Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 1, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
If color correction in After Effects, then Colorista! We have been producing according to this motto for years, because Colorista, now at version 4, is simple, fast and effective. Naturally included in this color-correction filter are the three-way color palettes, settings for temperature, tint, exposure and highlights, its own HSL correction, and a dedicated keying area for secondary correction. This takes some getting used to and is quite elaborate, but is nevertheless very effective once you understand how to use it. Colorista also has its own curve editing and a number of supplied LUTs. The implemented Guided Color Correction is particularly exciting for beginners, explaining professional color correction to users step by step using the currently loaded video element.
The grading tool Looks is also one of the best-known and most popular plug-ins for individually designing the color of video. The effect, presented in its own user interface, is divided into the workflow steps Subject (the motif), Matte (possible camera filters), Lens, Camera and Postproduction. From a number of tools, users select the appropriate effect and drag it into the relevant workflow field, where the corresponding settings (and also the order of effect steps) are defined. Looks is suitable both for the actual color correction and for creative design. Anyone who finds that too elaborate or needs a first point of reference for the work selects a preset from Looks and applies it to the element. Looks activates the relevant tools in the workflow window, so users can fine-tune individual effects down to the smallest detail at any time or save their individual look for later use. The plug-in also provides helpful views such as a Skin Overlay for retaining natural skin tones, as well as a scope for maintaining broadcast safety. The sole deficiency, which has existed since time immemorial: The filter can be viewed and edited only in still-image mode, not on running video.
Other tools included in the Magic Bullet collection include Cosmo, a plug-in for retouching and fine-tuning skin tones—more precisely, for cleaning up blemishes, pores, wrinkles and other elements of the human appearance that are particularly unpleasant in 4K—as well as Denoiser for removing noise from poorly lit recordings.
The Mojo plug-in is something like Looks’s little brother, but without its own interface or the mass of presets; instead, it has a few simple controls for tint, color balance, warm-up, punch or bleach of an image. Anyone overwhelmed by the power of Looks and/or who simply needs quick grading will find this filter an efficient tool for thoroughly respectable, fast stylization. The collection is rounded off by the two effects Film for a more or less realistic impression of negative and print stock (with a correspondingly large number of presets for Fujifilm, Kodak stock, etc.) and Renoiser for adding grain and noise. All in all, Magic Bullet is a collection you will no longer want to do without once you have become accustomed to working with it. Certainly, 900 US dollars is no bargain, so for some users it may be more worthwhile to buy individual products as needed rather than the entire package, especially because the Mojo plug-in costs only just under 100 US dollars and is entirely sufficient for getting started in grading. Nevertheless, the Magic Bullet Suite receives our full purchase recommendation, including an extra star for “editorial team’s favorite product.”
Red Giant – Magic Bullet Suite 13
Various tools for professionally designing grades and film looks
Platform: Adobe and Apple
Full version: 9OO US dollars
Info: www.redgiant.com
