Featured Archives - Page 12 of 21 - Video Production News

5 New Storm Cloud Effects

We have 5 New Storm cloud effects available for download.

These overlay style effects are built with compositing in mind. Instead of containing an alpha channel (transparency) as most of our VFX assets do, these storm clouds come with a black background. Black backgrounds make it easier to adjust color and luminosity channels to fit whatever your scene calls for.

(UPDATE: A user requested some storm-clouds with transparency, so those options are also available!)

Blending modes such as screen, add or lighten will work best for you. Blending modes are available in most common editing software, including Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut, Vegas, Hitfilm and more.

The new storm cloud assets work best with night or overcast scenes. The lumenance channel is the only visible channel, so blue skies will not work with these FX! If you are not getting bright enough results try curves, levels or duplicating your storm cloud layers.

These files are H264, we often avoid this codec for VFX because of the compression. However, for these storm cloud assets the real value is in the greyscale. With a high bitrate no useful information is being lost for these files, and you’ll be able to use them with ease!

FREE Batch Replace Script – After Effects

in Featured, Scripts and Plugins/by Chris Kelly

If you’ve been using After Effects for a while you’ll understand the usefulness of this script. Batch Replace comes packed with features, allowing you to quickly swap layers and assets within your project. Whether you’re looking to create countless variations or adapt upon an existing project file this script is ideal for you. Download it for free here

Check out Nate’s demo covering the basics of using this script.

Want more Free Scripts? Check out this script for Looping content in AE: Free Loop Script for After Effects

Download Magic Beam VFX Assets

in Featured, Visual FX/by David Blaker

Download HD Magic Spell Beam VFX assets here.

ProductionCrate has launched a brand new collection of magical assets, inspired by the VFX from the Harry Potter franchise!

These incredible effects can be used in most editing software, with our top recommendations being After Effects, Hitfilm and Premiere Pro.

Using a screen blending mode is the easiest way for you to apply these effects with minimal effort.

These intense effects have been built with several different varieties, meaning each of your characters can have their individual styles. So whether you want an electrical theme or a fiery blast, this new effect bundle has you covered!

If you’re an After Effects user, applying a solid composite + puppet pin to the beam will give you control over the origin point. This creates the epic fluid appearance that we see in the movies.

You can also adjust the colour, brightness and speed of each effect, giving you unlimited variety.

Additionally, we’ve included some mind-blowing magic clash VFX assets. These are the explosive effects seen when two opposing forces collide in a dangerous wizarding duel.

This is the spectacular value of the magic effect bundle shine, as these can be blended on top of the magic beam effects to create an incredible composition. We’re especially proud of the liquid variety, which are an iconic visual from the Harry Potter movies.

To complete the pack, we’ve included an essential mix of magic flashes. These can be used when a wizard is casting a spell, or even deflecting one.

The quick yet detailed effects are perfectly designed to not look overdone, making it incredibly easy for them to blend into your action sequence.

Some of our effects work best when using auto-orient, which keeps layers pointed towards the camera when in 3D space. This can be accessed via Layer -> Transform -> Auto-Orient -> Towards Camera. When using this, combined with standard 3D beam layers, you can create the most incredible effects that are easy to customise and composite!

We hope you enjoy using these magic VFX assets. All of these are available for our Pro members, while free users can still access handpicked content!

If you want to learn even more movie-making magic, check out our Thor lightning VFX collection!

100 New Super-Powered Lightning Effects

in Community, Featured, Visual FX/by Chris Kelly

Download 4K Lightning VFX Assets here.

This is one of our largest releases ever.

Over 100 4K New super-power lightning effects are available for you to download. This massive pack offers variations for aerial strikes, ground hits, lightning with or without sparks and tons more.

We categorise these into four main groups, those being ground, wall, aerial and basic. For the ground and wall assets, the illumination on the surfaces has been built-in, meaning you don’t need to spend a single second working on realistic environment lighting.

With inspiration taken from Thor in Infinity War and Endgame, as well as the Flash, these effects maintain the epic plasma-arcing motion that defines the superhero look.

