Red Giant Software has released Universe 1.5, the latest update to its online library of effects and transitions for common editing and compositing packages, adding six new effects and transitions, three of them free.

The new version includes 25 new preset flares, a GPU engine for rendering speeds of up to real time, added controls for Light Factory Spectacular, integrated alpha generation with Knoll Unmult. First they have Knoll Unmult, which is a free little plugin that comes along with Knoll Light Factory to knock out the black on solids with lens flares on them. Red Giant has made this free to download since it is such a simple, yet useful utility.

Free automatic alphas and retro film effects
Users of the free version of the library get a pretty useful set of tools, including UnMult, which automatically generates an alpha channel for footage shot on a black background, such as practical fire or smoke elements.

The tool is an updated, GPU-accelerated version of Knoll UnMult.

There is also a GPU-accelerated version of old Magic Bullet plugin MisFire, for simulating film damage effects; and a new luminance-driven Gradient Noise transition.

New transitions and noise effects for Premium users
Premium users get a more customisable luminance-driven transition, Turbulence; CrumplePop Film Transition, a retro-style transition based on scans of archival film headers; and an Expressionist Noise effect.

The existing ToonIt Cartoon and Paint tools also get Expressionist Noise presets for creating a “wet, fluid look”.

In addition, existing tools Glitch and Holomatrix have been updated: the former to include new frame rate controls, and the latter to automatically take account of upstream effects.

Pricing and Availability
Universe 1.5 is available online now. Basic membership is free; Premium membership costs $10 per month, $99 per year, or $399 for lifetime membership.

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Created by John Knoll, Photoshop co-creator and Star Wars effects guru, Knoll Light Factory is one of the industry's most popular motion graphics tools. It is most famous for its high-fidelity simulations of light effects called flares, which simulate reflections from a very bright light source as seen through a camera's lens. Knoll Light Factory is Hollywood's go-to tool for adding interest to text or logos or extra pop to FX explosions. Now includes CS5/64 bit compatibility, new custom flares, Knoll 3D Flare and a new Lens Designer for Adobe CS5 users
Customizable Presets
Choose from 70 presets or customize them to suit your needs.
Lens Editor
Use the custom lens editor to create and save your own unique effects for future use.
Custom Light Effects
19 lens elements in the main plug-in create custom light effects. Each element is also included as a separate plug-in for creating complex motion graphics.
Automatic Tracking
The auto track feature tracks multiple points and adds multiple identical lighting points to a scene.
GPU Support
Offers up to 10x render speed improvements, compared to a single CPU
Auto Obscuration
Automatically hides or reveals a light effect as the light source moves behind another object, automatically adjusting the light's brightness as it is obscured.
Light Factory EZ Plug-in
Included with the package, Light Factory EZ gives you access to all 70 flares with a single click.
Alpha Generation
Generate integrated alpha channels automatically with Knoll Unmult.

Knoll Unmult Download