Magic Bullet Looks: Getting Started

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Magic Bullet Looks Released

Not that you'd notice by looking at Red Giant Software's site, but Magic Bullet Looks has been released! Download the demo and try it out, and see if you can discover the secret feature.

Beta the Bullet

Want to be a part of the Magic Bullet Looks beta testing team? If you're willing to spend some time with the software, give feedback, and—most importantly—report bugs, then click here!

Apply to become a Magic Bullet Looks beta tester

Color Makes the Movie

One of the lovely accidental insights provided by the "deleted scenes" found on many DVDs is a little window into what a movie looks like in its unfinished form. Often these extras are dumped directly from an Avid, where they have temp sound, no music, and usually a one-light telecine transfer. In other words, little or no color correction.

Seeing how rough a multi-million-dollar studio film looks in its formative stages is a great inspiration to the DV Rebel. It reminds us that a great deal of what makes a movie feel "big" comes in the finishing and polishing stages—specifically the sound mix and the color grading.

A great example of this is Transporter 2, which features a very aggressive DI. On the DVD (it's now also available on Blu-ray), there are some deleted and extended scenes that show how unsexy the film looks without all of its intended color work.

Remember, you may not be able to hire stars or secure expensive locations, but you can apply high-quality color correction (and sound work) to your movie using inexpensive desktop tools. You just have to be willing to put the time in.

EDIT: Be sure to read the comments on this post! They expand nicely on the topic.