Looking for FCP plugins recommendations with the look and feel of the History Channel. Recently I noticed they have a light ray transition that's pretty cool. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on that transition in particular. Also looking for FCP film transitions in terms of film burns and melts... not sure the technical terms.

I have nattress which has some film looks but not the transitions I'm looking for. Any suggestions or feedback appreciated.

best to check with Shane as he cuts a lot of History Channel stuff. of course, no way of knowing whether what you're looking at specifically is cut on FCP, and even if it is, whether a particular effect is produced with FCP or a different app altogether
that said, what you mention sounds very Trapcode Shine like to me and I seem to remember Shane was quite partial to that ... although, sadly, Trapcode's plugins aren't compatible with FCP at the moment.
you might have a look for Idusrial Revolution's Volumetrix plugin as a solution

and of course, you have to remember that some of these effects and transitions are "built" from clevery crafted combinations of a number of different effects and methods, not just a one shot wonder transition!

sorry if thats teaching Grandma to suck eggs, but one never knows.

Well call me old fashioned, but I like cuts or an occasional dissolve.

That being said, a simple google search will give you a pretty good starting place.

David, you're so old fashioned ... classy, but old fashioned.

90% of these plugin packages have free demo downloads. Just download a bunch until you find something you like. I resommend anything Magic Bullet.

Just go to a place like www.toolfarm.com that stocks just about everything and see what is on offer.

Also looking for FCP film transitions in terms of film burns and melts...

http://www.kafwang.com/eureka/Disc%20images/NEW/Eureka!FREE.sit

Yes - that lot's free. In there, there's a great one called 'Vapour Across'. I like it a lot.

Eureka is a wild combination of cheese and claret. I use 3-4 of the filters and ditto transitions from the V4 set on a regular basis (variations on a dissolve or flash frame). There's some quick but nice film looks - the controls are truculent, don't expect subtlety.

It's not Magic Bullet, but... it's not Magic Bullet. :)