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Harry Potter Spells Particular
Hello Creative Cow at large…
This is my first time posting so please tell me what information I may be leaving out.
Im working on a project and am trying to duplicate an effect show in a tutorial for Trapcode Particular.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sju3F718SxYI purchased the Trapcode suite and began playing as a beginner to AE third party plug-ins. Over the last couple months, I have completed essentials training through Lynda on both AE and Trapcode, but I am unable to discover why I can NOT duplicate the effect above. Between 45-50 seconds, there is some “secret ingredients” left out.
I must also say, I had a terrible experience with Red Giants Customer Support. Though I knew I was asking for help with something they were not obligated to give, a support rep said he’d get me help and then strung me along for over a month only to have someone else tell me they couldn’t help. I bought this product because of the tutorial above and am very disappointed. I feel like a child who bought Jordan’s and realized they don’t make you jump higher. I’m past the return date and am also just desperate to make my project look better.
I now only have a few days to complete this project. If anyone can help give me direction on how to make my particle stream look more like what’s shown in the video above, I’d be very grateful!
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11 Replies
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Hi. If you can post an image or video of what you currently have for reference, someone may be able to give you some useful pointers.
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Here is an image of what I’ve been able to create so far. When I change the color, it’s solid and doesn’t have a bright core, or transparent smokey feel. What can I do to get more of a light saber vibe as seen in the red giant video?
I should also say, I used video copilots free saber plugin as a last resort. I love the plugin, but it doesn’t look right for this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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At 0:41 you can see that there are two additional effects on the Particular layers, Diffuse Glow and CC Vector Blur. I believe those are the missing ingredients.
They’ve used a lens flare at the tip of the wand.
Also, the particles should be more spread out and random than in your screenshot.
If you want the sparks as well, they’re a separate Particular layer.
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Generalizing Kalle’s advice a little, cool looks almost never come from a single effect. You have to switch from “effect settings thinking” to “VFX thinking” — how to look at a shot, figure out where you are, know where you want to go, break the big task of getting there down into smaller tasks, and use the best tools to accomplish each one of those smaller tasks.
On this shot in particular (see what I did there?) and on lighting shots in general, I’d suggest working in 32bpc. This changes the rules for the math Ae uses to calculate pixel values by allowing results that are brighter than white, which in turn can give you more realistic lighting effects. See Color basics [link] in the documentation for more.
To get a “glowier” look straight out of Particular:
1) Switch to 32bpc mode by changing your Project Settings or by alt+clicking the bit depth indicator in the project panel.
2) Lower the opacity of Particular’s particles.
3) Change the Particular blend mode from Normal to Add.You will still need multiple Particular systems/layers and other effects to get the whole look.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Brandon –
Take this for what it’s worth – anyone who buys sneakers and expects them to make them jump higher is living in a fool’s paradise. Hours of training, years of practice, and dedication to the sport is what gets you results. The sneakers just make you look like you know what you’re doing.
It’s the same with the Particular plugin. You’ve got to learn it – it’s not plug and play. That said, I don’t know whether or not you’ve found the RedGiant People site – there are dozens of Particular presets which are free, and which will at least give you a starting point that looks great, then you can tweak as needed:
https://people.redgiantsoftware.com/Search/Default.aspx#q=particular&preset_PageNumber=7
TP Torch Fire, or Energy Bar, or especially Magic Test will get you close. You may have to create a sign in to get them, but they’re free, and you’ll be closer to the effect you want than you are now.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Although you would still need particles to spice up the effect, you may also be able to use Andrew Kramer’s free new Saber plugin to get you most of the way there also.
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Thank you! I totally missed that. That got me close enough with tweaking.
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Thank you for the advice. I’m working on growing and all of this points me in the right direction.
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Saber was my back up plan already edited in:)
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Oh I know it was foolish and that’s what I meant. To be fair though, they have a tutorial which made me think they were going to show me how.
I have a long way to go. I’m a professional editor just beginning to step into VFX. Forums like this, all the generous advice and assistance is like a great boost to let me stand on the shoulders of giants while I grow. Thanks for the tip on red giant people site. I’ll be checking that out!
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