VFX Techniques: Creating a Laser Battle

Overview

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Create awesome sci-fi laser gunfire and realistic set damage inside After Effects.

Creating a Laser Battle shows VFX artists how to generate science-fiction-style gun battles, complete with laser beams, sparks, and set damage. The effects are created right inside After Effects, with its built-in particle tools, rotoscoping, motion tracking, and color, distortion, and blur effects. Combining these techniques in your own shots will allow you to create a wide variety of futuristic gun blasts.

Syllabus

Introduction

Welcome
Using the exercise files

1. Getting Started

Breakdown of the final composition

2. Running Particle Simulations

Setting up the project
Splitting up the shots
Creating a particle beam
Creating a particle blast
Creating particle sparks

3. Assembling a Gun Blast

Rolling up a layer
Distorting the plate
Animating the beam
Creating light reflections
Creating light spills
Adding core and sparks to the blast
Adding blast flares
Animating a post camera move

4. Adding Set Damage

Repurposing the particle blast
Integrating the second blast
Fabricating a hole in the set
Stabilizing the plate
Removing the tracking marks
Adding interactive light

5. Adding a Third Blast

Fixing the gun barrel
Creating a new blast
Integrating the new blast
Creating a blast core
Adding dust motes
Creating an exposure change
Making custom flares
Adding more camera motion

6. Wrapping Up

Combining the shots
Adding the final effects

Conclusion

Next steps

Taught by

Lee Lanier

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