Bricks in Motion
We are a friendly filmmaking community devoted to the art of stop-motion animation using LEGO® and similar construction toys. Here, you can share your work, join our community of other brickfilmers, and participate in periodic animation contests!
A place to discuss, share, and create stop motion films.
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Has anyone used FXHome's VisionLab Studio and If you have Is It a good program for effects.
It's good, but it's massively outdated. I don't think you can even buy the software directly from FXHome anymore, meaning you can't get any of their additional preset downloads, and there will be no more bug fixes or updates.
If you're willing to spend that kind of money, their newer piece of software - HitFilm - is a much better choice. It does so much that VisionLab can't.
Thanks jampot, I didn't know that visionlab was outdated. I will take in mind your advice.
I still have a copy of VisionLabs I got years ago, I use it for a few things that are harder to do in AfterEffects truth be told I use AE 90% of the time
I'm wondering if I should save up for adobe after effects or hitfilm. I could get hitfilm much faster, but after effects probably Is a much better program.
I used FxHome products for a long time as they were easier for me to learn but now that I am familiar with AE I find it better (I'm using AE CS3 which is just as arcane as VL Studios) these days my effects are mostly just masking so I could get by with almost anything and it's just about what works with my work flow.
I did all the visual effects for all of my brickfilms that I've made, using Axogon Composer and FXHome Compositelab. After the last of my films, I got After Effects and was amazed at how much easier (and, more often than not, better) my effects work would have been with it over the years. The quality and time savings of better software are so wonderful for anything relatively complicated as far as compositing goes.
But if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I think I did OK with Axogon and Compositelab over the years.
I would say AE all the way, but you can now only buy the Creative Cloud version. It's a monthly subscription, rather than a single purchase, but for that price you get every piece of currently available Adobe software and every update for it as and when they come out. If you're a student, you can get quite a hefty educational discount too.
You can get older versions of After Effects on eBay. I'm not sure if I'd actually recommend doing this over getting CC. I own CS6 having bought the Production suite before they moved to Creative Cloud, but I know I'm going to have to upgrade eventually.
It's not so much that I need the new bells and whistles; it's basic compatibility that breaks down over time. For instance, cinemaDNG is already fully supported in Premiere CC but not CS6; h.265 is supported by neither but as it becomes a primary video standard over the next 2-3 years, support for it will inevitably be added to Adobe CC.
If you're buying AE with the purpose of making brickfilms with it, the kind of issues I'm having may not matter all that much. I care because I edit footage from various digital cinema cameras (often ones I do not own) and eventually I'll work on a project that requires the newer formats. If brickfilming is your sole use of the software, this isn't a problem. You'll be able to shoot stills on a dslr in a format an older version of After Effects can handle for a very long time.
Thanks Smeagol and jampot, after taking your advice to mind I have decided to save up for after effects. I would use after effects just for brick filming.
Last edited by BlackSmithFilms (January 15, 2015 (02:55pm))
Of course, while you are saving your money, you could consider using Blackmagic Fusion (it has a free version, but Windows only), or Blender (it's a free 3D modeling program but has a good compositor). Of course, it depends on what effect you are looking for. Not everything is possible in every program.
I have blender but don't know how to use it very well. I am saving up for after effects because I have seen many effects like fire that were created in it by fellow brick filmers. Still I will consider Blackmagic Fusion well saving up for after effects!
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