Instant Boris Effects (Instant Series) [Paperback]

Chris Vadnais (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1578202620 | ISBN-13: 978-1578202621 | Edition: 1

Boris plug-in applications, including Graffiti, FX, and Red, permit video editors to add titling, effects, compositing, and 3D capabilities to their nonlinear editing (NLE) systems. Documentation and training materials have been notoriously lacking for these applications. Instant Boris Effects is a complete guide for novice and intermediate users of Boris Graffiti, FX, and Red applications. Beginning with an orientation to the user interface, readers learn how masks, splines, containers, and filters work. They'll learn how to apply Boris effects through their NLE, and the benefits of using them as stand-alone applications. The second section provides detailed, step-by-step instructions on building example effects that readers can incorporate into their own work - including rotoscoping effects, animating still images, text on a path, 3D extruded objects with media mapping, and clean chroma-key effects.

Create your own awesome effects and titles with this complete guide for users of Boris Graffiti, FX, and Red.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris Vadnais works as a television and radio producer for the U.S. Air Force Broadcasting Service. He has extensive experience in motion effects software to include Adobe After Effects and Boris Red. He also has years of experience including formal training with many of today's leading non-linear editors such as Avid systems and Sony's Vegas. He is the host of the Digital Media Network's Boris FX online user forum and serves as a software beta tester and Vegas application interaction expert for Boris FX. His electronic news gathering work in Iraq earned him a first place award in the Air Force Media Contest, a Communicator Crystal Award of Excellence, and an Honorable Mention in the Department of Defense Thomas Jefferson Broadcast Journalism Awards. His job as a military broadcaster and producer has also taken him to Slovenia, Turkey, Germany, and finally Italy where he currently lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (January 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578202620
• ISBN-13: 978-1578202621
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,097,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful & well-priced, October 16, 2004

By 

H. Ashwold - See all my reviews

This review is from: Instant Boris Effects (Instant Series) (Paperback)

You can't beat what you get for the price. This book lays out in plain English how to use the Boris interface to do all the things you need to do and more. Many comparable technical books cost twice what this one costs or more and don't deliver any more for your money. Within minutes after looking through this book I had successfully accomplished something I had tried to create four times before with no luck. This book has earned a spot next to my computer.

Now, to reply to the negative (and what I consider unfair) review posted here:

"I pre-ordered this book thinking I could add some advanced graphics to my video projects for school (Vegas 5 and Boris Graffiti) - Boy, was I wrong!"

Indeed, you were. First of all, Graffiti is a titling tool -- you won't get many effects out of it since it only does titles. You need FX or RED to create effects. Secondly, there is an entire section in this book dedicated to using Boris with Vegas 5. Similar material can be found on the Boris website, but if I'm not mistaken, the author of this book is also the author or a contributor of those tips.

Having said that, if you only use Graffiti, this may not be the right book for you. If you want to know how to get the most out of FX or RED, it may be the best $25 you can spend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Press release with a few tutorials, February 5, 2006

By 

Unzar Jones (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Instant Boris Effects (Instant Series) (Paperback)

This book should be offered as a throw-in by Boris as it expends more words praising the program than actually teaching how to use it. Some features of the software have useful and informative tutorials, i.e. splines and masking, but others, such as motion tracking have only a press-release type blurb and are useless. The author writes well, just not enough about things that count. Don't buy unless you can look through it and see if it covers the topics you need.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boris the bore, September 13, 2005

By 

Liquid Editor (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Instant Boris Effects (Instant Series) (Paperback)

Technically good book, but Boris is not intuitive, so I would have preferred a book with lots of examples on what the amazing Boris does and how to achieve the effect, rather than to sit down and wade through the interface, the preferences, open GL etc. Perhaps I should have watched someone doing it on a DVD instead.