OK, so you're an editor, and your NLE of choice works just fine. Fine, that is, until you have to do anything that involves compositing or effects. So now you have to track down an artist to do something relatively simple, or try to go it yourself by either muddling through whatever your host program happens to offer, or learning an external effects suite on your own. Then what if you need to fix something later? Changes and re-renders can be a logistical nightmare, especially under a tight deadline. Sensing that the preceding scenario might be a common problem for editors, Boris FX (formerly Artel Software) offers up the latest version of its namesake program, Boris FX 6. But before we dive in and get into more detail, I'll go ahead and spoil the ending: I expected better.

Do you remember when Commotion, then from Puffin Designs, first hit the Mac scene a few years back? A lot of us hadn't seen anything like it, at least any desktop application like it. Provided you had enough cash to get yourself a copy and plenty of RAM to load your footage into (and RAM was some major cash back then), you could have a serious, quasi-real-time, high-end compositing package right there on your Mac. Times are a tad different now. RAM sure is a heck of a lot cheaper, and so is Commotion Pro, now owned by Pinnacle Systems and currently standing at version 4.1. And if I didn't know any better, I could swear that Pinnacle Systems is quietly trying to muscle in on After Effects' traditional motion graphics turf, in addition to retaining the signature high-end painting and rotoscoping features Commotion has had all along.

One of the biggest complaints I hear about OS X from non-OS X users is that they are so used to the Classic Mac interface that they don't want to learn a new way of doing things. And, up until a few weeks ago, I would smugly counter that complaint with, "OS X is the future, so just deal with it." Well, I no longer say that. Instead, I now say "OS X is the future, but you don't have to completely lose the interface you're used to."

Just imagine the following conversation actually happening around a hundred some-odd years ago:

Painter #1: Pablo, you are a (expletive deleted) idiot. I can't believe you consider yourself a creative professional using that poor excuse for a paintbrush. It's all style and no substance, and you can't even get a whole lot of paint for that brush.

Painter #2: Vince, what the hell is the matter with you? It is your paintbrush that truly sucks, you conformist, apologist stooge. Just because everyone else uses that kind of paintbrush doesn't mean it's the best. Why don't you go slice your ear off or something, and let's talk when you see the light and start using the kind of brush I like.

If the preceding sounds ridiculous, why can't a lot of people make the same leap and consider that the partisan platform rhetoric they spew sounds just as preposterous? Read More...