Your Guide
Eric Escobar
Independent filmmaker
Eric Escobar
Independent filmmaker
STEP 1: Color correct your shot in after effects
Starting in After Effects, I always try to create a consistent baseline look matching relative brightness levels and color shot to shot. I think of it as a sort of primary color-correction pass, using AE tools like Levels and Hue/Saturation.
STEP 2: Create an adjustment layer
Click on Layer>New>Adjustment Layer to create a layer that lives at the top of your timeline. This is where you will apply Look Suite. Click on Effect>Magic Bullet Suite>Look Suite to apply.
STEP 3: Pick a preset look
If you’re new to Magic Bullet, take time to go through all the presets. You’ll notice how each one changes the look of your footage. You can vary the intensity of the look by raising and lowering the opacity of the adjustment layer. Use the Do check-off boxes (Do Subject, Do Camera, etc.) to see what the different controls actually do. Pay particular attention to the presets at the top of the list, like Basic Warm, Basic Cool, Basic Black Diffusion and Basic White Diffusion; they will help you get a sense of the kinds of tools available in Look Suite.
STEP 4: Customize your look
Look Suite is divided into four parts: Subject, Lens Filter, Camera and Post. The metaphor is pretty straight forward-Subject controls the saturation, gamma and contrast of the source image; Lens Filters simulates the kinds of things you put in front of a camera lens like Diffusion and Gradient filters in a matte box; Camera simulates film techniques, like shooting 3-strip Technicolor; and Post is where you can tweak gamma, saturation, contrast, as well as warm or cool your final look. The two kinds of diffusion, white and black, can help soften an image and work really well when you want to smooth over compression artifacting. You can use them to simulate the look of a ProMist filter or other types of in-camera diffusion tools. The look you get is really nice and dreamy, though it does slightly blur your image.
STEP 5: Tweak opacity controls for a subtler effect
You can vary the intensity of the look on your footage using the Adjustment Layers Opacity control. Often, a really intense filter produces a shot that looks over effected. Lowering the opacity of the adjustment layer let’s you create a subtler version of your effect. To best judge your image, you’ll need to see how your color looks on moving footage, which you can do using RAM preview. The first thing you’ll notice when doing this, though, is that Magic Bullet can take a long time to render and playback frames. Enable the GPU option in the Effects tab and you’ll get faster playback. If you have a speedy graphics card, you’ll see your previews even faster. If you don’t have a fast graphics card, and are planning on doing a lot of Magic Bullet work, consider buying one. Also, make sure to preview your color work on the target display type. If you’re going to broadcast, then you’ll want to send your video preview out to an NTSC or PAL critical monitor. If it’s for Web video, previewing on your desktop is sufficient.
STEP 6: Organize Your Custom Presets By Category
Save your new custom preset and give it a clever title and description. I tend to create a small family of Look presets that are variations on a treatment. Different kinds of footage (indoor vs. outdoor, day vs. night) will require different levels of tweaking, so I make a look for each type of footage I have in my project. This is another reason why I apply the Look preset to an adjustment layer, rather than the clip itself. I can group together similar clips in the timeline, and have them live under the same adjustment layer, which lets me apply and tweak a look to all clips at the same time, along with varying intensity of effect by changing opacity.
Eric Says Keep in Mind…
I’ve been using Magic Bullet since 2002, when I first used a beta of version 1.0 for a short film. I’ve loved it ever since and have used it extensively on short films, docs, spots and features. And I’ve output my results on everything from Web video to HDCAM. Looks are created in "Look Suite," and the heart of the "Look Suite" is the Presets. Unlike other film-look plug-ins that give you a preset for some random film stock you’ve never heard of, Magic Bullet presets are based on popular color treatments and color grading styles found in well-known movies. The presets are also infinitely customizable, saving you from inadvertently making your footage look like everybody else’s.
I’ve been using Magic Bullet since 2002, when I first used a beta of version 1.0 for a short film. I’ve loved it ever since and have used it extensively on short films, docs, spots and features. And I’ve output my results on everything from Web video to HDCAM. Looks are created in "Look Suite," and the heart of the "Look Suite" is the Presets. Unlike other film-look plug-ins that give you a preset for some random film stock you’ve never heard of, Magic Bullet presets are based on popular color treatments and color grading styles found in well-known movies. The presets are also infinitely customizable, saving you from inadvertently making your footage look like everybody else’s.
Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Suite
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