-
Gun shots, Muzzle Flares, Bullet wounds, how far can Final Cut Pro go?
I’ve been spending a good deal of time exploring Final Cut Pro 5, the various effects in editing, color correction, etc… but I’ve never found anything that I could use to make my own War Movie.
Does final cut have the ability to do MUZZLE FLARES (***This would be awesome), bullet wound effects, bullet particle effects (Bullets hitting sand, tree’s, walls, etc…) maybe even minor explosions???
I was told that with final cut pro you can do what the pro’s do and even that some of the Hollywood movies are editing on final cut pro systems, could this be true?
I thought AVID was the top choice of movie editors, but is this even true? What systems are the Top Notch studio’s using? What about the special effects? Like in independence day, the 1000s of jets fighting UFO’s, what systems are used for these movies?
As a final note, what is really possible with FInal Cut Pro? Is it a system to cut my home movies, documentarys, limited use on short/feature films, or is Final Cut Pro a solution for getting top end results?
Thanks for any info you throw my way,
Will Keir
-
16 Replies
-
First, stop looking for a button or plug in to do everything for you…
You’re talking about different things…
I would suggest you obtain muzzle flash stock footage…use google- it’s out there… and obtain a clip… USE FINAL CUT to composit that footage into your timeline.
3D hits of blood are done by 3d artists. Give them the shot you want the bullet hit in….and they give you a file that you composite over your footage in Final Cut Pro
I’m over simplifying…but this is how pro’s work.
Final cut’s power lies in the ability to edit and composite easily for an unbelievable price.
-
Will,
Much of what you are asking about is not actually done using editing software, but rather with EFX, paint, animation, and 3D compositing software. Adobe After Effects, Autodesk (formerly Discreet) Combustion, and Apple’s Shake will all run on the same computer on which you might run FCP, and they are all, in the right hands, capable of doing a great many of the effects you’ve asked about (including particle efx), and they are all tools used in Hollywood productions. However, the real heavy hitters of EFX work in Hollywood have for years been Discreet Fire, Flame, and Inferno. However, Shake is really fast becoming a major player on soem very big projects (i.e. King Kong for example). All that aside, FCP is very capable editing software, and many feature films and TV series are cut on it every day. Avid is no longer the first choice here for many.
BTW, muzzle flashes are one of the simplest of all Efx to create. A convincing muzzle flash can easily be achieved by simply animating a simple white shape that appears and quickly expands in front of a gun barrel over just three frames before cutting out. And, there are also realistic pyrotechnic flashes and explosions available on DVD that can be simply composited in the proper place on-screen.
Just remember, story is everything. Efx are just window dressing.
Good luck,
DRW -
as others have said, fcp is an editing app,
not an fx app.it can be used from anything from your home movies to a $100 million feature
avid is much more widespread for featureson the features, they send their fx out to other specialist who create those,
then cut them into the film, using avid, fcp, whateverfor muzzle flares, etc,
check out EffectsLab, and EffectsPro,
from fxhome:cheers,
nick -
Very helpful information guys, thanks for taking the time.
Looks like I’ve got to get into compositing, is there any articles or form posts have detail this method for FCP?
Also,
DRW
“And, there are also realistic pyrotechnic flashes and explosions available on DVD that can be simply composited in the proper place on-screen.”
What DVD’s do you speak of? Do you mean to just take a movie with Muzzle Flare effects, somehow isolate just the Flare part of the screen, Rip it from a DVD movie and use it myself? Or do you mean there is a place you can Buy DVD with effects for final cut pro? If so, got the website for them?
Thanks again for the help,
Will
-
[Will Keir] “is there any articles or form posts have detail this method for FCP”
Search the forum. There are tons. You should maybe do a search over at After Effects and Motion, too.
[Will Keir] “Do you mean to just take a movie with Muzzle Flare effects, somehow isolate just the Flare part of the screen”
Eh, no not really. That would actually be illegal (if you took it off “some” movie”
You got a good description on how to make one of the effects in one of the other posts, and a place to buy stock photo.
As to compositing, that’s a good idea. Have a read in the manual.
Gunleik
-
Will,
There are DVDs loaded with various pyro efx of all types and shapes and directional charges, that are made specifically to be composited. They come pre-built with alpha mattes, so you just drop them on layers above your main video trks and resize to match the size of your gun, cannon, explosion, etc. Bingo, just add sound effects and you’re golden…
DRW
-
If you want to understand the capabilities and limits of effects in FCP, you should get Kevin Monahan’s book “Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro”.
-
Check http://www.artbeats.com, they have all kinds of great explosions ,fire,smoke etc. in both hd and sd.
Peter McAuley
Axyz Edit
Toronto
G5 dual 2.0
4 gigs ram
10.4.3
FCP 5.03
QT 7.03
Kona 2 v1.1.4 with K Box
4 X 250 gig external F800 Lacie firewire drive
2 X 23″ Apple cinema display -
Check out detonationfilms.com. they specialize in pyro effects (including muzzle flashes) and their stock footage is fairly cheap.
Arnie
https://www.arniepix.com -
Thanks for the shout out Steven.
BTW, the best muzzle flashes and bullet hits are on artbeats’ “Gunstock” collection.Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Seminar!
fcpworld.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up