Recreating the Transporter effect from Star Trek: TNG in Adobe After Effects
After finding out that the DVDs for Star Trek: The Next Generation included an extra where the elements used to make up the iconic transporter look were shown, I decided to see if I could recreate them within After Effects. The original footage in the extra is not quite complete and is in SD quality. I saw it in a roundtable video on YouTube and the compression has not helped it either. So the challenge was can I use just the included effects in AE to get close. And you be the judge (although I think I got it).
In TNG VFX Supervisor Dan Curry’s book (Star Trek: The Artistry of Dan Curry) he breaks down the effect into 4 parts:
– The Shower curtain
– Swirling particles
– The Power Pellet
– The fading out
Using his notes and the clips from the roundtable extra, I used Shape layers with dashes, gaps, repeater and Pucker & Bloat settings for the initial particles. Fractal Noise supplied the shower curtain and CC Particle World the swirling particles. CC Star Burst created the power pellet with the help of some glows. Finally, I used expression controls and Essential Graphics to turn my composition into a reusable precomp.
Can’t see this video? Click here! If you are in Safari, hover over “Safari” in your menu, click “settings for creativecow.net” and toggle the “Auto-Play” to “Allow All Auto-Play”.
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter!
Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
Responses