Continuum 2020 is the latest update for Boris Continuum’s ever-growing suite of effects
plug-ins for video and film.
In this brief overview, we will be looking at the new filters, new transitions, Particle
Illusion’s exciting new UI changes and professionally designed emitters, and new preset templates
for Title Studio.
Now let's dive in.
Reflection New in Continuum 2020 is Reflection, a filter
designed to easily create reflections in 3D space regardless of the host you’re working
in and without the need for complicated duplication of layers or stacks of effects.
Simply apply BCC Reflection to your clip, and you then have full control over the reflection’s
look.
Make it fatter, taller, blur it, fade it, even give it a ripple to simulate a watery
surface or hot environment.
All within a single effect.
These controls give you the flexibility to get the look you need.
If you’re working in an editing application like Avid, Premiere Pro or Magix Vegas, then
you don’t normally have access to 3D cameras.
Reflection has built-in camera types that let you create compelling looking effects
with just a couple of keyframes.
For After Effects users, you can use the comp camera to add reflections to your unified
scene.
Reflection is easy to learn, easy to use and highly customisable, and is available now
as part of Boris Continuum 2020.
Cast Shadow
The Cast Shadow filter generates true 3D cast shadows using either the built-in light and
camera types or the main comp camera and light for After Effects users.
The shadows are created from the filtered source using an integrated point or parallel
light source positioned in 3D space around the filtered source.
The generated cast shadows are projected directly onto a background clip.
The cast shadow is automatically linked to the bottom of the filtered source.
Here you can control the intensity, color and length of the shadow blur.
There is also a Transmission control to add realistic color spill into your shadows.
The Ripple feature, can make the shadow appear to shimmer in such a way that it simulates
a shadow cast onto a shimmering water surface or a semi-obstructed light source.
Cast Shadow also includes a built-in animatable 3D camera system, which enables the user to
reposition the source and cast shadow in 3D space.
Adobe After Effects users have the option to use AE native cameras and lights in place
of the integrated camera and light system.
So you can easily combine other integrated filters into your project for an impressive
effect, that’s straightforward to achieve.
BCC Cast Shadow is new to Continuum 2020 and gives you true 3D cast shadows in all Continuum-compatible
hosts.
Corner Pin Studio
Corner Pin Studio reimagines corner pinning.
Powered by Academy Award winning Mocha technology, Corner Pin Studio combines corner-pinning,
color correction, light wrap, drop shadow and compositing blend modes into a single
filter.
This gives you the power to create convincing screen inserts, rig removals and a host of
other common tasks; fast and without leaving your host or importing tracking data.
It is the most powerful corner pin filter available for all Continuum hosts.
Creating an insert takes moments and all you need are two clips.
The one you want to do the insert on; the background and the clip you’re inserting;
the foreground.
Some hosts have a preferred workflow about which clip to apply the filter on.
So choose the one that fits your host and preferred way of working.
If in doubt always refer to the plug-in’s documentation first.
We now head into the integrated version of Mocha, and track our layer using Mocha’s
industry-leading planar tracker.
For more complex shapes that include reflections or tricky movement, we can create our own
shapes and link the main tracker to this.
We can even use the new Mocha Area Brush to quickly create and track shapes without the
need to deal with splines.
A huge boon for editors and users who need results fast.
All that’s left to do is set up the corner points using the Surface tool over the area
you want to insert.
Once the result is saved, it is applied directly into the Corner Pin Studio.
No messy keyframes.
And it's still fully editable back in Mocha.
If you need to animate an offset you can do that here.
It's also trivial to setup the correct area on the source clips you're inserting.
No more nesting or pre-composing for perfect results.
We can get the shot composited in realistically using the Studio’s blend modes, color correction
tools, and masking using Continuum’s Pixelchooser and Mocha.
Even advanced techniques such as reverse stabilization are made painfully simple with Corner Pin
Studio, allowing you to do a variety of tasks, such as rig removal, beauty work or cleanup,
without any fuss.
By combining all these tools into one powerful filter, BCC Corner Pin Studio is the best
of breed for corner pinning, and gives better results, faster and without fuss.
Corner Pin Studio is available in Continuum 2020 for all compatible hosts
Curl
For the first time, the distortion filter Curl is available as part of the Continuum
2020 package.
Curl creates a turbulent distortion in the image, with its signature “Curl” visible
at higher values.
This filter is great for a host of distortion effects, including heat haze, water ripples
and even smoke-style effects.
Setting up the filter is easy.
Adding complexity to the filter creates more curls (is this true) and we control the strength
and size of the distortion using these parameters.
Curl is auto animating, so usually you just set the speed, direction and direction spread
of the curls and let it go.
Curl can use the Beat Reactor to time the effect to music, again without using a single
keyframe.
Try Curl on different types of footage to create exciting and surprising effects.
Or combine multiple copies of curl to create even more complex warps, simply.
Don’t forget to change up the Random Seed to mix up the randomness.
Curl is available now in Boris Continuum 2020 for all hosts.
Reflection, Cast Shadow, Corner Pin Studio and Curl are just a part of what’s new in
this major update to the Boris Continuum package.
Continuum 2020 also features 6 brand new transitions that will inspire editors and artists alike.
Curl Dissolve, Colorize Glow Dissolve, RGB Displacement Dissolve, RGB Blur Dissolve,
Kaleidoscope Dissolve, and Prism Dissolve.
These all come pre-installed with a host of new presets, ready for complete customization
or a simple drag and drop.
The updates to Particle Illusion in Continuum 2020 are all about working smarter.
There are two new ways to display the vast Particle Illusion emitter collection: list
view, with sortable columns, and grid view, which provides a much more visual way to browse
for that perfect particle effect.
The emitter preview now lets you set background color, change zoom level, toggle an image,
and much more.
This better preview means less time wasted on trial and error.
If you create or modify emitters, there are some improvements in this area too - including
the ability to choose a particle Shape Image from any emitter library, use your own images.
You can also add points to line emitters and deflectors, and much more.
For the first time since the rebirth of Particle Illusion, brand-new emitters have been included
in 2020.
With fresh, new ideas and updated variations of classic particle effects, we hope these
new emitters will inspire you — they will only work in this newest release of Particle
Illusion.
Title Studio has been improved in Continuum 2020 with new presets templates for ease of
use and faster editing.
Plus better integration with imported Cinema 4D models; resulting in the best and most
accurate renders of any 3D model plugin for any NLE or compositing system, complete with
more shaders and materials than ever before.
This is just a taste of what's new in this major update to the Boris Continuum package.
To get a better feel for the new filters, the new transitions and the huge improvements
and increased featureset in Particle Illusion and Title Studio, head over directly to borisfx.com.
You'll also learn about the improvements to Mocha integration, other new features and
host compatibility.