Plugin for Muzzle Flash Effect

grewell912 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-07-2005, 09:01 PM

Does anybody know where i can get a FREE plugin for premiere that makes muzzle flashes!?

Alan Mills · #2 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 11:28 AM

You'll be lucky!

I have some s/w (ParticleIllusion 3) that does a reasonable job but it's not free.

The demo leaves a watermark over the final render but as muzzle flashes tend not to fit the whole screen you might be able to position the thing just right so you can generate some that are usable. Pop over to www.wondertouch.com and have a look.

But to be honest, I think your best bet is to find a muzzle flash image/clip (the best one I have came on a royalty free clip disk from Artbeats [I think]). Take the flash image and simply place it on your clip for one or maybe two frames, resizing and rotating it to requirements.

This is how I've always done it and no-one has told me how tacky they look yet so they must be ok.

grewell912 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 01:46 PM

Thanks alot alan, yeah i've heard on the muzzle flash picture thing, but don't know how to quite make it look real, because i need the room flash, maybe a 1 frame gama burst???? you know any good tutorials?

Alan Mills · #4 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 05:17 PM

Well, if you are filming in darkness or semi darkness and want the muzzle flash to light up the scene for a frame or two then I can't think of a single way of faking that on a PC. Unless someone better than me has some ideas I think you're at the stage where it might have to be performed on camera i.e. for real.

Quick ideas to fool around with though are...

You might try syncing and setting off a still camera flash but that will likely set the whole frame to 'daylight'.

You might also try filming the scene in the darkness how you actually want it and also in daylight and then compositting a daylight scene still over the dark version and feathering it in to get the effect you want. But good luck trying to get the same shot exactly.

i think if you play with gamma and brightness for a frame or two, as you suggested, then you may get away with it. But any freeze frame on your movie will give the game away as there will be no dpeth to the light you've added. i.e. no shadows cast etc.

grewell912 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 09:40 PM

Well i did it, with the gamma correction, and it looks ok, im not going to post it, because the muzzle flashes look pathetic, because it was my first attempt.

JT · #6 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 09:51 PM

Go on.....

post it up so we can all see.

Kyle Forrester · #7 (**permalink**) 12-08-2005, 11:27 PM

I did a very decent muzzle flash effect a while back. I found that if you, as suggested here, you take the single frame into a image editor (Photoshop/Paintshop Pro) and find a JPG/GIF etc. of a flash:

http://www.matthawkins.co.uk/special...e_flash_sm.gif

...Or whatever, and lay it over the end of the gun, sizing it as appropriate. Then, to light up the area around it, use a large air brush with 10-20% opacity, to give the frame a little more life. Then bring it back into the video.

If you spend a little time, you get quite a nice effect, and though it can be a little annoying adding it to each gun shot in your production, you soon get quick at it.

Also, try adding a little smoke, like so:

http://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bi...oke/index.html

Hope I explained well (Im under the influence of alcohol....)

Caustic · #8 (**permalink**) 12-09-2005, 07:03 AM

Ok let me give this a whirl. For FREE ideas use maybe a lens flare or other light directing effects instead of shine, but if you have or can get shine it goes like this:

If you have or can get the trapcode plugins "shine" or "Star glow" these will make a great half second flash effect when shown through a masked layer. An idea (not tested but it works in my head) EDIT: Tested and works see below for a quick muzzle flash effect I made as an example.

1.) Create a new title using the titler.
2.) Inside the title place a small elipse/circle (just enough to cover half of your "muzzle" any color except black).
3.) Save the title then place it in a video track over the area you need the effect. Use your motion option to place the elipse where you need it.
4.) Drag starglow or shine into your title. I'd use shine even though most use it for longer animations.
5.) Make the source point just behind the elipse so the rays face the direction you want the flash to go.
6.) on the time line reduce the title to a fraction of a second.
7.) Choose: one color or 3 color gradient (warm heaven is a great preset).
8.) keyframe the boost light option at the "begining" of your flash to 0, do the same for the source opacity.
9.) At it's "peak/fire" set opacity to 100 and boost light till the shine shows a good flash.
10.) at the end reduce the boost light and source opacity to 0.

For multiple muzzle flashes just recreate as many titles as you need copy the original and use the "paste attributes" function. Now I'm going to go test this out to see my brain is telling the truth or not.

EDIT: It works! Uploading the file now. Total time to create= 5 minutes. Once you do the first flash it's just a matter of copying and pasting. Just copy the title frames and paste wherever you need then use the motion option to place it where you need.

File: Muzzle flash test

HammY · #9 (**permalink**) 12-09-2005, 01:04 PM

I did a load of muzzle flashes for a film i did at school. I had this file with about 40 muzzle variations, which i put in using AE *which is all well and good, if you have AE* I simply imported them, positioned them, set mode to screen, then positioned them again so they were on the end of the gun. I also made sure the flash was only 1 frame long, to give the impression of a quick flash. I found it very effective, and looks very very similar to the muzzle flashes in one of Alans films *i think it was there i saw the flashes...hmm*

grewell912 · #10 (**permalink**) 12-09-2005, 01:21 PM

Gunshots Movie Pathetic flashes, but it sorta works, sorry about the low lighting, was later in the evening, and didnt have a lamp!