combos in the 'filter packages' folder, but this doesn't seem to save any of the parameters on the fx, itself (it just stays with default).

3.) If I go to the Plug-In Chooser - Video Event FX window, I can make a new folder. After that, I pretty much can't do anything with the new folder, except make new folders. I can move (but not copy) FX into it. Whats the point of the new folder functionality?

4.) What, exactly is a plug-in? How do I write my own, and Why do they seem to cost hundreds of dollars online (example: borisFX).

Thanks for any help!

Comments

jetdv wrote on 4/1/2010, 9:21 AM

For #2, yes. In fact, you can do #2 with a SINGLE effect to accomplish #1. Here's how you do it: Your #3 is related totally to #2.

1. Add a clip to the timeline and click on the FX button on that event. This will open the big selection dialog.

2. Now add one or more effects to that clip.

3. Choose the "Save As" button. This will let you save the entire sequence.

NOTE: Between 2 and 3 you might want to close the selection box, adjust the settings to your desired values, and then reopen the selection box. Then it will save those settings for you.

For your #4, there's an SDK on Sony's site that you can download and begin writing your own plugins. Why do purchased plugins cost? Because the take a TON of work to create.