Making Magic Bullet Looks work in CS3 - Please Help!!!
 

Hello,

I just purchased Magic Bullet Looks and was excited as heck to get to test it.

I downloaded a trial of Premiere CS3 and installed it and then installed Magic Bullet Looks.

CS3 sees the effects but when I apply the "Looks" effect to a clip and then click "Edit" it opens the "Looks" standalone interface but it does not show a preview of my clip - just a grey screen. I've attached a screenshot below. What is the cause of this and does anyone know how to fix it? Is it possible that it's because I'm using a trial version of CS3?

Im running Premiere CS3 with Magic Bullet for Editors installed. I didnt know if it would work as it was made for prem 2.0. While im still testing it, so far its worked. I did have a crash on a rather large project, but im not sure if it has anything to do with magic bullet. It could be that you have the trial version.

I don't think it is, now that I think about it, because I have trailed Magic Bullet Looks before with a trial of CS3... so I'm just confused.

Anyone know a solution?

It may be a video overlay problem....

what video card are you using...

I have two, for four monitors: Nvidia 7800 and 8600.

I'd suggest you could be right given the 8 series has full screen video overlay disabled (which I wasn't using anyway), but Red Giant's Magic Bullet Looks FAQ page lists the 8800 as a recommended card for Looks, so I'm confused.

EDIT: Just disabled the 8600 and tried it with a single monitor out of the 7800 and it still failed. Just a grey screen. Everything else about it seems to be working fine though.

This is annoying.


EDIT: I have a feeling that it is just opening the standalone interface without linking it to CS3. The screenshot attached shows that down the bottom right there is no "OK" button to return the look to any host application. It should definitely be there!!

You say you had Magic Bullet Editors working with Premiere CS3? I recently tried installing it with CS3 and the effects don't seem to show up in the effects palette.

No, I had the trial version of Magic Bullet Looks and it worked fine but since I bought it I've had no luck.

Looks is the updated version I believe.

When I click on "Video Effect" the attached screenshot is what I get.

Interestingly, all of the presets for "Misfire" are listed under Misfire but none of the presets for "Looks" are listed - but I don't know if they're supposed to be.

I don't think they are, because I got this running on my sister's laptop with exactly the same software - trial of CS3, trial of Prospect HD & purchased Magic Bullet Looks and it worked like a charm.

On my PC though... still no good...

Look for the MB Looks in a different folder under effects, they are Presets not Filters.

The Magic Bullet Looks filter that is in there with the Misfire stuffs is all that controls the whole gizmo! The rest are presaved custom presets that are in a folder in effects somewheres :)

Carl

Really?

I just looked through every folder and found nothing. I'm not sure if you're supposed to be able to access the presets from the CS3 effects panel though, rather you simply apply the "Looks" effect and then click "Edit" and then manipulate it in the standalone interface and select your preset in there... I think...

I've only used it with PPro2.0 so I cannot really say as far as CS3; but the way it works with 2.0 is there are a bunch of presets for the looks effect (if that is what you are looking for) as a separate folder under effects. Has the same icon as your Presets folder above it.

It's a top level folder, such as Presets, Looks Presets, Video Effects, Video Transitions, etc. I wish I could help further, but I haven't used CS3 + MBL. Sorry!

C

Odd that the trial version works and yet the retail version of Looks does not. My only method for dealing with the Editors issue up till now has been to export footage back and forth between Pro 2 and CS3... a pain but it works. Will probably be looking into MBL soon. Hopefully the retail version will work.

When you apply "Looks" to the clip, isn't it supposed to open a separate UI that contains all your different look presets and tweeking controls? I think that's how Looks differs from Editors from what I've read.

Correct - and it does, but what opens is the screenshot attached in post # 5 of this thread - which does not give me a preview still of the clip I'm editing and has no "OK" button in the bottom right for export back into CS3.

I'm very frustrated. I have contacted Reg Giant support but have heard nothing for almost a week.

Indeed. Now I'm a little leary of purchasing Looks for CS3. I'd download and test the trial version to compare notes but, as you've already said, THAT worked. I'd stay on Red Giant though. If I do decide to purchase Looks I'll check back with this thread ASAP and let you know if it does the same for me.

Magic Bullet Looks Works with CS3
 

I assume that that you run MB under CS3 PremierePro. When you assign the videoeffect Magic Bullet Looks to the clip int the timeline you have to press the EDIT buttom and than the message "loading Image data" appears and shows the frame where the cursors stays in the timeline. As you have an empty image data space some initial setup for PPro (registering, graphic adapter, etc.) must be the reason for not working.

Be also aware that the menu access is quite in a rare way, you must move the cursor utmost left or right on the screen to access the (really comprehensive choice of) options.

I run the latest CS3 and the latest MS Vista without problems. As usual the rendering times are quite long but the result is great !

Helmut

SW Vista Ultimate 32 bit, Adobe Production Premium, PPro CS3 3.1.1. (374), Cubase SX 4.1., Korg Triton Le, HW Intel D975XBX2, RME HDSP9632, Quad Q6600, 3 GB memory, Marvell 61xx 1 TB Raid 0 storage, GeForce 7600 GS silent, ext equipment MX200+166XL

All of the above happens. However, what you describe below does not:

I get no image, nor any way to export my effect back into Premiere Pro CS3.

So how do I investigate this? How do I figure out if this is the case?

Yes, I've run the trial version and I've installed this and CS3 on my sister's computer and it works fine but not on this.

John,
with a previous version I had a similar problem. Their knowledgeable support could help me. The support guys will return 2nd Jan (see also their website)
hb

Well, I decided to purchase Looks... and in an attempt to duplicate your
situation I first downloaded the trial of Looks.

It worked fine with CS3, then I purchased the Looks and they sent me the
key to unlock the Looks... I unlocked Looks, and it works just fine....

The only issue I noted was that the Looks was loaded to the common and the plugins folder for AE... but not in the plugins folder for Premier...

So Premiere would load the Looks without issue while AE would report that more than one copy of the Looks was present... to fix that I just removed the Looks folder that was in the plugins folder of AE and let AE use the common folder...

If your still having issues, I'd at least download Looks again and re-install...
you may have a corupt file....