It’s hard to remember the last time we’ve been really<\/em> excited about a new software launch. While it seems like other software companies have been slowly plateauing, the good people at HitFilm<\/strong> have quietly been perfecting their software. Their latest release, HitFilm 4 Pro<\/strong>, is an amazing reminder that video innovation is not dead.\u00a0HitFilm gave us the opportunity to review their new software. Here’s our experience.<\/p>\n The professional video editing world is notorious for creating very unapproachable products, but HitFilm is completely the opposite. Users with just a very basic understanding of video editing software will be able to figure out how to use HitFilm 4 Pro<\/strong>. The software is essentially Premiere Pro\/Final Cut Pro and After Effects combined into one editing\u00a0platform. The sleek design is easy to navigate and the buttons and icons are all virtually self-explanatory.<\/p>\n There are two main layouts\u00a0which you will use when working inside of HitFilm: Edit and Compositing. In this regard, it’s very similar to DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Lightroom.<\/p>\n The editing workspace looks and feels like a modern NLE, complete with video and audio effects. While it doesn’t have all of the features associated with modern day professional video editing applications, it has all of the basic tools you need to do a simple-to-intermediate editing project. In my experience with HitFilm’s editing interface, I never once ran into any playback issues or bugs, which is more than I can say about Premiere Pro.<\/p>\n The compositing interface is essentially a hybrid 3D version of After Effects \u2014 but unlike After Effects, you don’t have to open a separate software. Compositing is a great descriptor for this tab\u00a0because that’s clearly what HitFilm was designed to be. Inside the compositing interface, you will find a series of effects, tools, and features that are ‘sexier’ versions of After Effects plugins and effects. Unlike other high-end compositing softwares, HitFilm is a layer-based software, just like After Effects.<\/p>\n The buttons and icons are big in HitFilm, which is fantastic. You don’t have to squint your eyes to see them. However, this can occasionally lead to some cramped\u00a0working conditions if you are working on a laptop screen.<\/p>\n Difficulty:<\/strong> 3\/10<\/p>\n If you have any experience with modern video editing applications, you’ll quickly be able to pick up HitFilm. We were able to jump right in and use HitFilm\u00a0without any problems whatsoever. HitFilm\u00a0uses human language to label their software and it makes the entire editing\/compositing process very easy. If you’re completely new to HitFilm, you could probably learn most of the features within just a few hours of messing around in the software.<\/p>\n When you launch HitFilm, you are immediately welcomed with a page that has tutorials and articles about HitFilm. They also have an ever-growing network of forums online<\/a> that answered all of the questions we had about the software when we did a quick Google search.<\/p>\n If you’ve spent time with\u00a0Adobe After Effects, you’ll quickly be able to jump into\u00a0HitFilm.<\/strong> There are a lot of features that you will immediately recognize:<\/p>\n There are also many other basic features that HitFilm\u00a0includes, like blending modes, audio tools, and editing tools.<\/p>\n HitFilm’s exclusive built-in features are impressive… really<\/em> impressive. Here are a few of our favorites.<\/p>\n Pro Skin Retouch:<\/strong> If you’re working on a fashion film or commercial, the skin retouching tool inside of HitFilm\u00a0is a really great feature. You can easily select skin and smooth\u00a0it out. You can also adjust skin saturation, exposure, and glow in this effect. There’s even an option to convert your skin selection into a black-and-white mask.<\/p>\n Hyperdrive:<\/strong> While this effect is rather specific, if you’ve ever wanted to create a Star Wars-esque hyperdrive effect, you can easily do so using the Hyperdrive Effect in HitFilm.<\/p>\n Action Tools:\u00a0<\/strong>Working on an action film? Using the built-in gunfire effect, you can customize and create 3D muzzle flashes without having to use pre-rendered action effects like Action Essentials from Video Copilot. Users can adjust cone shape, flare distance, and color all from inside the gunfire effect. There are also amazing smoke, explosion, tornado, debris, fire, and rain effects all built-into HitFilm.