FxFactory Developer

FxFactory is a tool for rapid development of visual effects plugins targeting Final Cut Pro and Motion through the FxPlug SDK, and Premiere Pro and After Effects through the After Effects SDK.

FxFactory also allows you to bring your own apps and plugins and use our platform only for distribution and licensing: Intro to External Third-party Products.

When using FxFactory to develop a product from scratch there are unique advantages over traditional approaches:

• Leverages numerous GPU technologies for the best performance, such as OpenGL, OpenCL, Metal and Core Image.
• Uses its own proprietary node-base compositing engine, FxCore, so that effects can be created without writing a single line of code.
• Lets you create sophisticated, dynamic parameter UI that integrates cleanly with the host application.
• Sports a large number of custom parameters that give users the best-possible UI to access a feature in the plug-in.
• Makes it super-easy to add advanced rendering capabilities to your plug-in, such as high-precision rendering, anti-aliasing, motion blur, object tracking, etc.
• Supports the development of products based on Motion Templates, for developers seeking to target Final Cut Pro X exclusively.

Four types of products can be created with FxFactory:

1. Native visual effects plug-ins, supported by all video applications.
2. Motion Templates, supported only by Final Cut Pro.
3. 3D Text Styles, supported by Final Cut Pro and Motion.
4. Proxies, a generic container designed to distribute external applications and plug-ins that rely on their own technologies for installation and execution inside host applications.

Native plug-ins are developed through the FxPack product type, centered around the ability to use Quartz Composer or FxCore to deliver plug-ins compatible with Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, After Effects and Motion:

• Introduction to Plug-In Development

The second product type, FxTemplates, focuses on visual effects for Final Cut Pro created via Motion Templates:

• Introduction to Template Development

The third product type is called FxTextStyles. It allows developers to manage and distribute 3D text styles that can be used Final Cut Pro 10.2.2 (or later) and Motion 5.2.2 (or later):

• Introduction to 3D Text Styles Development

The fourth product type is called FxProxy. Among the many purposes they serve, proxies allow FxFactory to represent, distribute and interface with products that are external to our software. Such products use their own installer and their own code to execute inside host applications:

• Intro to External Products

The differences between the various product types should be of minimal significance to end-users. Moreover a single deliverable product comprise a bundle of various underlying product types. For example, a FxTemplates product can be bundled with native plug-ins (FxPack). Complex dependencies can be established between products of different types.