As someone who has lived through the "pain" of rotoscoping light swords manually, this is a great tutorial on a great feature effect of Hitfilm Pro 3. Thank you!
+Lord Ringozinglyzong Productions Until the end of December you can download HitFilm 3 Express with free lightsaber effects now: hitfilm.com/express/the-force
This tutorial is a fantastic teaser for an extremely large group of Sci-Fi Star Wars 3D CG enthusiasts, which I suspect would amount to a great deal of your potential and existing users. While I may not be able to launch an actual lunar lander or compete with a major studio, I think the concept of recreating a classic film sequence in any form is both amazing and inspirational. Great job Hitfilm devs and tutors. Each of your tutorials reduces my Pro purchase expense by at least $5, even before, or if, I produce anything of value.
I admit it I'm a newbie to effects an don't have the patience for a long tedious amount of work which results in frustration. I got Hitfilm because I want to have fun producing effects on my limited laptop so for someone on a budget who needs encouragement it bothers me that someone would complain of a quick way to do effects. Hitfilm gives me the opportunity I would never be able to achieve so for those of you complaining try keeping in mind there are those of us that don't have access to the type of tools that you do or assistance. If you don't like Hitfilm then use something else an do it the hard way! I LIKE HITFILM AN ON MY BUDGET THAT MEANS A LOT!
+Flint Hawk (sorry we can't respond directly to your message) - yes, there is the HitFilm Sci-Fi adventure pack which is available on our store here and also contains animated lasers, text crawl and hyperdrive as well as lightswords: hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express Hope that helps!
Hey HitFilm I cannot (unfortunately) purchase your lightsword pack but I was wondering if you could tell me how to mask out a lightsaber when it disappears behind an actor.
HitFilm I was going to say a lot more about how I was worried about different shutter speeds and frame rates with the way the it gauges motion blur, however you covered that while I was writing a comment so... good job HitFilm team once again. Thinking of everything a filmmaker/vfx artist has to think about. That's what is great about filmmaking software made by filmmakers.
HitFilm Okay i have the trail version of HitFilm and was trying to duplicate this effect myself only to realize that there is no keyframe option with a circle in a circular band. Is this because i have the trial version or did you change the layout for keyframes. If so a link to solve this would be very useful. Thanks!
+LavaMelon - keyframing is only available in composite shots. If you're working on the editor sequence you won't be able to activate keyframing. Take a look at this tutorial, which explains the differences: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bawBXIhMxsM.html
+HitFilm This may be a stupid question, but if I bought the scifi adventure pack available on the website, would it work in Hitfilm 4 Pro? Or is it only compatible with Hitfilm 3?
+JKashFilms I believe we answered your question on another video, but I'll just repeat it here: HitFilm 4 Pro has ALL the add-ons included, plus a number of other features not available for Express. You can see a table of comparison at the bottom of this page: hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express
Wurminator We have 8 tutorials which include mocha HitFilm. Some are from last year and use HitFilm 2 Ultimate but the same directions apply to HitFilm 3 Pro. You can find the playlist here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x0Zx_K0OZQo.html
HitFilm ive tried but it just turns pink instead. can you please show me how to make it specifically purple in a tutorial? ps: i have HitFilm 3 Express (SE)
Good video short sweet and to the point. There are however two other options you can use for backgrounds. Vinyl backgrounds and paint. I even did a video on vinyl green screens on RU-vid which you can find by searching for Paranoid & Grumpy. Keep up the good work Onward! The Paranoid & Grumpy Vietnam Vet
I tried to follow your lead in Hitfilm 3 Express, but nothing of the setting that are mentioned here appeared in Hitfilm 3 Express.. Also the downloaded project keeps giving back an error at opening. So too bad.. no light sabers for me.
I have Hitfilm 4 Pro but it doesn't automatically do the width for the hilt and blade. What do I do? Is there some type of effect setting I have to change first?
Awesome.. Having more than 2 points would be nice, in other words to be able to create a lightsaber effect on an item like an oddly shaped knife, or even a hand if need be. Hitfilm sure makes roto almost obsolete..
Thanks for the great tutorial! I do have question how ever. What did you do the light flares to get them to that color/style and which ones did you use? I can't really see tell you did that.
Check the section at 13:40, where Simon opens up the controls for the Light Flares effect. It appears he used the Green Circles as a starting point, and I imagine he adjusted the Hue shift that is built into the flare. If you open the project file you will be able to see exactly what settings he has used.
I've done my shoot now I'm stuck, the problem is when I import my video in composite shot it show me very much motion blur I cannot fix this, to make sure I've reshoot my scene twice that if I might be wrong in making good shoot, and really fed up of working on each frame move for this effect. I'm looking for much easier way. Do reply me thanks
+Rapzone Productions You might want to take a look at this video where we show you how to FILM a scene for lightsabers in camera (this includes reducing motion blur as much as possible). Motion blur is notoriously hard to fix, especially when compositing an element such as a lightsaber effect on top: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eYuztUQv0L0.html
I don't seem to have the light sword 2.auto effect in my Hitfilm 3 Express for some reason. How do i get it, should it have come with the download of the project file in the description?
+Oh Snap Productions they did shoot with reflective props, but it didn't give the results they desired, which is why they ended up rotoing the effects on top. In the non-special edition you can still glimpse some of the original reflective props.
You can purchase with Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro or PayPal. Simon, who did this tutorial, is no longer here, so I can't ask him exactly how long it too. But rotoscoping lightsabers goes relatively quickly once you get a rhythm to the process. I'd estimate that took a couple of hours for all the roto and other effects.
I like the tutorial but I wanted to know how to do the ignition part, I thought that was going to be discussed but I did not see where that was talked about and how it was done.
