I’m a special effects MASTER!

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to the latest phone launches and see some pretty smart innovations lately. Camera technology on the latest high-end smartphones is getting better all the time, but inside there’s some clever software tweaks that are doing some pretty amazing things.

As a quick example, we’e seen Dan getting turned into a pirate on the Sony Xperia Z2..

..and here (about 2 minutes in) is some of the interesting camera trickery you can do with Samsung Galaxy S5..

Meanwhile Lenovo are offering up some photo editing options too ..

This is all well and good, but what about the phone you have right now? What tricks can that do? Well, if it’s anything like the un-named, battered handset I have right now, I’ll bet that it can’t do much. However, someone recently introduced me to something called FX Guru. It, according to the description, will let you add “Hollywood Special Effects to any video”. You basically film something, then add one of the effects on after. There’s 12 free effects to choose from and a load more online if you want to buy.

Im a special effects MASTER!

First impressions, let me tell you, aren’t that great. The app is like some sort of DVD menu with music and strange icons. Click “Start” and things get a bit better with a board showing the effects available. There’s special offers on new effects and extra effects that you can download. You can click each one and see a preview so you know what to expect.

Im a special effects MASTER!

Once you’ve chosen your effect you’ll then need to film some footage. Most of the effects are related to outside footage, such as the “satellite crash”, “UFO arrival” or the “Bazooka”.

Im a special effects MASTER!

Perhaps the best part of this app is the fact that you don’t have to keep the phone completely static when you’re filming. The effects will be applied and they’ll appear just as they would if those spaceships or rockets really were buzzing across the skies.

Im a special effects MASTER!

After filming your footage and the effect has been applied, the resulting video will be saved or you can share it on the various social networks.

Here’s my resulting video from the FXGuru app . I’ve done a couple using the free effects and you can see how well it keeps the added effects in the frame, even while I’m wobbling the camera around. Nice.

You can grab the app on iPhone or Android. The app itself is free but you’ll find that a number of effects need to be purchased.