VFX Techniques: Creating a Laser Battle

Create awesome sci-fi laser gunfire and realistic set damage inside After Effects.

Creating a Laser Battle shows VFX artists how to generate science-fiction-style gun battles, complete with laser beams, sparks, and set damage. The effects are created right inside After Effects, with its built-in particle tools, rotoscoping, motion tracking, and color, distortion, and blur effects. Combining these techniques in your own shots will allow you to create a wide variety of futuristic gun blasts.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Using the exercise files

1. Getting Started

• Breakdown of the final composition

2. Running Particle Simulations

• Setting up the project
• Splitting up the shots
• Creating a particle beam
• Creating a particle blast
• Creating particle sparks

3. Assembling a Gun Blast

• Rolling up a layer
• Distorting the plate
• Animating the beam
• Creating light reflections
• Creating light spills
• Adding core and sparks to the blast
• Adding blast flares
• Animating a post camera move

4. Adding Set Damage

• Repurposing the particle blast
• Integrating the second blast
• Fabricating a hole in the set
• Stabilizing the plate
• Removing the tracking marks
• Adding interactive light

5. Adding a Third Blast

• Fixing the gun barrel
• Creating a new blast
• Integrating the new blast
• Creating a blast core
• Adding dust motes
• Creating an exposure change
• Making custom flares
• Adding more camera motion

6. Wrapping Up

• Combining the shots
• Adding the final effects

Conclusion

• Next steps