User Profiles

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Tell us about Bonfire Labs
Simply put we specialize in "motion picture" design for any medium. Our work ranges from traditional TV spots to a city block of lights in Times Square to UX design for various devices. We work with ad agencies, design firms, and directly with Fortune 500 companies to tell their stories through motion. Our company is the sister company of Phoenix Editorial, one of San Francisco’s leading commercial editorial houses.

What tools do you use?
Our studio uses the right tool for the right job, but the hammer in our arsenal is Adobe After Effects. Almost everything we do runs through AE at some point. Other tools currently in my Mac’s dock today include Maya, Cinema4D, Boujou, Nuke, Final Cut Pro, InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator. We also have flame and smoke for client supervised finishing.

How did you find out about Falloff Lighting?
We’ve been using the Falloff Lighting plug-in since it was first released by Buena a number of years ago in the Depth Cue suite. These plug-ins have been a secret weapon in our studios toolbox. At the time the plug-ins filled a temporary void in After Effects which I was sure would soon be addressed by Adobe. It’s now over five years later and unfortunately these features are still missing. Digieffects has since taken on the package, and are doing an amazing job updating the plug-ins and giving them the love they deserve. It’s great to see Falloff Lighting available a la carte for only $49. Now everyone can get this much needed feature for a very reasonable price.

Tell us about this latest project using Falloff Lighting.
When Adobe hired us to create the launch stinger for CS4, we needed to create a transition to tie together three disparate scenes. Our solution was to dive into the Master Collection box which contained cubic "rooms" based on the adobe mnemonics. We created these rooms with the camera inside intersecting 3D boxes (made from AE solids) lit with AE‘s lights. These lights shoot their light indefinitely, so what initially looked flat came to life when Falloff Lighting was applied. The subtle gradations and glows simulated the look of a raytraced 3D shader. But unlike a 3D scene, it rendered in minutes instead of hours. And it’s incredibly simple to use.

What do you like most about Digieffects tools?
Digieffects has always been known for creating stylistic plug-ins to solve common post-production problems with simple to use tools. When we need to add an element to a shot like scanlines or video interference we go straight to our Digieffects tools. Now with the addition of the Depth Cue tools Digieffects is charging into the world of utilitarian plug-ins to fill the gaps found in After Effects, and the a la carte pricing will allow everyone to join the fun.

Would you recommend Digieffects to a friend or colleague?
I just did this morning!