VideoCopilot’s optical flares effect plugin for after effects made a huge splash yesterday with the product site going live and divulging all the features of the plugin, the availability, and the price (finally) of this long hyped plugin. There are many videos showing the features of the plugin and its uses, one of the most promising is the ability to have “on lens” simulations of micro abrasions in the lens for added realism which is very cool.
I don’t think that I have seen a plugin this robust or feature-rich, as it struck me as an entire lens flare application sitting within after effects. Is that overkill? perhaps. Does it make it any less cool? Absolutely not. I will tell you this though… ten years ago, a lens flare effect would have gotten you laughed out of our office, clearly because the default tools sucked and/or blew.
