The Best Video Effects For Promo Videos
“Making video effects...asks for a creative way of approaching problems and understanding computer hardware.”
Jaap H. Boerhof, founder of FilmImpact.Net, has been a video editor for many years. He started building video transitions in 2009 using Final Cut Pro FX Script. When he moved to Premiere Pro, he re-wrote his transitions in C++. Before this interview, Jaap and I met at Adobe Video World in Seattle, WA. It was there I learned that he actually began his career early studying computer science and then ended up finishing his degree as a drama teacher. We laughed and then realized that computer science + drama may just be the perfect combination for video editing. In this interview, below, learn about how and why he started building his awesome video effects.
Gal: What is Film Impact’s elevator pitch?
Jaap: Film Impact builds high quality video transitions for Premiere Pro. If you are looking for modern style and smooth transitions this is the place to be.
Gal: What inspired the creation of Film Impact? When/where did it all begin?
Jaap: When I was working as a video editor, I created a lot of promotional videos. Doing so, I was particular interested in video transitions because they helped me creating some cool effects quickly. I used video transitions not just for transitioning from one scene to another, but also for concealing and revealing texts, lower thirds, logos, etc. I wanted to have more of them, so I started building them.
Gal: What style/genres of videos are Film Impact transitions made for?
Jaap: Film Impact transitions can really be used for any type of video production. Using more or less, of course, will all depend on the style you are after. Some of the video transitions could be used for creating a flash back in a movie, while others could be perfect for adding more energy to a promotional video. Some of them work beautifully on texts while others are excellent for logo reveals. We have quite a wide range of different effects that all will fit in one or more genres.
Gal: When did you start building effects?
Jaap: I started building video transitions for Final Cut Pro in 2009. In 2010 the Film Impact website was launched. In the end of 2011 I wanted to port the effects I’ve built for Final Cut to Premiere. In 2012 Transition Pack 1 was born. This was a Premiere exclusive product and it still is by the way.
Gal: What is the favorite effect that you have built?
Jaap: My favorite effect is probably the Impact Light Leaks. I’ve spent months on getting it right. The main goal was to create an effect that would only have one button: ‘Generate’. By pressing this button, the effect should come up with something that would look really cool and different every time. This effect has really helped me out on many projects that needed some extra spice. It is a dynamic effect with nice color blending and movement.
Gal: What role does hard sciences (math, engineering, physics) play into the transitions and effects you build? Were you a developer or Engineer before you started making video effects?
Jaap: Making video effects involves using a lot of math for creating those curves, blends and rotations. It also asks for a creative way of approaching problems and understanding computer hardware. I’ve been programming machine code as a teenager. Then studied computer science in my early twenties. But I actually finished with a degree for Drama Teacher.
Gal: In addition to the Transition & Bounce Packs that you have for sell, do you create custom effects for customers by order/request? What are some examples of custom effects you have done?
Jaap: I have done some effects on request. One example is TMZ. This celebrity news website was moving from Final Cut to Premiere and wanted to have some of their frequently used video transitions ported to Premiere Pro.
Gal: What is your favorite customer video that has used/integrate Film Impact effects in their video?
Jaap: There is a NBC news promo made by Eric Naso that uses almost all video transitions of Transition Pack 2. It is fantastic to see how he works with the video transitions for only a couple of frames. His usage of our video transitions help to create a very energetic promo - I love it!
Gal: Why Premiere Pro and not another editing platform? (This is for Premiere Gal, so obviously, I love and use Premiere, just curious why you love it!)
Jaap: Coming from Final Cut Pro, transitioning to Premiere was actually quite easy. By the time I was moving away from Final Cut, Premiere Pro CS5.5 was a game changer with it’s 64bit Mercury Playback Engine. I immediately liked the speed of the program and felt quite comfortable from the beginning. Premiere Pro became very solid with CS6. Now with Creative Cloud new feature additions and updates keep coming at a frequent rate. The narrow collaboration with After Effects and other Creative Apps is working very well.
Gal: What is your favorite native Premiere Pro effect?
Jaap: I have to say it is the Page Turn video transition. Are you able to find the controls that will change direction of the turn?
Gal: Page turn! I do not know the controls for that. I'll have to do a tutorial for the audience in the future on some of the native Premiere Pro Effects. Lastly, who is your favorite editor or video hero out in the world?
Jaap: My favorite film maker is David Lynch. I love the way he experiments with film. He is very intuitive. Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite movies.
Gal: Anything else?
Jaap: Film Impact is actually a Dutch company.
Gal: Thanks, Jaap! Also, to you out there reading this, don't forget you can get 15% off Transition Pack 3 using promo code "PREMIEREGAL". This code expires April 2017.
You can follow Jaap's work at FilmImpact.Net on Twitter and Vimeo.
Jaap H. Boerhof, Founder of FilmImpact.Net