Red Giant Universe 3.0 was released recently. It boasts a new dockable Dashboard that makes it simple to explore and apply effects and presets in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects. It also brings five new text generation effects, presets for every tool, and the option to save customized presets. Red Giant is a software company that creates tools for filmmakers, editors, VFX artists and motion designers. Over the last decade, their products (like Magic Bullet, Trapcode, Universe and PluralEyes) have become the standard in film and broadcast post-production. It is almost five years since they launched the first (public beta) version of Universe. Now, the Universe 3.0 was announced. Red Giant defines it simply as “video transition and effects plugins for editors and motion graphics artists”. What is new in version 3.0? Red Giant Universe 3.0 The new dockable Universe Dashboard (in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects) keeps all the tools easily accessible and makes it simple to explore and apply Universe’s entire library of effects and presets. Users can now save effects as favorites and easily find recently used effects and transitions. A modified version of the Dashboard is also available for other applications outside of Adobe Creative Cloud. Red Giant Universe 3.0 newly features five new customizable text generation effects, including a multitude of presets to help users get started: Type Cast enables users to easily animate text properties like color, opacity, size, position and rotation – by the word or character. Type On allows users to quickly create computer terminal-style type reveals. It includes many options for customization and randomization. Screen Text enables filling the screen with scrolling code to create the look of an old-school or modern computer terminal. Hacker Text lets users easily create computer “hacker-style” scrambled text animations. It can simulate encrypting or decrypting text with many options for randomization and look. Text Tile can generate multiple columns full of random data for use in motion graphics and computer terminal effects. Displayed information can be static or animated. At this point, it is worth mentioning that Red Giant offers a lot of tutorials for many different Universe tools in form of YouTube videos. You can check them here: Another new feature of Red Giant Universe 3.0 is presets. In the new version, every tool comes with presets that can be explored via the new Dashboard. In addition, there now is a “Save Preset” button for every Universe effect, which lets users save presets to the Dashboard (Adobe Creative Cloud apps) or the preset browser (non-Adobe Creative Cloud apps), depending on which application is being used. Red Giant Universe 3.0 is available for download now via this link. The price for the full license is $199 annually or $30 monthly. The Academic annual license costs $99. When it comes to compatibility, Universe 3.0 runs on Windows and OS X, and includes over 75 tools that run in: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve, Apple Motion, Magix Vegas, Hitfilm Pro. What do you think of the Red Giant Universe 3.0 Update? Have you been a Universe user? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

It’s the time of the year again, when Red Giant, a company specializing in software tools for filmmakers and motion designers has its annual 40% off everything blowout sale, which is ending at 8am PST on December 6th, meaning it has been extended! Red Giant is known for creating high quality effects, motion graphics and transitions plugins for host applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Motion, Davinci Resolve, Avid and many more. Red Giant’s software has been known and popular in the industry for a long time now, with Universe being a standard for creative transitions and PluralEyes, which is part of the Shooter Suite, practically being synonymous with audio sync. Just recently they have updated all their products to be compatible with the newest release of Final Cut Pro X 10.4.4, Adobe Creative Cloud’s current versions and macOS Mojave. A few days ago we covered the introduction of the Trapcode Suite’s new version 15, featuring the introduction of dynamic fluids for After Effects. Red Giant’s software is structured in a highly flexible way. All products are bundled into six major suites that can be bought as a whole, with the components also being available in standalone versions, without the suite. The only exception to this is Universe, which is only available as a Suite, and in a yearly subscription model. All products also offer business, volume and education pricing – which is already 50% off. The suites and my personal standout products available right now are the following: Trapcode Suite – Particle simulations, 3D VFX – 11 tools included Was: $999.00 Now: $600.00 Magic Bullet Suite – Color correction and looks – 7 tools included Was: $899.00 Now: $540.00 Universe – Transitions and effects – 79 tools included Was: $99.00 Now: $59.00 Shooter Suite – Post utilities for shooters – 4 tools included Was: $399.00 Now: $239.00 Keying Suite – Chroma keying and compositing – 3 tools included Was: $799.00 Now: $479.00 Effects Suite – VFX and motion graphics – 9 tools included Was: $499.00 Now: $299.00 PluralEyes – automatic audio/video syncing Was $299.00 Now: $180.00 To get the 40% discount, you will have to purchase with the code “YEAREND40” through the Red Giant Website no later than 8am PST on December 6th, 2018 (the sale has been extended – it originally was going to end on the 5th). Note that the volume program is not included in the sale. Do you already use Red Giant products? Will you use the sale to get to know some of these products a little better? Let us know in the comments!  

