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I'm looking at getting a new program to do special effects like muzzle flashes and light saber effects. What programs would you guys recommend?
I have the same problem. The standard response is "Adobe After Effects". That program costs hundreds/thousands of dollars with monthly subscriptions (if I understand correctly).
I'm hoping someone can suggest a more practical option.
You might try looking into Hitfilm 2 Ultimate. It's $399, so still a fairly large amount, but not nearly as much as AE.
I know it has the capabilities to do lightsabers and muzzleflashes, I'm not sure to what extent.
I have Hitfilm 2 Express and haven't really used it (I got it free as a promo a while back). I believe Cooked Cat here on the forums uses it, if you want to look at some of his work.
Here's the website, it'll be a good starting point.
https://hitfilm.com/
Last edited by JonnDthunDer (May 27, 2014 (06:40pm))
I have the same problem. The standard response is "Adobe After Effects". That program costs hundreds/thousands of dollars with monthly subscriptions (if I understand correctly).
I'm hoping someone can suggest a more practical option.
It's true that the new Adobe CC costs A LOT because of the new monthly subscription. But if you are a student/teacher then you can get like 50% or higher off. Another great option (that I have) is Adobe CS6. It's not the super latest thing (it's like 2 years old which isn't as old as you think) but doesn't have a monthly subscription. Plus you can also get a student discount. AND if you buy it as a package then they can get it even cheaper. I averaged it out and I only paid a little more than $100 with the package I got. So there are some really great options with Adobe. link to Adobe student production package (click on the "production premium") :http://www.adobe.com/products/catalog/cs6._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_education_sl_creativesuite6.edu.html
Also, I've heard Hitfilm is a good option but for $100 more you can get a lot more programs with the Adobe thing above (If your a student)
Hitfilm 2 express is probably the cheapest and best thing you can find. I don't know if they still sell it though.
Does Hitfilm express allow for muzzle shots or blasters? Because if not then I'll just get the ultimate then. I'm not a huge fan of using adobe just because of the new monthly subscription requirement.
I tried LSMaker a fortnight ago and got a lot of rendering error messages. I assumed it was a long disused program that only worked on Win XPs - wrong?
I don't like the monthly subscription idea for Adobe AE. I think it takes months just learning how to use it! It is the premier editing program, however, but be ready for the steepest learning curve.
Until recently, EffectsLab Pro was a good solid option. It was easy to use and produced decent muzzle flashes, optics and lightsabers, and was only £99. It's not sold anymore - FXHomembrought out HitFilm instead.
You can get the entire Adobe suite on Creative Cloud, and as a student I get it at £15 a month (or thereabouts). If you're still in education, you can get that discount as long as you can prove you study at said institution.
I got HitFilm 2 Ultimate for about half price because I supported the Mac version on Kickstarter. Again, it's a really good piece of software, and I ought to use it more.
Basically, if you want to get some VFX software, buy something sustainable like After Effects. Learn how to do lightsabers or whathaveyou in that, as in the future you may want to try something more complex and by havign AE you'll have the tools in front of you. The other advantage with HitFilm and After Effects (particularly the latter) is that there's a vast wealth of tutorials on both.
LSMaker is okay, but you might as well edit frame-by-frame in Photoshop. Your results will be a lot better that way too.
I'm not a huge fan of using adobe just because of the new monthly subscription requirement.
Don't be put off by the montly subscription. It's extremely worthwhile, and made getting Adobe suite affordable to me. It's also cheaper than getting any of the pieces of software individually, as you get every piece of currently available Adobe software for one price. If you're like me, I use Premiere, After Effects and Photoshop on an almost daily basis, plus I use Audition a lot and have experimented with the other software. It's worth it. Trust me.
Of course, this all depends on how much you're actually planning to brickfilm.
I used paint at the begin, it does take a lot of work tho...
Last edited by ShingekiNoKyojin (July 2, 2014 (02:34pm))
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Does Hitfilm express allow for muzzle shots or blasters? Because if not then I'll just get the ultimate then. I'm not a huge fan of using adobe just because of the new monthly subscription requirement.
Yes. It is still pretty good [Thats wat I use]
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