<\/p>\n All-in-One Color Grading Tools:\u00a0<\/strong>While you’ll find your normal vibrance, sharpen, and levels effects in HitFilm, there are also a few special color grading tools that deserve a mention. The coolest color grading tool is the bleach bypass effect which can easily be dropped onto any layer. Users can adjust the bleach bypass intensity using a slider. There is also a cine-style effect\u00a0designed to emulate cinematic color grades. While I wouldn’t say any of these features would ever replace color grading by hand, they can be quite fun to mess with.<\/p>\n Distortion Tools:\u00a0<\/strong>HitFilm includes built-in distortion and noise tools that can be used to simulate a distorted video or film. Most notably, HitFilm\u00a0has an awesome ‘Film Damage’ effect which can be used to create a Grindhouse<\/a><\/em> effect to your footage.<\/p>\n 3D Object Importing:<\/strong>\u00a0You can easily import 3D models\u00a0into\u00a0HitFilm just like video files. This is a fantastic\u00a0feature that gives HitFilm a considerable advantage to After Effects, which utilizes the Cineware effect to import 3D objects. In a way, HitFilm 4 Pro’s native 3D tools work a lot like Element 3D.<\/p>\n Form-Based Particle Emitter:<\/strong>\u00a0HitFilm has a an amazing tool called Atomic Particle Effect which essentially\u00a0creates a particle system that surrounds both 2D and 3D objects alike. This tool works a lot like Trapcode Form, but it’s included in the software.<\/p>\n There are plenty of other exclusive\u00a0features\u00a0in HitFilm,\u00a0but these are just a few that stood out during our review.<\/strong>\u00a0HitFilm has a few particle generator effects that are extremely customizable and support 3D. In a way the particle generator built-into HitFilm is like Element 3D and Trapcode Particular, and Trapcode Form combined. You can even use moving 3D animated models<\/strong> in the particle generator. For more info on the particle generator I recommend checking out HitFilm’s site<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0It should also be noted that HitFilm\u00a0is incredibly fast at rendering out all of the effects listed above. There were only a few\u00a0moments during our review that HitFilm\u00a0didn’t play\u00a0all of the effects in real-time. However it did have a few\u00a0crashing issues while we were reviewing it.<\/p>\n While I’m sure there are a few features\u00a0missing in this list, here are a few of the features we found lacking:<\/p>\n HitFilm\u00a0is a\u00a0compositing software before anything else. The developers of HitFilm\u00a0have clearly spent a lot of time perfecting the individual effects, and their hard work is much appreciated by the PremiumBeat team. HitFilm\u00a0is a great software for quickly adding ‘cool’ effects to your project. In fact,\u00a0a lot of the effects and presets found in HitFilm\u00a0can’t be found in After Effects by default\u00a0(fire, smoke, snow, etc.).<\/p>\n HitFilm’s compositing workflow is incredibly fast. Simply clicking a tab is so much easier than using the Adobe Dynamic link or exporting footage. After Effects users will be surprised that you can even watch footage without having to render it first (gasp).<\/p>\n The\u00a0software is designed for beginner-to-intermediate level\u00a0VFX artists and compositors. Its large, sleek interface makes it incredibly easy to use, but somewhat difficult to organize once you begin to have more than ten layers.<\/p>\n With HitFilm, what you see is what you get. This is great because you can easily learn and use the software. But it’s bad in that there is clearly a creative ceiling you will hit when using HitFilm. You could spend your entire career learning new things in After Effects. I don’t think the same could be said about HitFilm.<\/p>\n HitFilm\u00a0is faster at compositing than After Effects, making it a powerful tool for VFX artists.\u00a0If all you do is compositing\u00a0and VFX work, you would probably be more happy working inside of HitFilm\u00a0than After Effects (once you get used to the workflow).<\/p>\n Here’s our quick (and highly opinionated) feature comparison between\u00a0After Effects and\u00a0HitFilm.<\/p>\n Score:<\/strong> HitFilm 10, After Effects 10<\/p>\n HitFilm\u00a04 Pro<\/strong> will never be able to replace After Effects entirely, but\u00a0I don’t think that’s what its\u00a0designed to do. HitFilm\u00a0is an easy-to-use alternative to After Effects that offers users a set of powerful features that would be incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to simulate in After Effects. In most cases it felt like HitFilm 4 Pro<\/strong> was at least twice as fast as After Effects.