The Trapcode Suite is synonymous with 3D motion graphics and VFX. Trapcode Suite 15 now brings you realistic 3D particle systems within After Effects. Ahead of their annual 40% off sale for 24 hours on December 5th, Red Giant have recently announced the latest update to the Trapcode suite, which extends and enhances the existing toolset of 11 plugins with new 3D particle physics and fluid dynamics, plus ability to import and work with 3D objects using Trapcode Mir. The addition of the Dynamic Fluids physics engine is a significant step forward in providing new creative possibilities within After Effects according to Chad Bechert, CEO of Red Giant. “The introduction of our Dynamic Fluids physics engine makes it possible to create particle systems that behave as if moving through a fluid environment and that interact with each other, producing stunning, organic results. This release will completely change the range of what artists will be able to create inside of After Effects, opening the door to new and more robust particle system animation, motion graphics and VFX.” Trapcode Suite 15 Dynamic Fluids in After Effects Long time Red Giant user Territory Studio, wh0 have worked on Blade Runner 2049 and Ready Player One have created a video to show off their experimentation with the new plugin. Trapcode Suite 15 Highlights Trapcode Particular 4 Trapcode Particular 4 lets users create realistic fire, water, smoke, snow and other organic effects. Multiple particle systems can be combined into a single 3D space along with 3D objects for complex and sophisticated effects. Trapcode Form 4 Multiple Trapcode Form particle grids and objects can be combined together in a unified 3D space. Trapcode Form particles live forever, and give you precise control over behavior. Trapcode Mir 3 Trapcode Mir creates flowing surfaces, endless tunnels, terrains and 3D objects for use in your motion graphics work. Buy Red Giant Trapcode Suite Trapcode Suite 15 is available now via the Red Giant website. Trapcode Suite 15 pricing. Full: $999 Upgrade: (from previous versions of Trapcode Suite) $199 Academic: $499 Are you already a Trapcode user? We’d love to hear what you think of the new features. Let us know in the comments.

Once again, the Red Giant Spring Sale is on! For only 24 hours they offer 30% discount across their wide catalogue of post production plugins like Pluraleyes, Magic Bullet Looks, Universe and many others. It’s really only a once-in-a-year happening, which is why it is reporting about: 30% off all their products only until 8am PDT / 4pm GMT on April 25th 26th (it was just extended for 24 hours!!). You can find a link to the store HERE. Here are some examples of Red Giant software we like and use. Pluraleyes Pluraleyes is a brilliant piece of software that automatically syncs audio and video from different sources based on the waveform. Incredibly helpful for dual-system audio, for example when shooting with small mirrorless or DSLR cameras, while recording the audio on a separate recorder. It’s quite mind-boggling how good it really is at doing its job. HERE’s a tutorial we released a while ago! In my opinion, this is a must-have piece of software. You can get it HERE. Magic Bullet Suite Magic Bullet really was the first plugin to offer an easy way to add a film look to your footage – actually even working quite well on low-quality footage from small-sensor cameras. It’s quite astonishing what it can do and I’ve used it many years ago on MiniDV footage already (and it did wonders to my first documentaries!). The entire Magic Bullet Suite also includes their very efficient Denoiser (now in version III) as well as Magic Bullet Colorista, which adds professional color correction tools to the suite. You can get the entire Magic Bullet Suite HERE, and if you are only after Magic Bullet Looks, you can get it HERE. Trapcode Suite If you’re after high-end 3D motion graphics and visual effects, this is probably the tool for you – it’s quite comprehensive with 11 different included tools, such as different particle effects for fire, water or smoke creation, all GPU accelerated. It also brings you 3D objects such as terrains to include in your post production without branching out into high-end dedicated 3D software. Trapcode includes also volumetric lighting tools that are 3D-camera aware and can be used with masks and paths to put glimmer on logo and title animations, and so on. The coolest feature in my opinion is the possibility to use audio to generate keyframes you can use as basis for your animation – that means you can animate to your beat easily. You can get Trapcode Suite HERE – like the other products, 30% off only today. Red Giant Spring Sale ends very soon, so be sure to get your discount in time!

The folks over at Red Giant have teamed up with alternative rock band They Might Be Giants on a new music video contest. Make their next music video and you could win cash and a ton of nifty Red Giant production software. All the contest details are below:  The contest is asking for unique music videos to highlight the track I Left My Body. Take a listen to the song below: Follow the link HERE for more contest details. Red Giant software has long been a fixture on set and in post-houses because of its user-friendly interface and useful tools for first-time filmmakers and professionals alike. There will be 3 winners: $3000 + the complete set of Red Giant Tools to the Grand Prize winner (Total Prize Value: $6,694) $1000 + the complete set of Red Giant Tools to two other winners (Total Prize Value: $4,694) The complete set of Red Giant tools includes: Trapcode Magic Bullet Universe Shooter Keying Effects So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start creating. All entries must be submitted by March 1st, 2018 for consideration. 