The VFX Artists at ProductionCrate tested this pack and are thoroughly amazed at how easy it is to use. By simply dragging on any effects you’ll see how well they integrate into your scenes with minimal effort.

Blending modes such as Add, Screen or Lighten will add that extra level of realism to your shots. Applying these lightning VFX assets onto this composition was incredibly easy, while also making it look undeniably epic!

You can add extra detail to these 4K assets by adding a simple displacement effect, which will give your lightning a far more jagged and powerful look.

With over 100 variations to choose from, you can combine, rotate, scale and adjust these in infinite ways for full control over your scene. In other words, these 4K electric effects will never fail you.

To test the true power of these assets, we took our favourite Hulk scenes from the Avengers movie and gave him the mighty powers of Thor. Take a look at what happened:

If you want to explore more of our superhero VFX collection, why not explore our Mysterio assets?

How to Install Scripts to After Effects (Windows and Mac)

in After Effects, Featured, Scripts and Plugins, Written Tutorials/by David Blaker

After Effects scripts are a powerful way to automate and accomplish tasks that would have otherwise taken far longer.

For example, many popular scripts automate the way that you animate, automatically adjusting keyframes in an instant to save you valuable time and get better results.

If you haven’t tried any out yet, you can browse our library of exclusive scripts and plugins. Many of them are free to download, while Pro members of the ProductionCrate community can access the entire collection, as well as over 10,000 other creative assets.

Thankfully, installing these scripts is an incredibly easy process, and works the same on both Windows and Mac. We also ensure that our tools are compatible with the most recent versions of After Effects (CC 2018, CC 2019).

Our example today will be walking through the installation of our free Hologram generator script which has just launched!

1 – Extract the script to “/Adobe After Effects CC 2019/Support Files/Scripts”

If you don’t have any .zip file tools, you can use WinRaR.

Using this software to open the .zip file that you download will allow you to then drag the files to a new location. Make sure that you extract all of the content from the zip file.

Our destination is usually found in the Program Files folder. In most cases the full directory is:

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects CC 2019\Support Files\Scripts

But if you are using any other Adobe CC version, feel free to place it there instead.

2 – Create your After Effects composition

Most of our tools won’t work if there’s no footage for it to work on!

3 – Click File -> Scripts -> Run Script File

From here you can then navigate to the place you extracted the files to. Clicking on the “.jsx” file will then launch your chosen script.

Fixing Errors

There’ll always be the chance that something goes wrong. We’ve compiled a list of steps you can take to troubleshoot these issues

Double-Check

Take a moment to quickly look back in the zip folder, and check if all of the contents are also in the After Effects script folder. If it isn’t, simply drag it all over again!

Settings

Go through Edit -> Preferences -> General. A window will open with a bunch of checkboxes, where you can enable “Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network”.

Call for backup

If all else fails, you can ask on the forums, the comments below or contact us at Support@ProductionCrate.com, we’ll happily try our best to help out!

Free Hologram Generator Script (Download)

in After Effects, Featured, Scripts and Plugins, Visual FX/by David Blaker

Download Crate’s Free Hologram Script here

This Script has been updated for AE CC2021 on 12-17-2021

Create a Free or a Pro account, then simply click the link above to download! This script was built with an older version of After Effects, but is completely compatible. If you have errors appearing, please go to File > Project Settings > Expressions and change your expression engine from JavaScript to Legacy ExtendScript

Creating holograms in After Effects is about to get a lot more fun with the release of our latest script.

These effects are one of the most requested on ProductionCrate, our library of thousands of digital assets to help build your creative endeavours. We know that often you will need to control what’s projected in the hologram, which is why we released this tool to help you do exactly that.

Not only can you download it for free, but using it to create your After Effects hologram is a one-click process!

Every feature that you could possibly need was built into the script. This includes:

Color
Glow
Projection Rays
Chromatic Aberration
Scan Lines
Displacement
Flicker
Signal Interference
Framerate
Pixelate
Blur
Sharpen

All properties are fully customisable, meaning no matter what style you were aiming for, you’ll get there.

If you wanted to save your customised hologram, you can also click Animation -> Save Animation Preset to be able to apply it to any other shots you may have.

