Introducing Hollywood FX

Hollywood Effects (HFX) is a popular plug-in integrated into Liquid Edition for both filters (see Chapter 9) and transitions. The plug-in offers a specific type of transition that is of the less subtle and more dramatic variety. Using these transitions, you will always be alerting the audience to a scene change because using HFX is like holding up a flashing neon sign that says, "yep, the scene is changing and I want you to know about it."

You'll probably see HFX used mainly in wedding videos; in fact, a number of templates are included with the plug-in for just this purpose (Figure 8.71). You might also see a great many other HFX transitions in various hokey holiday videos (Figure 8.72).

Figure 8.71. A range of HFX wedding templates…

Figure 8.72. …and some of the less subtle transitions used for other occasions.

Most of these transitions are real-time, meaning they display a preview version under a yellow slice, which must be rendered before you can export to DVD or tape. But some are slightly more complex and require rendering. In such cases, they're marked with a small red ball in the bottom-left corner of the effects thumbnail (Figure 8.73).

Figure 8.73. The red ball marks a non-Realtime effect.

Some HFX transitions render with a big Pinnacle "P" watermark across the screen. To unlock these extra effects, you need to accomplish this online via their Web site, www.pinnaclesys.com.