"Magic Bullet Looks is a stalwart of the post production plug-ins world. It has been around for a long time and provides unique tools with a unique interface to produce some really cool looks."
ProVideo Collation - Scott Simmons Read more
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
"One of the scenes in [The Curious Case of Benjamin Button] is a fable told by Cate Blanchett. We were looking for ways to set this scene apart and decided to give it an old movie look, since it’s a movie-within-a-movie. To that aim, we settled on treating these shots with Magic Bullet Looks. The final version that appears in the film was processed through [Adobe] After Effects where we ‘baked in’ the effect. There are also a few other scenes throughout that received a little Magic Bullet love," said Angus Wall, editor of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Videography - Oliver Peters Read more
Editor's Choice
"- the best effects are the ones the audience doesn't see. In that respect, Magic Bullet [Looks] really is magic."Computer Video - Peter Wells
Best Buy
"The LookBuilder has one of the best designed interfaces around."Digital Arts - Neil Bennett Read more
Mac User - Peter Wells Read more
Most Influential Tools of 2007
"Magic Bullet Looks however offers the same power, functionality and complexity of grading options as Color but does so in a much more accessible and functional suite."Broadcast Newsroom - Mike Jones Read more
"Now, with apps such as Imagineer mocha-AE ($299) and Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Looks ($399), which were both released within the last six months, you can do much of the work that up until recently required top facilities with big expensive iron systems."
Digital Content Producer - Dan Ochiva
"Pros: Many effects possible, fast, flexible capabilities, inexpensive. Cons: None that I can see."
IT Enquirer - Erik Vlietinck Read more
Mac User - Mark Bennett Read more
"Magic Bullet Editors [now called Magic Bullet Looks] is the perfect tool for achieving a stylish film look or an authentic-looking, classic.”
Macworld - Robert Ellis Read more
"The package is a bargain."
PC Magazin (Germany) - Peter Knoll
Tutorial: Beam Me Up! How to Make Your Own Transporter [Using Magic Bullet Looks and Knoll Light Factory]
Blogcritics - Ed Driscoll Read more
"If you're a Premiere Pro user who wants to get ahead by adding some spice to your production, consider some Red Giant plugins. I am confident that you will not be disappointed!"
Genesis Project, - Dennis Radeke, Adobe Systems, Inc. Read more
"I’ve been using Magic Bullet since 2003 and have been consistently amazed by the power of the software and the incredible results it produces. I’ve tested countless other film look packages that have tried to be contenders to Red Giant’s throne, but I always come back to Magic Bullet."
Microfilmmaker - Ryan Graham Read more
"Very, very good tool, best plug-in of the test."
Digital Production (Germany) - Robert Seidel
Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Looks is a joy to use and delivers stunning looks to your digital video. It allows editors to use this tool in different applications (e.g., both After Effects and Premiere Pro). That flexibility is key and reminds us that the Looks software team is looking after its editors. The power is there, too, with improved Power Mask features allowing editors to be selective about the application of their looks. The possibilities seem endless. That's just what we like to see in an application like this.
Videomaker - Mark Montgomery Read more
"Few effects plug-ins offer such a wide range of filtering and grading tools ine one low cost package."
DV - DV Staff Read more
"If you’ve got the budget, Magic Bullet Looks has the mojo."
Mac|Life - David Biedny Read more
"The new Magic Bullet Looks has been perfected into a tool so vital and adaptable that it reside in every editor's toolset."
TV Technology - Geoff Poister
"In terms of flexibility and quality, Magic Bullet Looks goes far beyond the tools that the host applications offer."
Computer Video - Uli Plank
"I will often use FCP’s 3-way color corrector for a “primary grade” and then stack more instances of the 3-way, Colorista, Face Light and/or Vignette, using them for a “secondary grade”. If I need more of a stylized look (glows, selective focus, etc.), then Magic Bullet Looks has become my 'go to' weapon."
