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welcome back to filtergrade today we're
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taking a look at boris fx
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optics and if it's worth it to purchase
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you decide you want to buy it check the
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link in the description to purchase with
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boris fx is the maker of many powerful
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creative tools used by professional
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you may already be familiar with
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sapphire or mocha pro
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but today we're doing a deep dive into
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optics a photoshop and lightroom tool
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used for lighting effects and color
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it also comes as a standalone program
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it comes with 160 filters and thousands
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of adjustable presets giving you an
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ton of options optics can be downloaded
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directly from the boris fx website
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once you've downloaded the file just
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install it now you'll need to activate
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start optics either as its standalone
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program or in photoshop or lightroom
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select activate node lock license in the
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pop-up license window and select
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ok in the next screen choose activate
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then just paste your serial number into
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the activate key field and click next
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if activation is successful then it'll
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tell you that optics has been
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successfully activated
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if it was unsuccessful make sure you
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check your registration code
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or try registering offline once optics
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is installed it's super easy to use
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you can use the standalone program and
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or you can use photoshop with your image
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in photoshop click on filters
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then boris fx then optics the optics
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interface will open up in a new window
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applying a single filter is no more
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complex than putting an instagram filter
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you'll see the nine categories of
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filters as tabs on the bottom of the
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and then you'll see a thumbnail preview
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of the effects to apply one just click
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some of the effects are actually groups
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of effects for example if you click on
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the film lab category and click on looks
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you'll see a huge list of preset filters
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just click on any of the presets to see
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it applied to your image
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but that's not the end of the story the
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truly powerful thing about optics is the
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ability to edit the parameters
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clicking on the parameters button brings
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up an extensive controls list
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these controls let you adjust and
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you can adjust color amounts diffusion
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and more the available settings will
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depend on the chosen effect
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but they're incredibly easy to use what
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could be easier than just a slider
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it's great that there's no need to type
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in numbers on various parameters and
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wonder what they're doing
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it's newcomer friendly by directly
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showing what each setting changes while
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also having a wide enough choice of
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that professionals can adjust their
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images to their exact needs it's the
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borisfx optics also supports layers on
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the left side of the interface you'll
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see a layer panel and it works very
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once you add a new layer you can just
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select a look for that layer
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you can then adjust the blending mode
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using standard photoshop blend modes and
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you can adjust the opacity
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being able to work with multiple layers
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is a massive upside and is a reminder
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that you are indeed working in something
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compatible with photoshop
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when you're done with your image you
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click on the done button represented by
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the biggest apparent downside to editing
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in optics for photoshop
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is that when you say you're done it
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means you're done the image and all of
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its filters will be merged down into one
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and reopening optics does not bring back
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the previous workspace
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there is one way you can re-edit images
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and that is by saving setups
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when you save a setup you save the
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various filter layers and their settings
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but not the project itself you can save
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the setup then load it up later when you
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bring an image into optics
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then you can adjust the parameters to
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fit your new image considering that
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optics works as a photoshop plugin it's
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a little bit unintuitive at first
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that you can't open up an editable
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project like a photoshop file
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however considering the fact that you
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can save your own preset combinations of
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filters optics can have a pass here
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you just need to get used to doing it a
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little differently on the bright side
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this makes it easier to create a fully
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custom preset in order to apply it to
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you can also edit with masks these
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include gradients among other effects
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they modify existing layers for example
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adding a gradient will turn the layer's
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into a gradient the layer will have a
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mass preview and you'll see the image in
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each of these masks is adjustable on the
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image itself so drag the visual elements
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of the mask to change it
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you can even create a custom mask path
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to mask around a more precise area
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you can also drag around the points in a
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custom mask after creating it
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optics also comes with some great
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additional masking tools including easy
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masks that can separate the background
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with so many filters it makes sense that
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optics lets you set favorite effects
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with a filter selected you can easily
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click on the star symbol and then see it
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in your favorites folder to easily apply
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you can also create fully custom presets
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based off of existing ones
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after adjusting the parameters of a
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preset simply click a button on the
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parameters page to save it
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give it a new name first then it will
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show up in your custom presets folder
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optics also has tools to compare images
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as you put filters on
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you can view side by side vertical split
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or snapshot this lets you see your
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before and after which is especially
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useful on more subtle edits and will be
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users of lightroom the interface in
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optics is intuitive and pretty easy to
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navigate with standard features like
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zooming changing resolution and a
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optics includes a detailed pdf
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instruction manual that not only dives
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deep into the standard functions of the
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but also has a guide for each effect in
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this is incredibly useful since each
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effect has specific parameters unique to
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the parameters are pretty simple to
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understand especially since they're all
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on a single sliding scale with a live
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however the extra descriptions are very
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useful for editing faster
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the filters and presets and boris
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effects optics are pretty impressive
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especially since they can be infinitely
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there's a filter for just about
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everything so it's worthwhile to go
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through the included pdf manual
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there are so many options in this
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program that you might never use all of
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them or even see all of them
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one of the best filter packs is the
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sapphire pack which brings in effects
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from boris fx sapphire
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these effects have been extensively used
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in tv shows and movies
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while they're not specifically
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categorized as sapphire you can use the
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search bar and type in
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s underscore as every sapphire effect
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starts with this prefix
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these example images on screen now use a
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variety of types of effects
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from simple color overlays and gradients
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to complete changes of the original
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all photos have had only one single
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filter applied and mostly stick to
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default settings with minor adjustments
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to more accurately show the preset
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effects found in boris fx optics
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at the price of 99. for an annual
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subscription optics seems like a great
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purchase for any photographer looking to
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add professional filters and effects to
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that being said the sheer level of
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choice is overwhelming and on top of
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that not every effect is a winner
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it's a little like scrolling through
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netflix just because there are hundreds
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of choices doesn't mean all
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the choices are good ones but a talented
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editor will be able to make any of these
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effects work for them in the right
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whether it's a simple color overlay or
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generating lightning elements
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and the good effects are worth it
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especially for the ease of use
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many of the possible effects in optics
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can be achieved in photoshop or
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but optics is specifically designed to
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be easier to adjust filter masks and
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generate specific elements
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overall the interface is fantastic and
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can help speed up the editing process
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and the effects themselves are very much
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worth the cost overall
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optics gets a recommendation from filter
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what do you think of boris fx will you
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be adding it to your editing arsenal
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if you do decide to purchase optics make
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sure you buy it using the link in the
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description of this video
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because it helps us out a lot if you
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enjoyed this video be sure to like and
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subscribe and leave a comment down below
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