And if you wanted to save time, you might be interested in checking out the presets that we have built into the script. You can navigate through these by clicking the arrows on the pop-up window. These have been built to mimic some of the most recognisable movie holograms, referencing Star Wars, Iron Mans HUD, Aquaman and more.

To download and install the script, open up After Effects and navigate through File -> Scripts -> Run Script File. Find a folder you wish to keep the script, then extract both the images folder and “Crates Camera Script.jsx” to the new location. Double click the .jsx file and you’ll be ready to create your holograms in an instant!

If you’re wanting to save even more time, you can download these HD hologram VFX assets for your video.

5 ways to connect Premiere Pro and After Effects

in Featured, Premiere/by Chris Kelly

There are a variety of ways to connect Premiere Pro and After Effects. Premiere is used primarily for editing video and audio in a clean timeline. After Effects is most often used for Visual Effects and Motion Graphics. They are both available in the Adobe Suite and are essential tools for any video editors.

1. Replace with After Effects Composition

File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Create New After Effects Composition

This replaces a clip with an After Effects Composition.

Use this option for long-form video, when you need to do something to a clip(s) that Premiere Pro can’t do, like 3D space, tracking, After Effects only effects and scripts, and difficult Warp stabilizer jobs. Both apps have Warp Stabilizer, but After Effects can remove tracking points that cause issues where PP doesn’t.

When using “Replace”, Duplicate the clip to the track above (option/alt and drag up) as the AE composition will replace the PP clip and this way you have the original clip if you change your mind. It is very difficult to go backwards later in your workflow, so this redundancy can prove extremely useful.

If you are looking to add an overlaid graphic then we suggest using a Color Matte in your Premiere timeline and stretching it to the length you need before replacing with a dynamic linked After Effects clip. You can right click it from your timeline and replace from there. Save your After Effects project and see it auto-update in Premiere!

2. New After Effects Composition

File > Adobe Dynamic Link > New After Effects Composition

This creates a blank linked Composition in the project panel. Anything you create in AE will show up in PP. If you create text, it is now automatically editable in PP.

Let’s say you reopen PP for a new editing session. To edit the linked AE Comp, sect it in the project and press Command/Control + E, to edit the original AE file.

3. Import After Effects Composition (Dynamic Link).

File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Import After Effects Composition

This is useful when you want to use an animation or titles created in After Effects as a clip in Premiere Pro.

4. Import Premiere Pro project into After Effects.

File > Import > Premiere Pro Project

A dialog box opens with options: bring in all the sequences, select a sequence and whether or not you want to import audio.

This workflow is handy when you are doing short promo style videos in Premiere Pro, and want to finish in After Effects using third party plugins/scripts and features Premiere Pro doesn’t have (3D, tracking and advanced VFX for example).

It is easier to work with audio in Premiere Pro, and your audio markers for sequences and clips will be sent over to After Effects.

5. Create Templates in After Effects and Modify in Premiere Pro

Select Composition in Project, then Composition > Open in Essential Graphics.

You can also use the Essential Graphics Workspace.

In the Essential Graphics Panel, select the Composition that you want to create a template from.

Click “Solo Selected Properties” to add properties you want to be able to modify in your template.

Drag them to the Essential Graphics Panel. Name your Template, and click “Export Motion Graphics Template”.

You can now open the template in Premiere Pro and modify it there.

Download New Cloud VDBs Set

in Featured, Visual FX/by Chris Kelly

We have 10 Production-Ready Cloud VDB’s ready for you to download.

These video effects were built in Houdini and are compatible with most 3D software. Load these VDB’s quickly into your scene using your renderer or plugin of choice.

This set of 10 includes the most commonly seen cloud shapes. You can mix them together for cloudy days and rotate them for an endless variety of options. These clouds also work wonderfully as storm clouds. Use a light with some randomized position parameters and have your light flash and fade over 15 or so frames. Place your light within your cloud VDB and you have quickly created your own storm-clouds!

We are having a great time building out FootageCrate assets based off of these VDBs. If you have an aerial shot you want to make more interesting by flying through some clouds or a CGI shot that calls for some interesting sky scenes then these FX are right for you.

