No, i use it like in the example from the manual in a Panel.

Code:
PANEL* panTarget = { bmap = "#256x256x24"; flags = SHOW; } // target bmap
BMAP* bmSrc = "image.tga"; // source bmap

MATERIAL* mtlSepia = { // sepia coloring pixel shader
  effect = "
  Texture TargetMap; // source bitmap
  sampler2D smpSrc = sampler_state { texture = <TargetMap>; };
          
  float4 SepiaColor1 = {0.2, 0.05, 0.0, 1.0};   
  float4 SepiaColor2 = {1.0, 0.9,  0.5, 1.0}; 

  float4 process_sepia(float2 Tex: TEXCOORD0): COLOR 
  {
    float4 Color = tex2D( smpSrc, Tex.xy);
    float sepiaLerp = dot( float3(0.3, 0.59, 0.11), Color);
    return lerp(SepiaColor1,SepiaColor2,sepiaLerp);
  }

  technique Sepia {
    pass p1 {
      AlphaBlendEnable = false;	
      PixelShader = compile ps_2_0 process_sepia();
    }
  }   
  ";
}

function main()
{
  wait(1); // until DirectX device is opened
  level_load ("Level_1.wmb");
  bmap_process(panTarget.bmap,bmSrc,mtlSepia);
}


That crashes, but without the level_load is all ok.