Tutorial: NewBlueFX Video Essentials VI
A new year, a new and inviting collection of video utilities from NewBlueFX, one of the leading players in the video plug-in game. In this article, we'll look at their sixth volume of plug-ins billed as "essential." Are they? Read on to find out.
Color Saturation FX
Two FX are included for saturation adjustments. First is Saturation EQ, which lets you pick a specific color family to saturate, or you can dial in a specific hue of your choice. The controls look like a combination of Graphic and Parametric EQs. There's also Saturation Modifier, which lets you choose up to two different areas of your frame to adjust the color on, instead of the entire frame. This is helpful for times when parts of your video are oversaturated while others are undersaturated.
Other Plug-ins
There are a handful of other plug-ins in Video Essentials VI; Chromakey, Selective Touchup, PictureGrid, and Garbage Matte round out this collection. One common theme with all of the Video Essentials collections is that (at least for Sony Vegas Pro users) many of the effects are possible with the tools native to the host application. But in almost every case you will get cleaner, higher-quality results faster by using the Video Essentials version. I'm always amused at how much I get out of these plug-ins. They're effective, easy to use, and affordable (especially when onsale). Download the 30-day trial and see if you don't agree.
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