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Review: Virtix Bravo/Echo/Zoom Effects for iMovieReviewed By: Kirk Hiner Review Date: May 16, 2002
This is a first. I've been reviewing software for over two years now, and I've covered everything from shareware games to Photoshop plug-ins to HTML editors. Some of it I've liked, some of it I haven't. Some of it I've kept around, some if it has been tossed. I can honestly say, however, that none of this software has come to my rescue. At least, not until Virtix Zoom, but I'll get to that in a bit. First, let's talk iMovie. Lately, iMovie has been a revelation for me. Just as Quark and Photoshop combined to alter my career path, so has iMovie altered my hobbies. I love editing movies. I love iMovie's abilities and its limitations. I love the professional polish it puts on my projects. I love how it makes me look more talented than I am. When I say I love iMovie's limitations, I mean that it helps me keep my projects in check. Gone are the grandios notions of filming Waterworld II, replaced instead by music videos and five minute sketches. My goals are easier to reach...until I manage to save up for that $2,500 DV camcorder and Final Cut Pro. I think it's time for a raise from Applelinks.
The most spectacular of the bunch is Bravo, which provides 20 special effects filters ranging from sparkle to rain to tunnel. Most of these look pretty cool, and I had a good time experimenting with them to see what they could do. The different filters offer varying degrees of control, and learning to achieve the desired effect can take quite a bit of trial and error. The laser effect is the one that will probably get the most use here. By allowing you to specify the origin point and direction, it's not too difficult to make that alien invasion film a little more believable. Of course, if the point of origin moves in the film, the laser filter can't follow it without you manually redrawing the beam. This requires splitting the clip and reworking the time sliders on the filter each time, which ultimately becomes nothing more than an exercise in frustration. It's an excellent effect, just be sure to plan your shots with its limitations in mind. Likewise, although the lightning effect looks great, the inability to drop it behind images in the film hinders its use. In other words, although it's great for bizarre special effects, it's not very good for actually creating thunderstorms across the horizon. Most of the others, such as blur edges, funhouse and stained glass, are also limited in their usability. I had no need for such effects, but they worked well during testing. These aren't the kind of effects that you'll use on a whim, but you may find yourself filming certain topics just for an excuse to put them to use. I should also give special mention to pixel fixer, which is more of a clean-up tool than an effect. This wonderful plug-in can fix blown out pixels on your camera, and anything that can clean up artifacts from my old equipment is always welcome by me.
Although there are other dynamic transitions included (materialize glitter, shatter, and dream, to name a few), the most useful ones included here are those that are more traditional and subtle. It's not too difficult to find uses for the page peel (wee top screen capture), wipe, and the Star Wars-ish clock wipe transitions, and because they don't have a "gimmicky" look to them, they can be used effectively throughout a project. Most of these filters allow you to control direction, speed, and the like, so it's not difficult to lead your viewers from one clip to the next exactly as you envision. Finally, we get to Zoom. This set of filters is not the most spectacular of the bunch, but it is the most functional. As the name would imply, the basic function here is to provide you with zoom control over static footage. Want a slow zoom like at the end of a scene in a soap opera? No problem. Want a quick zoom like in a horror movie? No problem. Want a snap zoom like in a...uh...movie with a snap zoom? Still, no problem. Although the results don't look quite as nice as an actual zoom performed with the camera, they're good enough that you may start to prefer them due to their added control and simplicity. Perhaps their greatest use, however, is with still images. They convert the still images to frames, and can then slowly zoom in and out of certain areas...great for highlighting a certain person is group shots and for providing extra life in static clips. All those 50th anniversary video montage gifts for mom and dad are finally going to be enjoyable beyond the first viewing.
These filters performed well in iMovie for Mac OS 9, but I did occasionally have trouble with iMovie in OS X remembering the filters when opening a project. From time to time, I'd get a warning stating a filter for a certain clip wasn't available, and it would simply remove it. After adding the effect again, I no longer got the error with that clip. Installation was also somewhat awkward as Virtix doesn't store the plug-ins in the same folder as iMovie's default. When I ran the installer, I was told that the proper folder doesn't exist. Odd, since I neither moved nor removed any iMovie folders. In this event, the read me file provides instructions on where to create the required folder, and you then simply need to drag the plug-ins to the new folder. I don't see the need for two iMovie plug-in folders, but hey...whatever works. And the Virtix Boom, Echo and Zoom effects do work. Some you'll use religiously, some you'll find reasons to use because they're that cool, and some you'll probably delete from your hard drive without a second thought. Some, on the other hand, could just save your entire project. With the help of my wife, brother, and sister-in-law. I constructed a miniature concert stage in my living room to be used for a music video. We spent a week building the thing and the necessary props, then spent an entire Sunday filming. Because we needed the living room back, we tore down the stage before I began editing. It was only when I opened the clips in iMovie that I realized I'd left in the camera's time and date stamp. Half of my clips were littered with that junk, and there was no way to make them disappear. After screaming expletives in a five minute tirade that would've made Tenacious D fans blush, I began to set up the stage once again. But then I remembered a particular filter from Virtix, one that was available to all as a free sample...letterbox. Normally, I wouldn't mess with such an effect if I hadn't planned for it during filming, but this filter provides enough control to compensate for a lack of planning. You can adjust the size of the frame to reveal more or less of the actual shot, and you can then pan the shot up and down within the frame. If the bulk of your original footage is getting chopped off at the top, you can slide it down, for example. Perfect. I was able to cover the time and date stamp with the letterbox bars, then realign the footage to make sure I wasn't clipping my subject. The result not only looks like I'd planned it this way from the start, but it may actually look better than it would have without the effect. And isn't that what effects and transitions are all about? Effects are to iMovie users what typefaces are to designers. You'll probably never use 90% of them, but you don't want to get caught without the perfect one. Don't get caught without Virtix Bravo, Echo and Zoom.
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In the meantime, I'm content to look elsewhere to expand the capabilities of iMovie. My latest acquisition has been three sets of effects from Virtix, Inc.; Bravo, Echo and Zoom. Each package contains various effects for iMovie, some of which are pretty cool, some of which very helpful, and some of which completely baffle me as to why they would ever be used.
Transitions, in my opinion, are a little more useful by design. The latest four minute video I made contained over 40 transitions between footage, and hard cuts weren't always the way to go. 
There are some other fun filters in here as well, such as witness protection and spotlight. Both do just what you'd expect. Witness protection blurs out a portion of the clip, perfect for hiding faces in interviews. Spotlight darkens the screen around an area you specify, drawing attention to that area.