Publisher: Sugar FX/Noise Industries
Platform: Mac Only
Description: Plug-in for targeting and video simulation

MSRP: $79
Download Demo: Click Here
Samples: Click Here

Expected Release: Available Now
Review Date: July 1, 2009
Reviewed By: Mark Bremmer

Reprinted by permission from Microfilmmaker Magazine.

Remember when you got your first bicycle? How you couldn't wait to show your friends? HUD (Heads Up Display) from SUGARfx will have the same effect on you. If you have any leanings towards sci-fi, adventure, espionage or covert operations in your work, HUD will make you feel like a kid in a candy store.

SUGARfx puts plug-in usability first and then tucks so many cool little features into HUD that you will be playing with it for some time and rethinking your storylines to include using it.

HUD is designed to be used with After Effects and Final Cut Studio/Motion and iMovie. Regrettably, it's a Mac only plug-in that is managed by the excellent Noise Industries plug-in manager called FX Factory. The Quartz Composer's visual abilities of the Mac platform are the reason that this plug-in in not cross platform so I don't even know if there is a way to make it cross-platform compatible in the future. As such, PC users might just have to switch to Mac to get their hands on it.

Ease of Use
I love it when developers actually come from the real world. The folks at SUGARfx have done an outstanding job of making our lives easier. Absolutely everything is modifiable, easy to work with and key frame. The plug-in comes with 3 foundational settings: Target, Binoculars, and OSD (On Screen Display). Each of these core areas has a wealth of options and abilities. But here's the cool part: you aren't presented with the controls for these options until you enable them. At the very top of the core areas, users are simply shown a preset pull down and check boxes that enable features. Upon activating a feature, the related controls are then displayed. Payoff = no long list of controls to deal with unless you actually need them.




The control sets for each option are clearly labeled (important when you have a multitude of options enabled) and are comprised of a 1-3 sliders and/or input areas for color blending, rotation or anything else relevant to that specific feature.

Users can either use the numeric input controls for moving the various widgets and gizmos around the frame or simply click on their respective anchor points and drag them to wherever they are needed in the shot. Items like dynamic "noise" text continually change line length and wrap. Gizmos spin with smooth variations. On-screen data updates automatically when zooming or working with focus.

All this to say that much automated sophistication is simply laying in the wings and waiting for the user to engage it if desired. The automation can be controlled to the users' content. It just doesn't get much nicer than that.

The actual use of HUD is really a documentation-free endeavor. However, if you want to pick up some of the finer points of using the HUD, the .pdf 'documentation is brief, excellent and there are some online videos available for even easier learning. The one area that is worth reading up on is how to create your own artwork for inclusion into the HUD Binocular capabilities.




Depth of Options
My biggest surprise was the depth of options (and options within options) that are neatly hidden from the user until enabled. This is yet another area where HUD shines brightly. For example, in the Binocular core setting, in addition to the wide array of video and camera effects at your fingertips, users can also overlay and animate their own imagery. All you could want and more.

Essentially, all of the iconography, data-points, registration marks are appropriately available for the core option selected. The OSD core lets you select from histograms, battery low, variable interference, different reticules and more. It's like taking the OSD from multiple camcorders and putting them all at your finger tips for you to choose from.

Time markers and data associated metrics are just a click away in the film modes and actually track time. They can also be set to unique starting times of your choice and then progress in real-time.

Text is as flexible as the fonts you have in your system. Size, placement, color and blending are all controllable.




There are enough spinning gadgets and whizmos to choose from that any self-respecting alpha geek will be smiling. Iconography is available from pull down selectors within each of the categories that it is available in. And for the Target and Binocular modes, a wealth of sensical and nonsensical information items plus widgets are at your disposal.

Presets are nice, but saving your own customization is even nicer. You can easily create your own presets to ensure consistency between HUD implementations with the click of a button. Super sweet.

While the Binocular mode allows you to add some of your own imagery, I was left wanting the same feature in both Target and OSD modes. While there are a bevy of options available, duh no surprise, us creative types want more. I'm a total newb at using the Quartz Composer from Apple, so I don't really trust myself with creating an "improvement". However, the ability to add some iconography that would lock to animation features already built in would be nice.




Performance
When you engage HUD and begin using many of its options, you are asking your computer to do a good deal of work. These are sophisticated abilities and they do exact a render-time penalty. Considering that these effects are probably confined to short screen time, the calculation and render issues are not prohibitive by any means - just something to be aware of. So, performance both real-time and render-time is highly contingent upon the user's computer.

In fact, on screen updates while preparing your work takes awhile, too, unless you are blessed with the latest in quad-core technology. That can be a little frustrating when accustomed to more instant real-time interaction afforded by other plug-ins, but to be fair, HUD is simply doing more than most of the other plug-ins that I own.

The creation experience is very good and the end results are first rate - regardless of your computer's abilities.

Value
At $79, HUD costs more than a sandwich. If you're not currently planning any targeting or Cloverfield types of presentations than getting HUD is strictly a matter of how much disposable coin you have in your pocket. It is a one trick pony for sure.

That said, this is another one of those plug-ins that pays for itself in one use. The sophistication that HUD brings to the table lets users create and finesse looks in seconds that would require an hour or more to pull together by other means. The real claim-to-fame for HUD is the animation capabilities that are built into it. It's one thing to hack together some static artwork for a brief screen presence, but adding animation that leaves your audience thinking, "Wow, that's really cool", is another.

Additionally, if you have "http://toolfarm.stores.yahoo.net/dida10.html">Digieffects Damage plug-in, you can create some excellent targeting imagery with extra "issues" easily. The video distortion effects in SUGARfx HUD are confined to the source imagery/video itself and not the on screen widgets and icons. For truly cataclysmic display failures, you'll need some extra help.

Final Comments
I like plug-ins; they save time. However, HUD not only saves time, it's just flat-out fun to play with. If you like shiny things and are easily swooned by techno-cool then you're already salivating and I don't need to say anything more.

I would say this is an essential plug-in for anybody that needs what it does. There simply isn't another way to produce what HUD does as fast or with the sophistication as it does.



About the Reviewer:
Mark Bremmer has operated his own commercial studio for 15 years. He's been fortunate enough to work for clients like Caterpillar, Amana, Hormel Foods, Universal Studios Florida, and The History Channel; producing stills, digital mattes and animations. Mark contracts regularly as an art mercenary with production houses that shall remain nameless by written agreements. His production pipeline is Mac-based, with the FCP Studio2 workflow. He loves Shake and Motion. And his family.

Labels: HUD, MicroFilmmaker Magazine, Noise Industries, reviews, SUGARfx