effects

Now that people have had some time with their iPhone 4S, I'm sure many have had plenty of time to take pictures using the upgraded 8-megapixel camera. On it's own, the iPhone 4S takes great shots, but what if you want something more?

This week's iOS app collection is all about adding effects to your images. The first lets you flip through numerous effects and stack them for amazing results. The second offers tons of premade effects, but also gives you the option to adjust everything to your liking. The third app lets you play with the focused area of your image to produce visually unique images.… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Big-budget sci-fi movies and computer-generated visual-effects are inseparable and probably will be for years to come. That doesn't mean there isn't still something magical about using engineering and craftsmanship to make lifelike, "in the flesh" versions of the other-worldly or futuristic characters these movies bring us onscreen.

That's part of the reason director Shawn Levy decided to build huge, gadget-rich "puppet" versions of the boxing robots from the new Hugh Jackman action movie "Real Steel," which opened in theaters yesterday. The Dreamworks film takes place in the near future when human fighters have been replaced by mechanized pugilists.

There are plenty of CG shots of the automaton ring warriors training and going at it round by round. But Levy had Legacy Effects construct working "real life" versions of the creatures via animatronics to interact with Jackson and the other actors on-set.

During a recent press event for the flick, Levy said he was amazed at how well the robots worked and how easily his cast rubbed elbows with them. … Read more

MobileMonet lets you make great-looking hand-drawn and artistic representations of your images. Though there are many photo apps in the iTunes app store that let you distort and add effects to images, with MobileMonet you can create truly unique projects using a two-step system. You either start with a photo from your library or you can snap a fresh picture using your iPhone camera. From there, MobileMonet makes a black-and-white line drawing of your image. Touch the screen to use a spray-can tool to add colors back in to your photograph with paintlike effects. You have a number of variables … Read more

Meet MotionStudio 3D, Corel's inaugural entry into the animation and motion graphics software category. Geared more toward novices and prosumers than professionals, this capable newcomer lets you create 3D text and titles, lathe objects, and a variety of animations with relative ease.

MotionStudio's interface is intuitive, which should be comforting to motion graphics novices. The Edit Window displays your project as you work, and can reflect changes in near real-time--with virtually no waiting for rendering. Also, you can drag objects directly within the Edit Window for a more tactile way to customize basic aspects like position, rotation, and … Read more

Though it's a sad comment on humanity, apps that play sound effects (preferably crude ones) are a popular source of entertainment. It's in our DNA. I'll bet that early cavemen invented the whoopee cushion before they mastered fire.

But if your sound effect needs are beyond the scope of your garden variety flatulence app, there's an excellent and free piece of software out there called SoundPlant that allows you transform any Mac or PC into a custom soundboard.

Honestly, the idea for this How To came to me as I was walking through my local Halloween … Read more

Adobe Systems will beef up its digital video software through the acquisition of technology and employees from Iridas, the company announced Thursday.

The company's video software--Premiere Pro and After Effects--are geared for higher-end users, and the company is investing heavily in them at the same time that videography is democratizing. The arrival of video SLRs, most notably Canon's 5D Mark II, has brought relatively affordable gear into the hands of a much larger audience.

The Iridas Speedgrade software offers the ability to refine video in a number of ways, notably what's called color grading, which can shift … Read more

Custom slideshows are a great way to display your favorite photos and videos to friends and family. PhotoStage Slideshow Producer shows that slideshow makers don't need to be difficult to use to produce great results.

The best sign of a well-designed user interface is when you can jump into a program without having to consult the help feature first. PhotoStage Slideshow Producer has just such an interface. However, should you need it; a link to an ample online Help page is available. PhotoStage's process is broken down into steps so you can't go wrong. We started first … Read more

To achieve a miniature, tilt-shift effect on subjects, one can typically rely on specialized lenses or miniature-styled programmed modes found in today's cameras. A Norwegian design studio called Skrekkogle has done the opposite with its Big Money Project.

Instead of "shrinking" a subject with special effects, they have created a massive 20:1 euro cent coin to make a subject appear small, like a miniature scale model, in comparison.

Skrekkogle's giant coin was available for sale at its Web site, but is, alas, currently out of stock. More pics below. … Read more

My Sketch makes your photos into hand-sketched artistic drawings in only a few easy steps. Upon launch you get the option to take a new photo or choose one from your iPhone photo library. Once selected, My Sketch immediately has you crop the image to your liking, either in portrait or landscape layouts. The next step is to choose a style, and My Sketch offers 20 different types of sketch styles, from long-line sketches to pastel styles. It takes a couple of moments, but once the high-res sketch is finished, you have a chance to apply some finishing touches with … Read more