Pro Editing @ Home

by Kevin P McAuliffe
February 11, 2009

I really like Magic Bullet Looks. I like it so much that I personally think that every editor should have it in their arsenal of plug-ins, but there is one little problem. In these difficult economic times, $399 might be a little out of some people’s reach. Thankfully, Red Giant Software has decided to give us a “light” version of Looks and called it, appropriately enough, Quick Looks (MBQL). Let’s see what Red Giant has done to make this plug-in worth your while.

INSTALLATION

MBQL installs quickly and easily. A great feature of MBQL is that Red Giant Software has made it available to many different programs including After Effects, Premiere Pro, FXPlug and Avid.

Magic Bullet Quick Looks is available for many different applications!

 

You will be prompted to enter your serial number when installing, but Red Giant does offer MBQL as a free demo that you can try before you buy!

 

WHAT YOU GET & HOW IT WORKS

MBQL is basically a stripped down version of Magic Bullet Looks. They have taken all the functionality out of the plug-in, and just gave us the “meat and potatoes”, which in this case is not a bad thing. What you get is over one hundred different looks, of which you can easily see yourself using half to three-quarters of them right away, and the other quarter for a specific project you might have coming up. The interface for Looks and Quick Looks is identical, the only difference is that you only have access to the left pane. Take a look at this video to see what I mean.

VALUE FOR YOUR DOLLAR

As I said in the video, $99 for over one hundred looks is an excellent deal, considering that works out to less than one dollar per look. If you are working on a (very) tight budget, and can't afford Looks, pick up Quick Looks, and then upgrade at a later time!

 

PROS

- I can see myself using three-quarters of these looks on a regular basis
- simple, yet very effective plug-in
- $99 US is an excellent price
- Support for FCP/Motion, Premiere, After Effects, Avid & Sony Vegas

CONS

- Once you see the power of the full version of Looks, you'll realize you need to upgrade!

Purchase Recommendation - If you can't afford the full one, definately buy this one!

In the end, Magic Bullet's Quick looks does just that. It gives you an enormous selection of looks that you can quickly apply to any project you working on. For more information, or to download a free demo of Magic Bullet Quick Looks, head over to www.redgiantsoftware.com . If you are looking to pick up Magic Bullet Quick Looks a little cheaper, you can pick it up at Toolfarm for $95 US by clicking here!