Want to put your motion graphics work on Performance Enhancers? Then look no further than Boris FX Continuum Complete 7.

Boris FX Continuum Complete 7  (BCC7) currently retailing at $995 is an extensive list of effects for Adobe After Effects (CS4 & CS5), Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Final Cut Express, and Apple Motion.

As described on BorisFX.com, "Boris Continuum Complete is the Swiss Army Knife of Visual Effects, giving compositors and editors the most complete and useful plug-in suite ever created " and I couldn't agree more. There are close to 200 plug-in filters, and not just your run of the mill, amateur click a button and make it look ugly kind of filters. I"m talking about filters  like image restoration, time-based effects, generators such as Snow, rain and fire, keys and mattes, and a ton more or which I will demonstrate later.  The best thing about these effects are, they're deeply integrated into your system of choice, and are very easy to use right out of the box with preset options that allow you to spice up your work immediately. If you're a little nervous to dive in, no need to worry, BorisFX has a plethora of tutorials to get you up and running.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when I downloaded the trial version.  I've used plug-ins that have fallen way short of what they touted. Most plug-in companies advertise their products like diet pills, what you see on the advertisement doesn't live up to it's billing. However with BCC7 it met my expectations and exceeded them. The main feature of the system that I was interested in most was 3d Objects effects.

My first attempt at using the 3d text effect was with AE CS5. I have to admit, I was a bit disgruntled, cause I couldn't find the effect anywhere.  Fortunately, BorisFX has great customer service.  I sent them an email on the weekend, and they were quick to inform me that at the time of my download (now available), 3D Objects weren't available on CS5.  Fortunately for me, I have AE CS4, so I quickly tested it out, and to my surprise.. it WORKED. I was able to generate real 3D inside of the AE environment. I've seen 3D plugins for AE but they were all just that, while BCC7 is that and more!

Enough talk, let's looks at what this software can do.

3D Text

The 3d text editor is very simple and straight forward. First you create a shape layer [Comand-Shift-Y (Mac) / Ctrl-Shift-Y (PC)]. Then it's as simple as selecting the BCC7 3D Objects in your Effects and presets palette > double click type on text.

Once you double click the Effect you'll be presented with the Text editor for your 3D. There are quite a few controls within the editor for you to edit the text how you choose. For this Demo, I just went with the preset and used the Gil Sans font. After you type in your text click apply and voila... instant 3D text within After Effects.  The best part is that it's fully editable within the AE environment with the typical time controls and keys that you're to which you are accustomed.  All this can be done within the effects palette.

As you can see there are plenty of presets already for your use.

Distortion Perspective

This is another of the many cool effects groups contained within BCC7.  There are well over 20 effects in this group alone, all with their own presets for fast workflow.

Bulge

The Bulge effect, just as the rest of the effects included in BCC7 is quick and easy to use. Want to make your on-screen object bulge over time? No problem, click the bulge effect and set your parameters and viola, your cooking with hot fish grease. This one I demonstrated more for the purpose of fun, because I enjoyed using it for no reason at all.

You can also just drag the center point and move it where you want the bulge to appear on the timeline. All the effects controls are pretty intuitive and allow for creativity to flow quickly without getting bogged down with learning curb difficulties.

With literally thousands of combinations of useful effects contained with in BCC7 it is well worth the download. I've just shown 2 for the sake of time and hopefully to make you download the trial.

Why not try it for free, to see all of what's possible. As I said before, I was somewhat skeptical til I gave it a try and much to my surprise, I was blown away by the 3d Objects effects and all of the other useful real-world effects to help save time and amp creativity.