Chapter 11. Applying Special Effects

Special effects are filters that change the appearance of video either to fix underlying problems (curative special effects) or enhance the video artistically (artistic special effects).

Microsoft's offerings for both purposes are fairly limited—about what you would expect from a free program. For example, Movie Maker has no real tools for correcting improper white balancing, a frequent problem for all videographers (and explained in detail in “The white balance issue” in Chapter 2). In addition, Microsoft's artistic special effects, though probably ideal for teenagers, are too flamboyant for my conservative tastes.

Fortunately, software developer Pixelan has two inexpensive effect packs that provide color ...

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