
Red Giant has just released the newest episode of Cheap Tricks, their handy VFX tutorial series hosted by Daniel Hashi Hashimoto, the Action Movie Dad: What's Kraken? Fractured Ice Surface Tutorial. Out now on the Red Giant YouTube channel, Hashi takes on the challenge of breaking the ice using dynamics in Maxon Cinema 4D, then brings it all together with live action footage in Adobe After Effects for an awesome VFX shot.
WATCH NOW: Cheap Tricks Episode 15 - What s Kraken
In this tutorial, viewers will learn about basic 3D modeling, dynamics, texturing, and compositing in Adobe After Effects, and how to do this using footage with lens distortion. Hashi also offers instruction on 3D normalization, which he recently covered in a separate standalone tutorial.
As for breaking the lens-distorted ice to make it look like a monster is chasing the ice skater in his What's Kraken Cheap Tricks tutorial, Hashi explains, The footage has got some pretty severe lens distortion - and I hate lens distortion. So much that I've always just avoided it or ignored it But this is why I'm thrilled that the latest edition of VFX Suite includes a new tool called Lens Distortion Matcher. It's the simplest way I've ever been able to undistort my comp and then re-distort my work to match the original."
Follow along by downloading a free trial of both Red Giant Complete and Maxon Cinema 4D to get access to fully functioning versions of all of Red Giant and Maxon's tools. Visit the Red Giant blog to learn more about how Hashi successfully shatters a sheet of distorted ice and uses 3D normalization to simulate a lake monster breaking through and chasing an ice skater.
The Red Giant/Maxon tools used in this tutorial includes:
Maxon Cinema 4D: Cinema 4D is an Academy Sci-Tech award-winning professional 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software solution. Its powerful and flexible toolset makes 3D workflows more accessible for design professionals.
VFX Lens Distortion Matcher: Lens Distortion Matcher is a new tool that makes matching the distortion of a lens incredibly easy, so that elements can be seamlessly composited in a shot. Lens Distortion can also determine the type of lens used for a shot on its own, in an instant. As curved lines are identified that should be straight, the lens distortion tool quickly solves the lens.
VFX Reflection: Reflection is a plugin for After Effects that makes it easy to add a reflection to your layers. With controls for softness, distance fade, length and more, this effect goes far beyond the standard methods for creating reflections.
Magic Bullet Looks: Magic Bullet Looks is designed to give filmmakers powerful looks and color correction, with over 200 fully-customizable Look presets and over 40 tools to customize or build new Looks. Get the best, most-intuitive color correction experience in the industry.
The Red Pledge
Red Pledge is Red Giant's commitment to customer happiness, with no purchasing hassles. Learn about the Red Pledge guarantee at https://www.redgiant.com/company/red-pledge/
Request a Red Giant Media Review Kit
Members of the media are invited to review Red Giant Complete as well as any individual tools or product suites from Red Giant. For more information or to request a product review kit, please contact Alexis Isaacs at alexis@zazilmediagroup.com.
About Red Giant
Red Giant is a software company made up of talented artists and technologists who collaborate to create unique tools for filmmakers, editors, VFX artists, and motion designers. Our company culture is focused on finding balance between work and life we call it the double bottom line this philosophy helps us ignore complexity in favor of building simple tools that yield giant results. Over the last decade, our products (like Magic Bullet, Trapcode, Universe and PluralEyes) have become the standard in film and broadcast post-production. With over 250,000 users, it's nearly impossible to watch 20 minutes of TV without seeing our software in use. From our experiences as artists and filmmakers, we aspire to not only provide tools for artists, but inspiration as well. Watch our films, learn from over 200 free tutorials, or try our software at www.redgiant.com.
About Maxon
Maxon is a developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions. In January, Maxon and Red Giant closed a merger of the two companies. The combined company's award-winning Cinema 4D, Redshift 3D and Red Giant products have been used extensively to help create and render everything from stunning visual effects in top feature films, TV shows and commercials, cutting-edge game cinematics for AAA games, as well as for medical illustration, architectural and industrial design applications. Maxon products are available directly from the website and its worldwide distribution network. Maxon is part of the Nemetschek Group
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/03/2026
COW Jobs: Editor de V deo - Direct Response, Performance Ads - Brazil, Remote
Brie Clayton March 11, 2026
0 Comments
Editor(a) de V deo (Direct Respon...
12/03/2026
Avatar: Fire and Ash Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 11, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist delivers premium cinematic color across 2D, 3D...
12/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Timoth e Chalamet: We Care About Ballet and Opera Boston Conservatory at Berklee students and faculty respond to the actors recent comm...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Matrox Video will showcase its vision for the future of live production at NAB 2026 in Las Vegas, April 19-22, highlighting how broadcasters and media organizat...
11/03/2026
Geneva-based technology company, GlobalM SA, is presenting its GMX Distributed Video Gateway, a software-defined IP media transport platform designed to replace...
11/03/2026
Backlight (booth #N2829), the company behind Iconik and Wildmoka, which power video workflows for large media and entertainment organizations, has released the ...
11/03/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, presents its latest StudioEdge models at The NAB Show ...
11/03/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the expansion of Telestream Cloud Services with the introduction of UP, a new cloud-...
11/03/2026
Operative, the preferred advertising management provider for the world's leading media brands, today announced the launch of AOS for digital media, an AI-po...
11/03/2026
Calrec will be located in Central Hall, on Booth C6907
Choice without compromise
The broadcast industry is going through a rapid evolution that s signalling a...
11/03/2026
The new service is hosted and operated entirely in the Netherlands, combining data sovereignty, resilience, scalability, and predictable costs without relying...
11/03/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company and leader in interactive graphical overlays, today announced the successful deployment of its platform on Red Bull TV for Premier ...
11/03/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, is advancing its Semantic Intelligence cap...
11/03/2026
Emergent, a leading provider of AI-enhanced media production solutions, today announced the official launch of Fusion, a powerful, no-code application builder d...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/03/2026
Utah Scientific today announced the expansion of its Technology Partner Program with the addition of Audinate, Bitfocus, and Skaarhoj, three industry leaders wh...
11/03/2026
DigitalGlue, creator of the creative.space on-premise managed storage platform, today revealed plans to launch creative.space Intelligence (CSI) at NAB 2026 (Bo...
11/03/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, gaming, and more, has annou...
11/03/2026
Composer and Re-recording Mixer Michael Phillips Keeley has built his career around immersive storytelling. Working from his Dolby Atmos-equipped studio, Sound ...
11/03/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that YES, the pay-TV subsidiary of the telco Bezeq (TASE: BEZQ), has selected Synamedia Iris to delive...
11/03/2026
As media companies face increasing cost pressures and operational complexity, at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global leader in OTT / TV...
11/03/2026
Digital Alert Systems, a global leader in emergency communications solutions for media providers, today announced the release of Version 6 software for its DASD...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Foundry releases Nuke 17.0
Brie Clayton March 1, 2026
0 Comments
Native Gaussian Splat support, new 3D system based on USD, expanded machine learning ca...
11/03/2026
Preserving UNESCO World Heritage with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton March 1, 2026
0 Comments
The Explorers turned to France's cultural landmark...
11/03/2026
I Clicked This By Accident And It Made After Effects SO Much Faster
Graham Quince March 1, 2026
0 Comments
Discover how Region of Interest in Adobe A...
11/03/2026
Cine Gear Connect Brings a Focused All-Day Experience to Industry City, NY
Brie Clayton March 4, 2026
0 Comments
Registration is now open for Cine Gea...
11/03/2026
La Vor gine Edited and Finished with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 4, 2026
0 Comments
One of Colombia's most ambitious projects goes g...
11/03/2026
SoundMarket Launches 18,000 Tracks of Real Music by Award-Winning Composers for...
11/03/2026
Capta Center Supports NOVO19 Remote Production with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 5, 2026
0 Comments
The facility provides production and playo...
11/03/2026
DigitalGlue Ends the Post-Production Tax: creative.space Intelligence (CSI) Unif...
11/03/2026
Kochi Sun Sun Uses Blackmagic Replay for High School Volleyball Finals
Brie Clayton March 9, 2026
0 Comments
Versatile Blackmagic Replay system proves...
11/03/2026
Richard Bona Joins Berklee for Signature Series Concert The Grammy-winning Cameroonian bassist and vocalist collaborates with students and faculty in a progra...
11/03/2026
Launched today, NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super is a 120 billion parameter open model with 12 billion active parameters designed to run complex agentic AI systems at sc...