We also have two other VDB categories already built out. Our Mega Tornado pack will let you create your own doomsday, while our mist pack is perfect for those SciFi and fantasy projects.

Using VFX Assets in 60fps (After Effects + Premiere Pro)

in After Effects, Featured, Premiere, Visual FX/by David Blaker

So you’ve embarked on a video editing project at 60fps? Here’s a little thing you might want to know!

For those who need an introduction, the “fps” refers to how quickly a video will switch between individual pictures to create the illusion of a movement, which begins at roughly 15 frames per second.

So why would you want to create a 60fps project if most video formats are at a standard 24-30fps? For one simple reason: it’s satisfyingly silky smooth.

Other than it’s an impressive visual effect, it can also help out for a variety of purposes. For example, gameplay videos are often recorded at 60fps since the games strive for immersion, and so this smooth playback helps gives the game a more natural look.

Another case is for motion graphics, where a clean art style compliments the fluid framerate. This is common in infographics, such as a personal favourite from the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt.

So what do you need to do to your ProductionCrate workflow to make the assets you download fit into your scene? As you may know, most of our FootageCrate elements are 30fps, so here is what we suggest to make it work.

Introducing a much-loved technique, time interpolation! This handy tool is the computer taking a guess at what is happening between two images. From the guess, it then creates an image which is what it predicts the image to look like halfway between the first and the second image. This means you can convert a 30fps asset into 60fps, as the software will create the 30 extra frames out of thin air. We need to apply the interpolation to the 30fps asset to convert it to 60fps.

Most mid-tier editing software supports this. Here’s how you’ll find them:

After Effects

– Right-click on the ProductionCrate asset, go through Effects -> Time -> Time Warp.

– Set the speed to 50%, and make sure your project is in 60fps.

Premiere Pro

– Right-click on your ProductionCrate asset, and select “Speed/Duration”.

– Adjust the speed parameter to 50%.

– Choose Optical Flow as the Time Interpolation method.

Congratulations, your video is now as smooth as butter!

If you’re interested in levelling up your compositing skills, you might also be interested in our recent rotoscoping course!

Achieve True Cinematic Footage with log

in Community, Featured, Written Tutorials/by Chris Kelly

What do people mean when they say ‘cinematic’?

You’ve seen the videos suggesting harsh color-grading, or the tutorials that tell you to just throw on some aspect-ratio bars. The truth is, there is no simple one-step solution. Quality footage shot with dynamic range will allow you to create the exact look you want. There are the shooting-steps and then the post processing-steps, you have to work on both if you are going to improve your videos.

Today you’ll get to learn a bit about shooting with log. Alex and Alexsa from Crate’s Camera Corner will break down the basics for utilizing this powerful feature available on many consumer cameras.

The true definition of log can be a bit confusing, so let me try and summarize it. Log images look washed out and flat. Suffice it to say you will not like the look of footage shot with log. At least, not until you color it. Log footage is made to be extremely dynamic, storing color and luminosity with loads of depth, allowing you to truly hone in on whatever look you would like to achieve. Yes, that does mean log footage requires more work than you might be used to. If you’re shooting a vlog you probably won’t want to shoot with log, but if you’re shooting a film or client video then log may be right for you.

Alex and Alexsa shoot with Sony, so they use the S-Log2 setting. Different cameras will have different log formats. Shooting log does take practice, we don’t suggest you try it when the stakes are high. Instead shoot some test footage, or if you are a Pro User you can download this aerial clip shot with log and practice your coloring in post.

An important thing to note is that you need to nail your exposure if you’re shooting with log. It is less forgiving than out of the box picture profiles or standard color outputs. We only suggest you shoot log if you know how to get properly exposed shots and are willing to take the time in post production to hone in on your color.

Check out the first episode of Crate’s Camera Corner

Want to know more? Alex will show you his workflow and approach to coloring in Premiere Pro including how to build your own LUT to load onto your external monitor.

The aerial stock elements Alex mentions can be found here

Want to know the top 5 Mistakes Videographers make on their websites? Check this article out

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