Red Giant is back with its annual 40% Off Sale on December 5th. For 24 hours only, you can get any of their products at a massive discount. Red Giant is a software company that specialises in creating visual effects and motion graphics plugins for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe After Effects CC and more. Its portfolio includes products like Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode, Universe and PluralEyes, all of which have become standards in film and broadcast post-production. The annual Red Giant 40% Off Sale will return on Tuesday December 5th 2017 and will only last 24 hours. During this period, products from its online shop will be available with a massive 40% discount. Start of the sale: Tuesday, December 5th 2017 8:00 AM PST (17:00 CET) End of the sale: Wednesday, December 6th 2017 8:00 AM PST (17:00 CET) The sale includes filmmaking and motion graphics plugins and suites available online from www.redgiant.com, including full licenses, upgrades and products from the academic store which are already 50% off. It is strongly recommended that students and faculty members who would like to make a purchase from the Red Giant Academic Store pre-qualify as an academic buyer before the sale. To redeem the 40% discount, simply apply the coupon code found on the Red Giant website, which will be available on the day of the sale. There are plugins for Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe After Effects CC, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and additional host apps available. Links to selected Red Giant Products Trapcode Suite 14: Usually $999. On sale for $599 Universe 2.2: Usually $99. On sale for $59 Magic Bullet Suite 13: Usually $899. On sale for $539 PluralEyes 4.1: Usually $299. On sale for $180 By buying through these affiliate links you support cinema5D at no extra cost. Please note that the sale does not include the Volume Program for businesses and organizations. To learn more about getting a better deal on five or more licenses of Red Giant products, see the Red Giant Volume Program page. Would you recommend Red Giant products? Share your opinion in the comments section below!

Red Giant have long offered a treasure trove of plugins for After Effects, Premiere, Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Resolve. Universe is a suite of highly-stylised modern and retro effects, titles and motion graphics tools, which was recently updated to Red Giant Universe 2.1. Here is a list of new and updated tools in Red Giant Universe 2.1: NEW TOOLS AV Club – Mimic the lo-fi, noisy text you find on ancient video tapes, old infomercials and local access cable channel shows. Luster –  Give your text a slick 1980s retro look. Luster applies a metal sheen to text, and includes a refraction-based bevel for a glassy simulated 3D look. Title Motion – Create text and shapes and then instantly add dynamic animations that bring them on and off screen. Great for titles, lower thirds, callouts and more. Ecto – Create haunting, evolving titles with this glowing fractal-based effect, inspired by Ghostbusters and Stranger Things. Long Shadow – Apply a colored, long shadow to text, logo or shape, for both classic and modern motion design. Glo Fi II – Give text an ethereal moody look by instantly adding silky smooth, self-animating, fractal-based glow effects to titles. A simple UI make it easy to apply evolving, organic glows. UPDATES Line – This update adds the ability to add text at the start and endpoint of a line. Holomatrix II – This update includes blurred, chromatic distortions, a new strobe effect and much more. Universe is an annual ($99) or monthly ($20) subscription service from Red Giant which allows users to access over 65 GPU accelerated effects. Version 2.1 is available now to all Universe subscribers, so if you fancy jumping on the 80’s retro bandwagon, Red Giant have you covered! Are you a Red Giant Universe user? Let us know about your experiences with the software in the comments section below!

The Red Giant Spring Sale is on! Enjoy 24 hours of significant discounts across their wide catalogue of filmmaking and VFX plugins. Starting today April 18th, filmmaking and motion graphics software developer Red Giant is offering a 25% discount across the board for 24 hours. You can find a link to the store HERE. Red Giant Spring Sale The Red Giant Spring Sale applies to all plugins and suites, so whatever part of post-production you specialise in, you are bound to find something useful. Let’s take a quick look at some of their products: Magic Bullet Looks Perhaps the company’s most popular plugin, Magic Bullet Looks allows you to quickly add a cinematic grade to your footage. With its easy-to-use interface, it’s a great tool for editors getting started in colour grading. The software recently got some much-needed added functionality for Premiere Pro CC, and usually retails for $399. You can also get it as part of the Magic Buller Suite for $899, which includes Magic Bullet Colorista IV, Magic Bullet Denoiser III, and Magic Bullet Film among many other colour correction and grading tools. Pluraleyes 4.1 Another popular program from Red Giant is the venerable Pluraleyes, a great tool to sync footage and audio. In just a few clicks, you can import from all your different audio and video sources, sync and export a timeline in your preferred NLE format of choice, or you can use it directly within Premiere (check out my tutorial HERE). Usually available for $299, you can also get it as part of the Shooter Suite ($399) which includes a range of utility plugins to facilitate various post-production tasks. Trapcode Suite 13.1 If your thing is VFX, then you should check out the Trapcode Suite. Usually available for $999, it is a very comprehensive plugin package for Adobe After Effects that includes Trapcode Particular 2.6 for 3D particle effects, Trapcode Mir 2.1 for 3D surfaces and wireframes, Trapcode Shine 2.0 for 3D light ray effects, and much much more. The Red Giant Spring Sale will get you significant discounts from the prices listed above on individual products, as well as for the suites and upgrades. Also, the 25% discount can be added on top of the existing 50% in their academic store. To get the discount, don’t forget to add the coupon code available from the Red Giant website for 24 hours starting April 18th. For more information, visit the Red Giant site. What do you think of Red Giant products? Let us know in the comments below!