The evaluation of the true "worth" of wipes for the Toaster is subjective at best. What pleases one videographer may sicken another. In other words, different strokes for different folks. When evaluating Toaster wipes I have found it is better to make my report based solely on the actual quality of the wipe, in terms of originality and execution. To that end I have examined the wipes included on the recent "Wedding Wipes" CD-ROM (All Occasion Video Productions, 1250 Southampton Road, Philadelphia, PA 19116). The CD-ROM contains just two folders, one labeled FLYERC 1 and the other labeled COLOR-. There is no need for documentation as installation of the contents is fairly straightforward. I would add here that you will actually have to copy the contents of the FLYERC 1 folder to a Flyer drive, as the Flyer Clips contained in the folder are rather long and will not play by simply clicking on the CD-ROM's icon in the Toaster screen.

The FLYERC 1 folder contains 5 Flyer Clips as follows: CLOUDS is a 24-second time-lapse of cloud patterns. It is actually three separate video clips of clouds with fades placed between each section. The "A" and "Z" points are not loopable. FIRE is a video clip of a close up shot of flames. It is approximately 15 seconds in length and is easy to loop. FIRWORKS is a 23-second video clip of a fireworks display in progress and could possibly be looped. RECEPT 1 is an LightWave-animated CG page in which the words "The Reception" fly in over a graphic background plate. It is 10 seconds in length with a still CG at end. Finally, STORYB 1 is also a LightWave animation with the words "Our story begins many years ago" scrolling up from the bottom over a WaveMaker-generated background. It is a 10-second animation with still CG at end.

The COLOR- folder contains a total of 44 Toaster 4.1 effects (4 overlays, 4 wipes, and 40 transitions). Most of the effects are transitional - with the program flying out over an animated background and the preview flying in. Also included are special introductions that would be useful for a wedding video, where a fully textured 3-d frame will pull away with the program inside and reveal the preview behind it. The frames surrounding the preview or program also have lettering imbedded on the side of the frame to introduce different songs or special parts of the wedding reception. Some of the overlays have the same "Coming up next" theme�. "A few words from Mom & Dad", "The Toast", etc. These transitions work well in a wedding video and give the production a more personalized look.

Some of the effects however, had little to do with a wedding video. The "Army Tank" and "Frankenstein" wipes stretch the imagination a little TOO far in my opinion, but maybe there's someone out there who can read more into it than I do. There are a number of wipes that would be good in other applications and holidays. Using my infamous "Bob Scale" I have rated the 44 effects into three categories: (G) Good, (F) Fair, and (P) Poor. I also have a tendency to give lower-than-usual scores on my scale. It really has to have some "WOW" factor to impress me. At the same time I realize others might find more applications for some of these wipes than I might in the course of production chores, so I weigh each vote accordingly. Of the 44 total effects I scored 23 Good effects, 16 Fair effects, and 4 Poor effects. One effect, SPINRO 1.ANI did not load at all and the crouton appears in the folder as a brush. A quick email to Steve Newbert at All Occasion Video confirmed that the effect is supposed to be an overlay of 2 long stem spinning roses. It seems that there was a mix up of the 3.1 version with the 4.2 version on the CD that was sent for review. He assured me it would be corrected on future CD's that are produced.

I also observed several effects that looked "jerky". Some of the effects, which were set to default in FAST speed, looked too fast for my purposes, but by opening the effect up and selecting a slower rate, the transition looked smoother. I'd like to add here that as a test I rendered many wipes using RenderFX and they all rendered very smoothly with no problems. Of the 44 effects, I found 16 effects which did not fit into the wedding category. Although they may be usable in other applications, this IS advertised to be a "Wedding Wipes" collection, so readers have been forewarned!

All in all, for the money ($59.99 + $4.00 S&H), I feel the special titled effects alone should be worth the investment to anyone doing wedding videography. A few of the effects could be called "cheesy" but having said that I will remind us all that in this business we have set some pretty high standards for ourselves. Some of these effects may elect snickers from fellow videographers, but considering the market niche I still think they can do the job and please the client. The company has started working on a volume 2 with more wedding wipes, some party wipes and more Flyer Clips - mostly introductions for weddings. You can see more examples of this collection by visiting their website at: "http://www.aovproductions.com/weddingwipes.html"

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