Red Giant Unleashes the Universe

Red Giant plugin maker for some of the best filmmaker editing tools available have unveiled Universe (subscription based tools) and a new coding application Supernova.

50 new free and premium tools. GPU-accelerated. Multi host-app. Rapidly expanding. Community driven.

Universe essentially is a creative community with subscription based access to new tools and plugins (much like Adobe’s Creative Cloud). RG have decided to price their ‘premium’ subscription very reasonably at a low monthly subscription of $10 (monthly), $99 (yearly) and $399 (lifetime).

“It’s rare we get to introduce technology that is entirely new,” said Sean Safreed, Red Giant co-founder and CTO, who has been working with his team, behind the scenes, on Universe for the last year and a half. “Universe is an entirely new foundation for tools. It marries the simplicity of Javascript with the power of the GPU to deliver speedy renders and pixel-perfect results. Users are going to love how quickly we offer new plugins.”

In total, Red Giant is releasing an unprecedented 50 new plug-ins at once – with more already in development. Every tool in the Universe library of effects and transitions is GPU-accelerated, both Mac and Windows compatible, and works across multiple host applications including: After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X and Motion. The Universe library of tools is continuously growing—new effects and transitions are added regularly, and existing tools are updated often, based on user feedback.

In addition to the expanding library of free plug-ins, Universe also offers Premium membership, which gives users access to even more tools – including new effects and transitions, as well as existing Red Giant favorites ported over to the new Universe platform (such as Knoll Light Factory EZ, Holomatrix, Retrograde, and ToonIt). Premium membership is available through monthly and yearly subscription, as well as a one-time lifetime membership fee.

What truly makes Universe unique, however, is it’s community aspects. Through Universe Labs, members get to help choose what effects and transitions Red Giant builds next – while premium members are eligible for invitations to early betas of new products, allowing users to give early feedback and actively help shape Universe’s expansion over time.

In addition RG is releasing Supernova, a coding software that will allow developers to create plugins that work with Universe, Aharon Rabinowitz, Red Giant’s Director of Content and Communities had this to say about Supernova:

“I’m a motion graphics and visual effects artist, and definitely not a coder…Even so, along with the Universe development team, folks like motion designer Harry Frank and I have been secretly cranking out plug-ins for the last few months. Our new development tools have made it surprisingly easy. I’m super excited that we can finally share the stuff we’ve been making.”

UPDATE:

Reddit user Graymachine claims to be one of the developer for the new platform and had this to say on r/AfterEffects when asked if RG plan to add all of their acclaimed plugins and tools:

“Universe IS Red Giant plugins.. but I think I know what you mean. As in, is Universe a subscription gateway to the ENTIRE collection of Red Giant plugins?

As of now, no. Universe is its own suite, it’s own thing.

That said, the technology is there with the back-end (Red Giant Link). Considering the reception that AE CC received, we’ve collectively been surprised at the number of people looking for a subscription model for the entire collection of plugins from Red Giant.

I think the opinion has already loudly been voiced on this, all the way to the top of Red Giant. I can’t say for sure, but it would be a logical step for the future of any plugin maker these days.”

Good news for those of us hoping they will eventually add Trapcode to their suite.
You can read the rest of the thread here.

Red Giant Universe Free membership is available starting today, with the Premium membership available for purchase in March. Premium pricing will be $10 (monthly), $99 (yearly) and $399 (lifetime).

Sign up for a free Red Giant Universe account today at http://redgiant.com/universe.

Universe at a Glance:
Red Giant Universe is a community with access to an ever-expanding library of new tools for filmmakers, editors, VFX artists and motion designers. Universe includes: