Digital Film Tools (http://www.digitalfilmtools.com) says their visual effects plug-in, Rays, has been updated to support video and film hosts. New supported hosts include Adobe After Effects CS5 and up, Premiere Pro CS5 and up, Apple Final Cut Pro 6, 7, and X, Motion 5, and Avid Symphony, Media Composer, Newscutter, and Xpress Pro.

Shedding new light on film and video footage, Rays allows users to create realistic light ray effects. Known as volumetric lighting in computer graphics, or crepuscular rays in atmospheric optics, this effect adds polish and style. By creating shafts of light streaming through clouds, rays filtering through a forest canopy, beams of light on a foggy night, or rays shooting out from text, Rays adds a striking and dramatic quality to any image, says Marco Paolini, founder and president, Digital Film Tools.

The Rays Photo plug-in is available now for US$50 and is compatible with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Lightroom and Apple's Aperture. If the host applications are installed on the same machine, a Rays still image license will allow Rays to run in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture.

The Rays Video/Film plug-in is available now for $99 and is compatible with Adobe After Effects (CS5 and up), Adobe Premiere Pro (CS5 and up), Final Cut Pro (6, 7, and X), Motion 5, and Avid Symphony, Media Composer, Newscutter, and Xpress Pro. If the host applications are installed on the same machine, a Rays video/film license will allow Rays to run in After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Avid editing systems. A standalone version of Rays is also available through the Mac App Store.