Red Giant Universe

About this release

Universe is a plugin collection rather than an application, and it installs into the editing and compositing programs already on the machine so the tools appear in the effect list beside the built in ones. The collection covers well over two hundred transitions and effects, all rendered on the graphics card, which means they preview in real time on the timeline instead of forcing a render before anyone can judge whether a look is working.

The transition set is the half most editors use daily. Glitch, light leak, zoom, whip pan, warp, film burn, blur and stylised wipe transitions, each with enough parameters to be adjusted into something specific rather than dropped in as a preset everyone recognises. They apply on a cut like any native transition and retime by dragging the handles.

The effect side covers looks, damage and generation. Film and video emulation with grain, halation and gate weave, retro broadcast and analogue tape artefacts, glow and light treatments, chromatic aberration, text and shape generators, and a set of stylisation tools that turn footage into line art, halftone or painted treatments. There are also practical tools among them: sharpening, denoise, chroma correction and a knoll style optical flare system.

Because the whole collection is accelerated, the working experience is the point. Parameters adjust while the timeline plays, layered effects stack without the preview collapsing, and final render times stay proportionate. The plugins load in the standard host formats, so the same install serves whichever editor or compositor a given project uses.

What it does

Over two hundred tools

Transitions and effects covering looks, damage, generation and practical correction in one collection.

Graphics card accelerated

Real time preview on the timeline rather than rendering before judging a look.

Deep transition set

Glitch, light leak, zoom, whip pan, warp and film burn transitions that retime by dragging handles.

Film and analogue emulation

Grain, halation, gate weave and broadcast tape artefacts with real parameter control.

Optical flares and light

A full flare system with editable elements alongside glow and light treatments.

Loads in the host you use

Standard plugin formats so one install serves several editors and compositors.

Changed in this version

• New transitions and effects added to the collection.
• Lower graphics memory use with several effects stacked on one clip.
• Preset browser rebuilt with search across the whole collection.
• Improved colour management when working in log and wide gamut timelines.
• Faster final render on high core count machines.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive to a short path.
2. Close every editing and compositing application before running the installer.
3. Run the installer and select which host applications receive the plugins.
4. Open the host once and let it complete a full plugin scan before loading a project.

Worth knowing before you start

File details