Exploring the Affection for Continuum: Senior Editor Kevin P. McAuliffe's Perspective
Kevin P. McAuliffe, a senior editor at Extreme Reach, is a firm believer in the power of Boris FX Continuum plugins. These tools have become an integral part of his Media Composer workflow, assisting him with a wide range of tasks from rotoscoping and tracking to color grading and effects application.
McAuliffe's goal is to make his work look like a version of something done by the Hollywood trailer houses, and he finds it exciting to push the bar forward in Media Composer. One of his favourite projects involves matching his graphics to the graphics provided by big Hollywood trailer houses.
The Continuum 2021 bundle, which includes the Cinematographer Toolkit (BCC+ effects), offers realistic light effects, lens flares, and the Flare Editor for customization. McAuliffe's go-to effect is the Linear Luma Key, which allows for easy removal and repositioning of logos and credit blocks, as well as adding drop shadows, all from within the same effect.
Continuum plugins streamline repetitive and complex VFX tasks, enabling precise manipulation and enhancement of footage to support visual storytelling. Key common tasks include rotoscoping and matte creation, advanced compositing and VFX fixes, motion tracking and planar tracking, colour grading and correction, and applying stylized effects and transitions.
Editors value these plugins for their robustness and integration across major editing and compositing platforms like After Effects, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. The tools reduce manual, tedious tasks in the editing suite, enabling faster and more creative problem-solving within post-production.
McAuliffe cannot remember a time when Continuum was not in his Effects Palette. He teaches Media Composer at Seneca College and has a popular YouTube channel dedicated to the software. He has been using Continuum for a long time and has seen it evolve through multiple versions, with the integrated Mocha tracking feature being the one he uses most frequently.
The BCC+ effects in Continuum 2021 will continue to grow, providing better and faster effects with each yearly release. The Continuum development team is always listening to feedback from users and making improvements to the bundle. The team is also active on the Avid Editors of Facebook page, answering Continuum questions, taking effect suggestions, and logging bugs directly from feedback.
For artists new to Continuum, training is essential, and Boris FX provides training on their website and YouTube channel. McAuliffe's favourite tasks in Media Composer involve blurring logos, adding 3D extruded text, gobo lighting, compositing green screen work, and adding drop shadows to logos.
In summary, Boris FX Continuum helps editors with rotoscoping, tracking, compositing, colour grading, effects application, and fixing visual issues to enhance storytelling and streamline VFX workflows. It is a one-stop toolkit for everything an editor could ever need, according to McAuliffe. He can be followed on Twitter.
- McAuliffe relies on the Continuum plugins, like the Linear Luma Key, to easily edit logos, add drop shadows, and enhance his Media Composer projects, which aim to mimic the work of Hollywood trailer houses.
- The Continuum 2021 bundle, with its integrated Mocha tracking feature, streamlines complex VFX tasks such as rotoscoping, color grading, and effects application, making it an essential toolkit in McAuliffe's workflow, especially for artists new to Continuum.
