We had to visit the help section and video tutorials on a few occasions, but the interface rarely stood in the way of what we wanted to achieve.

The interface is inevitably complex but its layout is extremely well thought out.

Nearly all controls can be keyframed to vary settings over time.

The Fire simulator has 48 parameters including the size and turbulence of embers and the density of smoke. There's a huge amount of control over these effects. Because the particle effects – explosions, rain, debris and so on – are generated in 3D, isolating the actor through keying means these effects can be placed behind and all around the actor. Keying is useful for dropping an actor into another environment, but it also has another use in Hitfilm. However, it is possible to draw a mask to remove areas of the frame manually, so the green screen backdrop needn't fill the frame. It's disappointing that there's no option to soften the edges of the mask – this feature is reserved for Hitfilm Ultimate, which costs £228 including VAT. The Spill Removal effect is particularly useful, getting rid of the green bleed that reflects from the screen onto the edges of the subject. Keying is the technical name for green screen effects, and Hitfilm's are more sophisticated than the tools built into consumer editing packages.

Hitfilm effects