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Apple's Final Cut Studio package contains just about everything a wedding videographer needs to create amazing videos, but I've always felt that it just needed a little extra help in certain areas, which is where third-party effects packages come in. There are many of them out there-some from companies such as Nattress and Red Giant. Some specialize in one specific effect, while others feature hundreds of plug-ins. It can be a little confusing trying to find the right effects package to fit your needs. Of all the third-party effects packages available for Final Cut Studio, I've found that FxFactory Pro 2, with its 122 included filters, generators, and transitions, is the best value for the money.
The advantage here is that FxFactory uses FxPlug, the new plug-in architecture from Apple that allows the effects to be processed directly on the GPU, which allows for great increases in rendering speed on Intel and PowerPC machines. Gone are the days when it would take hours to render a single effect, something I really appreciate since switching to HDV, which adds to the time required to do just about anything. This new version works with Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Final Cut Express 4. It is optimized for the Leopard operating system, but it will also work in Tiger.
FxFactory is also available for Avid Xpress Pro and Media Composer, but I'm not an Avid user, so I've worked with only the Final Cut version.
EXPANDABILITY
One great thing about this package is its expandability. At any time, you can visit the company's online store (www.noiseindustries.com/store) and download new effects in the form of FxPacks from companies such as SUGARfx and CoreMelt, which use the FxFactory plug-in architecture. Once you've found the effects you want to buy, you simply download them and they will appear in the FxFactory application (Figure 1), a handy tool in which you can see all of the effects...