all make this a very enticing option for editing the look of your footage. Smart Filters, masking, adjustment layers, advanced color adjustment, etc. However, if you are further a long in your Photoshop knowledge, I’d suggest you check this alternative method out. If you are a beginner to intermediate user of Photoshop, you may still want to stick with Magic Bullet. I can now dial in my edits using the interface that I’ve come to know and love over the past 10 years.ĭon’t get me wrong, Magic Bullet Looks has a wonderful interface for editing and it is extremely customizable. I was thrilled to discover this because, not only does it save me $399, but it also allows me to be more precise in the way I process my footage. Furthermore, I could create my own personalized ‘looks’ (much like Magic Bullet) and make them reusable by recording actions in Photoshop that would ‘process’ the footage the same way every time.
#Magic bullet looks photoshop for free#
I began to realize that, while Magic Bullet Looks is indeed a fantastic program, I could achieve the same effects for free using Photoshop CS3 Extended (let me re-emphasize this: this will only work in CS3 Extended, not standard) by importing the footage and editing it. The skills and techniques I learned at some of the classes opened my eyes to a few new possibilities. Then I went to Photoshop World and learned a lot about using Photoshop CS3’s new, powerful video editing capabilities. I resigned myself to saving up the money and waiting. Its hard to justify an expenditure like that when its for just a plug-in (albeit a cool one). However, at a price tag of $399, I realized that this was something that would have to wait for a while. After playing around with it and spitting out some footage I decided that this would need to be an eventual ‘must buy’ for my future film endeavors. I downloaded the demo version, which plugs in to After Effects. I was impressed with the designer’s interface and ease of use. Ordinary footage can be made to look like old films or TV, colors can be adjusted to turn a daytime shoot into film noir, and camera tricks can be simulated digitally.”I can honestly say that Magic Bullets does a great job at helping you achieve that ‘filmic’ look. Often referred to as color correction, the process is similar to working in a virtual darkroom. With digital editing, many more sophisticated effects are now possible. “Traditionally achieved with filters, filming techniques or chemical processes, a "look" was any treatment applied to film stock to lend it a color, appearance, or mood.
#Magic bullet looks photoshop software#
Rather than try to describe to you what Magic Bullet does, here is how Red Giant Software (the developer) describes it: I found PhotoLooks 2 to be less of a performer in two areas: First, the Grain filter doesn't perform as well as Alien Skin's Exposure and DxO Labs' FilmPack and second, some of the effects require some knowledge of movie-style grading to get the most out of them.Okay, so just before I left for Photoshop World last week, I become incredibly enthusiastic about Magic Bullet Looks. Some filters have a customizable area control to pinpoint an effect. PhotoLooks 2 allows for dramatic image alterations as well. The Cosmo filter can work wonders on portraits, improving complexion in natural ways. With PhotoLooks 2, photographers can color-correct an image with Colorista II color wheels, which allow for more accurate changes than the color-correction tools in Photoshop. The Matte, Camera, and Lens groups hold digital equivalents of the real thing, including Gradient and Sky filters, Spot Exposure, a Shift/Tilt lens, Chromatic Aberration correction, and many more.Īdditionally, PhotoLooks 2 comes with filters based on Colorista II, Mojo, and Cosmo. Categorized in Subject, Matte, Lens, Camera, and Post groups, effects allow users to change the mood of an image completely. PhotoLooks 2 has a huge number of presets but derives its real value from its effects controls. This mighty plug-in is a direct port of the company's video color grading plug-in, but contrary to most ports, this one actually makes sense. There are many plug-ins for Photoshop that change an image's looks, but few are as feature-complete as Red Giant's Magic Bullet PhotoLooks 2. Advanced Color Grading for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture