PROJECT STUDIO ONE is an Effects Sampler, designed to provide tools and materials that, according to the designer, could sweeten or enhance projects for every single user of any version of NewTek' Video Toaster.

The CD, which was 9 months in the making, contains a total of 152 Effects. There are 52 Color, 86 Matte, and 14 standard or regular effects and transitions. These effects can be utilized for both 3.x And 4.x Toaster users. Since non-AGA computers can only use Matte wipes the Color wipes and Matte wipes are located in separate sub-directories in the 4.x folder.

For 3.x Toaster users Cine.Man has included CineMatte or CineColor Projects which can then be loaded into your switcher. Directories for the various Folder names will appear on each Switcher bank. Cine.Man has thoughtfully arranged these effects into folders, just like the interface you are used to seeing and working with. Folders included in Volume One are "Animals", "A/V Arts", "Border", "Dissolves", "Flight", "Industry", "Organic", "Overlays", "Patriot", "People", "Seasons", "Shapes", "SoftEdge", "Special", "Sports", "Trajectory", "Transportation", "Weddings", and "Wipes". In folders like "Seasons", "Holidays", and "Sports" for instance, you will notice that only fall and winter effects are included. Cine.Man's Volume Two promises Spring and Summer effects.

Cine.Man has adopted an interesting crouton style, in that an attempt was made to depict the program-to-preview transition by simply looking at the crouton, which visually describes a motion through a still picture. Black designates Program, while White refers to Preview. Thus, if a crouton shows a dog running in the middle of the graphic with black on the left and white on the right, the crouton visually describes a transition of a dog running by and "dragging" the Preview from right to left over the Program. For Matte wipes, a light gray color is used for Preview. Wherever the story of an effect action can be shown by such, a snap-shot of an effect frame is used for the crouton. In the instance when an effect action is not apparent, arrows are used.

In the 4.x Toaster version the color matte image is shown in color. These croutons were created using ProWave's RenderFX and ProMix tools as well as the "Makeicon" program, which allows you to convert Framestore Files into Effects Files. The "Makeicon" program is included on the CD.

I will not delve into the bundled software on this review, but suffice to say that there is adequate documentation on the CD to guide you thought the process.

Dimension Technologies' Program Wipe Studio Lite is also included on this CD for those of you with 3.x Toasters who want to ensure that the Cine.Man effects will work properly in their projects. Wipe Studio Lite was used in the creation of all but 22 of the Cine.Man effects found on this CD. Since it has been included, now you, too, can create custom flying logo transitions for clients. Tutorials have been included for Wipe Studio Lite on the CD.

Even though there are 152 total effects on this CD, some of them are "Pre" and "Post". In other words, some effects are "pull-on's" and some are "push-off's". Some may be "In's" and some may be "out's", but using the same graphic scheme. Based on a total number of 109 different type effects, I have devised a unique rating system. This system is not based on "Wow" factor or even how it could be used. Rather, I have rated these effects by how well the transition works in general, without regard to whether it is only good for a particular application. A "NO" (11) means that this particular effect leaves much to be desired in my estimation. Next is "FAIR" (40), which means the effect is usable, but borders on lame. "OK" (50) means it is a perfectly usable effect for a particular need, and "GOOD" (8) is the top of the heap: A good idea which was well executed. Considering there are 98 effects which are completely usable out of a total of 152, my overall impression is that the CD is well worth the money, even if you have to wade through some wankers to get to the gems. Not to mention all the "freebies" included. Many thanks to Dimension Technologies and ProWave for allowing Cine.Man permission to bundle their fine programs with this CD.

Rating these wipes and transitions is based on a very wide scope of applications. It is like a clip art collection. There are LOTS of usable graphics but it would depend on who is using them and what situation they are used in. Some will be great for commercial applications, others might be good for still photographers and still others might only find a handful useful in their particular application. There is a little here for everybody, and Cine.Man has attempted to cover a VERY wide field of use.

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