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Storms in 3-D
I’m looking for a primer/tutorial/tip sheet on a way to create lightning effects in AE. I’m not talking about a lightning strike. But using the 3D lighting environment to create the effect where you’re inside a dark room during a lightning storm and see the objects in the room (pictures, etc.) as if they are only visible when lit by the outside lighting. It’s a common effect in horror films which I’m sure many of you have seen, but it’s usually a physical effect done on a stage or set.
I’m doing a retrospective on one churches experience during Hurricane Katrina and I’m trying to add some atmosphere to their still photos of the before during and after.
Thanks in advance.
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2 Replies
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Depends on how realistic of an effect you want which is also directly proportional to the amount of time you’re planning on spending on it. The quick and dirty way (by dirty I don’t mean necessarily bad, just not super involved) would probably be to add a lot of contrast and color correct to make it almost monochrome with a hint of blue. Then animate the opacity of the layer flickering on and off over a blank/dark background layer.
The slower, more realistic way would consist of photoshopping each picture- cutting out objects and things and creating an illusion of a light source casting harsh shadows.
I personally would go with the first suggestion since I doubt you have enough time to do the latter. Plus the average person probably wouldn’t notice the difference. -
There’s a nice, free plugin called Camera Flash at:
https://msp.sfsu.edu/Instructors/rey/aepage/aeplugs.html
Actually that link points you to it. You have to download the demo of Buena Software’s Effect Essentials, which will get you the Camera Flash plugin. When you think about it, the effect of a lightning strike (on the ambient light in a room, anyway) is very similar to the effect of a strobe on a camera: fast flash, fast decay. You might want to do some creative masking of the room, depending on where your windows would be, but by keyframing an on/off of very short duration, maybe 2 or 3 keyframes to almost full flash, then 3 or 4 keyframes for the decay, you would get close to it. If your windows have any cross pieces in them, bear in mind that lightning flashes throw hard shadows. Also keep in mind the color temperature of lightning…it tends toward the blue end of the spectrum. Good luck!
Joe Bourke
Art Director / WMUR-TV
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