Recreating Streaking/Bleeding Lights In AE

[Alexxx]

Is the camera moving/panning or is it a locked off shot?

Locked off is a lot easier as you could use Trapecode Particular with the emitter glued to the rear lights or mask out the brakelights in a precomp and then use the echo filter to make them streak across the screen. From there it’s just blurring and glowing.

Moving shot…different ball game as you also have to have the streaks left behind move with the camera.

Alex
Lightdrop Video Production, Editing & Design

[Mike Clasby]

As part of your solution, give a look to Andrew (smiling guy at middle top of page) has a nifty tut in 32 bit, the 32 bit is what you want methinks, for brighter brights and whiter whites and streakier streaks… you need the brand new 32 bit:

26. EarthQuake Control in 32bpc! NEW!

https://www.videocopilot.net/videotutorials/earthquakehdr/index.htm

I’m sure his tut will be linked here at the Cow soon.

[Kevin Camp]

i created some nice ‘light streak’ shots from some night fly-by footage over a city a few years ago. the footage moved rather slow, so i spead it up, used time-remapping, frame blending, echo and glow to achieve the feel of slow shutter speed.

if you were to shoot slow-mo you could probably achieve what you are looking for. i would definitely do a few tests before committing to doing-it-in-post, that can get you into a some trouble.

re:vision has a plugin called reelsmart motion blur that could help too.

Kevin Camp
Designer – KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW