Technology Tell's Review Of The OS X Version Magic Bullet Grinder

Magic Bullet is a favorite here at HDSLR Shooter. This plugin adds so much great stuff to Adobe’s already feature full suite that it’s almost a must have. Their latest app, Grinder, steps away from the usual plugin mode that has become Magic Bullet’s packaging of choice, as Grinder is actually a separate program that helps simplify a common and involved process.

Grinder takes your Canon DSLR footage and simultaneously converts and copies it, making it ready for editing in Premiere. While this isn’t strictly necisary, many people like to do so, and it helps clean up the workflow while also backing up footage. Now it can all be done in one drag and drop (and a few settings calibrations) motion with Grinder.

Here is what Technology Tell had to say about Magic Bullet’s newest release:

Short and sweet, Magic Bullet Grinder is a tool that takes repetitive processes—converting Canon DSLR/HDSLR video and creating proxy copies—and automates it. Now granted, this ability is part of video editing software itself, but using Grinder means you don’t have to tie up your editor; plus, it has options to save additional steps.

Unlike other apps in the Magic Bullet Suite, Grinder isn’t a plug-in, but a separate application. Once you open it, adding footage is a simple drag-and-drop process. From there, you set up the automation—adding timecodes, choosing a frame rate to conform the video to (original, 24, or 25 fps), and the Final Cut-friendly formats you wish to convert the video to. For the proxy video, you can also choose to burn in the file name and timecode as well.

They go on to commend Grinder’s simplicity and speed, mentioning that you can even edit the files that finish first while the others continue to convert.

There are some drawbacks however. As Tech Tell puts it:

The big drawback with Grinder is that as of this writing, it only supports video-capable Canon cameras:

• Canon 5D mk II (1080p30, 1080p25, 1080p24)

• Canon Rebel T2i, 7D, 1D Mk IV (1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p30, 720p50, 720p60)

• Canon Rebel T1i (1080p20, 720p30)

They do mention that Magic Bullet does have plans to update to support more cameras beyond this handful of Canons.

You can see Technology Tell’s full review at www.technologytell.com.