Digital Films - Oliver Peters Read more
"Between picking shots that worked within the confines of what we could achieve with the gear we had, along with some basic color correction in Final Cut Studio using Magic Bullet Looks, the project looked much better than it had any right to, considering the budget was about $200."
Pro Video Coalition - Art Adams Read more
"In post, you can adjust the gamma curves to replicate how light reacts on film rather than the more linear look of video. With some good grading, using something like Magic Bullet Looks, you can create a fairly convincing facsimile of film."
Arbernaut Blog - Jason Arber Read more
"Magic Bullet can create some powerful atmospherics. It can generate a Matrix-like green tint, or those CSI: Miami orange-sherbet skies,or a soft film-like sheen with plenty of diffusion, or anyplace in between."
Nuts & Volts - Edward B. Driscoll, Jr.
"In my opinion, at a price of $399 US, this plug-in is one of the best deals you will find. I have been using Magic Bullet Looks for a couple of months, and I can easily say that I would use it on every project I work on. Your work NEEDS a color correction pass once the edit is done, and for me, Looks will give your producer what they want every time. If you are even thinking about picking up Magic Bullet Looks, you should seriously consider just picking up the Magic Bullet Suite."
Digital Post Production - Kevin McAuliffe Read more
"One tool that I really like for specialty grading is Red Giant Software’s Magic Bullet Looks. The software was developed by effects director Stu Maschwitz. Unlike other plug-ins, Looks is really an integrated suite of effects and filters all rolled into one package. It runs under many NLE hosts, but is probably most optimized for Adobe After Effects."
Digital Films - Oliver Peters Read more
Tutorial: Create a Broadcast Spot and Webisode with RED and Final Cut Pro [Using Magic Bullet Looks] (requires a Premium Content subscription)
Studio Monthly - Studio Monthly Read more
"I don't really want to call it a color grading application because it is so much more than that... It's organized in a very logical workflow from a shooter's not an engineer's... Stu Maschowitz is one of the lead designers and he comes at it as a filmmaker." (video)
MacBreak - Brian Gary, Mark Spencer Read more
"Magic Bullet Looks has a huge amount of ready-made looks to choose from. With a single click you can clip in one step into a totally different style” (translated from Dutch)
CamcorderInfo - Gert Read more
“Red Giant Magic Bullet Looks is a great jump forward in ease of use and still delivers stunning new looks for your digital video... As in the last version of Looks, the presets are incredibly useful, and the customization options allow for endless possibilities.”
Film Maker Savvy - Dez Read more
"Magic Bullet Looks did an amazing job of taking an ordinary shot taken in a coffee shop using only the overhead fluorescent lights and adding some very dramatic lighting."
Appletell - Bill Stiteler Read more
"In conclusion, Magic Bullet Looks 2 is a really useful and usable grading and effects tool that will not only spark your imagination and creativity in terms of effects but give you all the colour correction you need."
FOCUS - Ian Sandall
“We used different Looks for different cinematic reasons. Since the beginning of the movie is a flash-back, memory sequence, we selected the Basic White Diffusion. This gave the footage an ethereal quality. We used Basic Black Diffusion for most scenes that dealt with the homicide investigation. It gave it a slightly dark yet unreal look that directly supported our theme.”
Corrado Schoner Films - Gregory Corrado & David Schoner, Jr
“Look Suite is a very artist-friendly tool for color correction. Rather than offering traditional computer based color correction tools, Look Suite works more like a multi-million dollar telecine color corrector. The combination of Look Suite with the Magic Bullet de-interlacer makes our spots look less like home video and more like film—our clients are always blown away after seeing before and after shots.”
Phoenix Editorial - Matt Silverman
"The look of it [Plot Device] had to be different from scene to scene to scene because we were going through all of these genres... Looks was awesome to me. The first thing opening up Looks, you mainly see there's a collection of presets... Then I realized you have this whole toolset on the right side. That immediately opened the door to me realizing that I didn't need to open Color ever again."
Plot Device movie - Seth Worley, Director Read more
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