Lens Flares

Altrouge · Post by **Altrouge** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:49 pm

Well, this is my first time attempting to use lens flares in an AMV, but I'm just not sure if I'm doing it right. I'm trying to create a kind of a flash but with a lens flare instead of a normal flash. Not sure if I'm explaining it right, but maybe this might clear things up:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2zmom4ylwiy

I want to make it look as realistic as possible, but I just don't really know how to use lens flares that well yet. I'm using Vegas, by the way.

Thanks ^.^

JaddziaDax · Post by **JaddziaDax** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 4:00 pm

to make it look realistic you gotta think about where the light source is coming from and how it would angle through an actual lense O.o

leahzero · Post by **leahzero** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:13 pm

Not to be pedantic, but...there's nothing realistic about the lens flare used in that clip. A realistic lens flare would stay still unless the camera or light source (or reflective surface in the shot) moved, none of which happens here. The flare also isn't aligned with the sword like the glint of metal, nor does it have the qualities of a camera flash, so I can't think of what exactly it's supposed to be imitating that looks "realistic."

Anyway, to get a similar effect to this clip in Vegas, add a lens flare with whatever preset you prefer. Set the light color to pure white and the tint to 1.00. Animate the size and intensity to get the flash effect. Also try animating light position and perspective to get a semi-natural sense of movement.

Altrouge · Post by **Altrouge** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:21 pm

leahzero wrote:Not to be pedantic, but...there's nothing realistic about the lens flare used in that clip. A realistic lens flare would stay still unless the camera or light source (or reflective surface in the shot) moved, none of which happens here. The flare also isn't aligned with the sword like the glint of metal, nor does it have the qualities of a camera flash, so I can't think of what exactly it's supposed to be imitating that looks "realistic."

Anyway, to get a similar effect to this clip in Vegas, add a lens flare with whatever preset you prefer. Set the light color to pure white and the tint to 1.00. Animate the size and intensity to get the flash effect. Also try animating light position and perspective to get a semi-natural sense of movement.

Well, I <i>was</i> just kinda messing around with it, just to show what I'm trying to achieve. I have absolutely no idea how light really operates and how to manipulate it, though, so forgive me if I'm sounding like a noob.

I understand what you're saying about the flare not supposed to move, so I was wrong; I'm not trying to make it realistic, just...'believable', per se. Sorry if I'm asking too much, but since you've seen the clip already, do you know where the flare would start and in which direction it would move?

Anyway, thanks for all your help. I'm still learning how to implement effects like this in my AMVs the right way, so I'll try following your advice.

LivingFlame · Post by **LivingFlame** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:06 pm

Maybe this is a dumb comment, but it looks to me like that clip already had its own built-in lens flare. So why add your own? o.O (And besides, that also means that clip shows you where the lens flare should go.)

Altrouge · Post by **Altrouge** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:34 pm

LivingFlame wrote:Maybe this is a dumb comment, but it looks to me like that clip already had its own built-in lens flare. So why add your own? o.O (And besides, that also means that clip shows you where the lens flare should go.)

Yes, it does, but not really the 'flash' effect that I wanted to match with the song. That's why I was trying to add my own. And yeah, I think I put the flare in the right spot (at least, that's where I thought I should put it: the spot where the flare 'shines' on the sword).

leahzero · Post by **leahzero** » Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:13 pm

Altrouge wrote:I understand what you're saying about the flare not supposed to move, so I was wrong; I'm not trying to make it realistic, just...'believable', per se. Sorry if I'm asking too much, but since you've seen the clip already, do you know where the flare would start and in which direction it would move?

Well, lens flares can be caused by lots of different things, but generally the flare will line up in 3D space with the main light source in a scene. Look at a lens flare--see the line that goes through the middle and runs straight through the circles of light? Think of that line like a ray of light coming from the sun or whatever is lighting up your clip, and match it up to that light source. Or, if you have something highly reflective in the scene (like a sword), look at how light bounces off of it and line up the lens flare ray with that.

Lens flares can also be caused by light being refracted inside camera lenses or other transparent objects, though, so in those cases it's hard to say what will make them look the most believable. Just go for whatever looks best to you in that case.

Honestly, unless you have a very obvious, visible light source in your clip, or a big reflective object (like a humongous sword

), don't worry about realism with lens flares. But if you're specifically trying to make a ray of light race across a sword or something, just look for clues in the footage you have as to where the main light is coming from.

Autraya · Post by **Autraya** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:39 am

knoll light factory plug-ins has heaps of modifications for lenseflares if you can't get what your after in vegas.

It's a premiere /AE plug-in

Altrouge · Post by **Altrouge** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:32 am

leahzero wrote:
Well, lens flares can be caused by lots of different things, but generally the flare will line up in 3D space with the main light source in a scene. Look at a lens flare--see the line that goes through the middle and runs straight through the circles of light? Think of that line like a ray of light coming from the sun or whatever is lighting up your clip, and match it up to that light source. Or, if you have something highly reflective in the scene (like a sword), look at how light bounces off of it and line up the lens flare ray with that.

Lens flares can also be caused by light being refracted inside camera lenses or other transparent objects, though, so in those cases it's hard to say what will make them look the most believable. Just go for whatever looks best to you in that case.

Honestly, unless you have a very obvious, visible light source in your clip, or a big reflective object (like a humongous sword ), don't worry about realism with lens flares. But if you're specifically trying to make a ray of light race across a sword or something, just look for clues in the footage you have as to where the main light is coming from.

Ah, I see. That makes a lot more sense as to where I should put it now. Thanks for your help ^.^

Also, thanks for the info, Autraya. I'll look into it if I can.