Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 1, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Like any reasonably sensible filter collection, Universe naturally contains a folder of blurs: a normal blur with optional radius width and height, a Compound Blur for working with different layers and masks, and a Spot Blur for selective blurring, for example in pixelation. Still nothing special, but helpful when things need to move quickly. In the “Distort” folder, users will find various distortion filters, such as a color shift, heat waves or a prism effect. Using the generators, users can also generate fractals, gradients or turbulence. A selection of glows, such as a chromatic glow, glimmer or indeed a normal glow, can be found accordingly in the folder of the same name.
Things become a little more specialized with “Motion Graphics,” where users can, for example, integrate components of a head-up display (such as a jet visor) into their image and will find both a large selection of ready-made HUD elements and numerous options for designing them to their own taste. A collection of different lines is also included with uni.Lines, where, for example, distances traveled can be illustrated.
The “Stylize” folder contains some quite interesting effects, such as Carousel for transforming modern video material into Super 8 or other outdated video formats, naturally with many presets and some settings for individual design; the Glitch effect for transmission interference; or a filter called VHS, which implements exactly (and quite vividly) what one would expect from the name: converting video to VHS quality, complete with striping, narrowed frame, noise and dropouts … just as we know it from our youth, when tapes copied x times were passed from hand to hand. Other filters worth mentioning include Holomatrix (see the Red Giant Effects Suite), as well as light versions of Knoll Light Factory and the ToonIt comic filter. Alongside a handful of transitions, the effects in the “Utility” folder complete the Universe collection. Here, users will find a tool for correcting fisheye lenses, a Camera Shaker for adding camera shake to footage afterward, as well as a few simple filters for split screens and other picture-in-picture effects.
Although all the effects are relatively fast in the preview and also high quality in rendering, Universe still has its disadvantages: The effects are often too simple, and unfortunately some filters are not entirely crash-proof. After Effects frequently collapsed on us without a sound when we merely tried to call up presets. In fact, Universe is a comprehensive collection of rather simple but nonetheless usable effects that is not too expensive at a subscription price of 100 US dollars per year. Of course, however, one must also consider that with long-term use—for example over several years—you quickly reach 400, 500 or 600 US dollars, which is already the price of more professional collections such as FX Factory. If you use it for as many as 17 years, you could have bought Sapphire right away.
But this calculation is rather hypothetical. For beginners who only want to play around and experiment a little, the subscription is nevertheless well suited.
Red Giant – Universe 2
Collection of simple effects as well as light versions of more complex filters
Platform: Adobe and Apple
Full version: 1OO US dollars p.a. or 2O US dollars per month
Info: www.redgiant.com
