Author: David Ryder

GED Class for The Wall Street Journal

My work, photojournalism, Published work, Still photography

High-School Equivalency Degree Loses Its Dominant Position | More States Pick Alternatives to GED After Revamping Makes It Harder and Costlier for Test Takers

GED class instructor Marcia Leister, below, doesn’t like the updated GED test. From the article: “My students are extremely frustrated by the new test,” she said. “They are losing hope.” Read the article here.

 

Above: GED instructor Marcia Leister, standing in center, directs a class discussion at Bellingham Technical College in Bellingham, Wash., this month.

Red Giant Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 Review

Gear, Tech stuff, Thoughts, Video

Red Giant just dropped an update to its ever-popular Magic Bullet Suite, which includes Magic Bullet Looks 3.0, Magic Bullet Colorista III, Magic Bullet Mojo 2.0, and Magic Bullet Cosmo 2.0.

 

(Above image credit: Red Giant – Magic Bullet Looks screenshot)

 

If you’re not already familiar with Magic Bullet Suite, it is a set of tools for color correction, finishing, etc. for filmmakers. It’s a robust addition to what you might find built in to your video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro.

I generally use Final Cut Pro X and I’ve found that it has some nice basic color and finishing tools, but Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 can really take your visuals to the next level.

Here are some pros and cons of Magic Bullet Suite 12.0; review them and see if the $799 is really worth it to you:

Pros:

  • Versatility: It’s compatible with Premiere, After Effects, and FCPX
  • The tools are robust: Change someone’s shirt color!
  • Tools are available from within your editing software: You don’t need to launch anything else

Cons

  • The price tag is a bit high for independent shops like my own
  • The tools vary from application to application, as they say: “All of the tools work in Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and more  – but it varies by host application.”

 

(Above image credit: Red Giant – Magic Bullet Mojo screenshot)

 

All in all, Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 is definitely a top notch collection of tools. You really can’t go wrong, if you can afford it 🙂 It does seem silly to run $799 Magic Bullet with my $299 Final Cut Pro X, but that is what filmmaking has come to these days, and you do indeed get what you pay for when it comes to Magic Bullet. Wait, what does that mean about the low price of FCPX … ? That’s a topic for another blog post …