<\/p>\n There are some situations in which you would probably want to use HitFilm\u00a0over After Effects. If you’re working on an indie action sequence, you’d be mistaken to use After Effects over HitFilm. But if you’re working on a 2D animation, there’s no way you would want to use HitFilm\u00a0over After Effects.<\/p>\n If\u00a0After Effects is beginning to annoy you, or if you’re looking for a quick 3D compositing solution, I highly recommend downloading the\u00a0free trial from HitFilm<\/a>. After you begin to familiarize yourself with the effects, you’ll be able to get a better idea as to when you might want to use HitFilm\u00a0over After Effects and vice-versa.<\/p>\n HitFilm 4 Pro is the most exciting video software I have ever used.<\/strong> The program was clearly designed with artists in mind. From fast playback to 3D models, HitFilm\u00a04 Pro<\/strong> has\u00a0virtually everything an aspiring filmmaker, compositor, or VFX artist\u00a0needs to create amazing works of art. Sure it’s not After Effects, but in a lot of ways it’s better.\u00a0HitFilm is trailblazing\u00a0a new era\u00a0of video editing software, and if Adobe doesn’t up their game, they may be left in the dust.<\/p>\n HitFilm Pro 4 Costs $349<\/a> and can be purchased directly from HitFilm’s website<\/a>. You can also download a no time-limit free trial<\/strong> from HitFilm’s website. Just keep in mind that you will only be able to export 30 seconds of YouTube SD quality footage in the trial. Hitfilm is compatible with\u00a0both Mac and PC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n What do you think of Hitfilm 4 Pro?<\/strong> Share in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" HitFilm 4 Pro is a hybrid editing and compositing software that could change the video editing industry. Here’s our review of this awesome new program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":67409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,3292,3843,715,3291,67,39],"tags":[284,755,481,4796,4793,4794,4795,1228,5376],"class_list":["post-class-post-67036","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-after-effects","post-class-category-audio-editing-2","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-industry","post-class-category-motion-graphics-2","post-class-category-product-reviews","post-class-category-video-editing","post-class-tag-3d","post-class-tag-animation","post-class-tag-compositing","post-class-tag-editing-software","post-class-tag-hitfilm","post-class-tag-hitfilm-4-pro","post-class-tag-hitfilm-review","post-class-tag-vfx","post-class-tag-video-editing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Interface<\/h3>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Tabs.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Video-Editing-Interface.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Compositing-Interface.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n
\nLearning Curve<\/h3>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Video-Tutorial.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n
\nNon-Exclusive Features<\/h3>\n
\n
\nExclusive HitFilm\u00a0Features<\/h3>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Skin-Retouching-Tool.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hyperdrive.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Action-Demo.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Color-Grading.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Distortion-Demo.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Car-Model-Demo.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Particle-Demo.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hitfilm-Error-Code.jpg\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n
\nFeatures HitFilm Is\u00a0Lacking<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Text-Editing-Box.jpg\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n\n
\nHow Is It Different Than After Effects?<\/h3>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Cloud-Simulation.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Lens-Flares.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n
\nHitFilm\u00a0vs. After Effects: Who Wins?<\/h3>\n
\n
Can it Replace After Effects?<\/h3>\n
\n
Quick Answer: Sometimes<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hitfilm-Shockwave-Feature.gif\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n
\nConclusion<\/h3>\n
Cost<\/h3>\n
![\"HitFilm](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hitfilm-4-Pro.png\" "\\"HitFilm")
<\/p>\n