The effect works well and looks good but when I play the footage it's really slow. Does it just need time to render? Because my computer is new so I don't think it's that the computer is slow.
+DD Films Although your computer is new, it may still be below our minimum specs (which will mean it will have trouble with bigger projects). You can check that here: hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express
Is the pack for the flare you used in the Pro light Flare Pack? Is that where I get the effect or is there possibly something else I can use. I have the free Hit Film 3 Express. I'll appreciate the feed back.
+Adam Woodall correct, the pro light flare pack can be used. You could also add a white plane and mask out a white shape, then add some glows and blurs to make your own flare.
I am making a lightsaber video, and I'm trying to put a mask on an area so that the lightsaber will disappear when passing through that area, but whenever I put down the mask it just makes the lightsaber disappear wherever it is. How do I make the lightsaber disappear behind things like in this video? I watched the masking tutorial already but it didn't help me for this.
+Elijah Evans it sounds like you're on the right track. However, by default masks define the area to KEEP. In this case you want the shape to define the area to REMOVE. You can do this simply by inverting the mask, which you can do in the Controls panel or by clicking the invert button on the timeline next to the mask.
+Abhijit Srirangam if your scene exists as separate layers you can put the lightsaber behind them. Otherwise you'll need to use masks - either directly on the lightsaber layer, or on a duplicate of your background. Masking tute here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0lXrMk5MWd8.html
This tutorial shows you how to create lightsabers for free, in HitFilm 3 Express: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-taWsh-CLHDI.html Additional Lightsword effects are available in the Sci-Fi Adventure pack.
***** No problem at all - the full version is $299/£229 and can be bought from hitfilm.com where you'll also find much more information about the software and our forum community.
omg! always knew it was a pain in the arse for the old rotoscoping, and with computers and the technology and the programs now available.....does not really make it any quicker, just a better quality Special Visual Effect. ever since the original Star Wars, I have always loved the resonating sound of the lightsaber.
+Brandon Smith You can use the shortcut '.' to go forward a frame, or ',' to go back a frame. You can find a full list of shortcuts in the Preferences > Options > Tab 'shortcuts'. Hope that helps!
+MegaNerd Studios this video is from June 2015, long before Andrew made his Saber plugin. It's always good to have real competition - it makes everyone better in the long run.
XD very true. I wasn't implying something bad about your software, only that his is equally efficient. In fact, they're relatively the same. Do you have your lightsaber set to screen or add?
+MegaNerd Studios depends a little on the shot, though Screen tends to give subtler results and doesn't blow out the effect as much, giving you a bit more control over the glow.
Lord Ringozinglyzong Productions Yeah ik but my hitfilm lags a little so what are the numbers that have to be in there in order for the blade to be red?
+Sam Marsden Films And Photography correct - the lightsword effect handles the fanning automatically. All you need to do is position the blade on the leading edge of the prop.
It was mainly the hum of a broken television tube, according to Ben Burtt, the creator of the lightsaber sound. It was then played back through a speaker, and a mic was waved in front of the speaker to match the movements of the blade on-screen, and the motion of the mic created the variation in volume and tone that was recorded into the final soundtrack.
Explodous Gamers //// Η ΕΚΣΤΡΑΤΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ 1.000 Can you send us a support ticket so that we can find out where the process has gone wrong? hitfilm.com/questions/submit
+Johnny j We didn't have the full lightsword effect in HitFilm 2 Ultimate, as that was developed recently for 3 and 4 Pro. However, you could recreate a similar effect with masks and neon glow. You can see a tutorial on that here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6NVlqZjWMb4.html It's also worth noting that HitFilm 3 Express has free lightsaber effects included this December, if you wanted to try: hitfilm.com/express/the-force
+gospelguy365 do you want the colours to change in a radial pattern - ie, from the inside of the blade to the outside - or along its length - ie from hilt to tip?
+gospelguy365 try experimenting with adding a gradient effect after the lightsword. With the lightsword blend set to None and the gradient to Add you can start mixing colors. If you link the points of the lightsword and the gradient to point layer, you can control them both at the same time when you animate.
Thank you soooooo much! This has saved me hours of rotoscoping 3 different lightsaber effects on the same blade just to get what I wanted! This is one reason I exclusively use Hitfilm, Adobe couldn't have this kind of community if they tried lol
The free way to do a light saber is making a 4 point mask the shape of the lightswords blade and then giving it the neon glow effect. Select you color. Customize the look and the rest is rotoscoping
You can keyframe in the demo. Learn more from this community tutorial: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-40mgUlB8PYw.html - Javert (HitFilm Staff)
The specific effects included in Ignite will vary somewhat based on the capabilities of the host application, but at least some of the Lightsword effects are included in every host. To see exactly what is included for any specific host application, check out the Ignite page: hitfilm.com/ignite
Welcome to the HitFilm Community! We've got a number of great tutorials and the techniques in most can be translated to the newest software. I suggest taking a look at the following: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-taWsh-CLHDI.html - Oli (HitFilm Staff)
My students made this in HitFilm 2 using the old rotoscoping techniques. It took forever, but turned out well! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OPai487ocLk.html
+TheinterGalacticKid The lightsaber add-on was available for free for a limited time in December. You can still get the lightsaber effect, but you will need to invest in the sci-fi adventure pack add-on : hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express Hope that helps!
Right you are! If you want the Lightsword effects, you need the Sci-Fi Adventure Pack. Otherwise, you will want to go old school and use the free method: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-taWsh-CLHDI.html
you could do this alot easier with rebaslight, but whatever idiot made it decided, "hey, lets add a giant watermark that's 25 dollars to remove" and i can't even do this stuff with my hitfilm edit: nevermind, i can. the newer tutorials don't tell you how easy it really is
+Star Wars Nicaragua You can download HitFilm 3 Express for free here: hitfilm.com/express However this doesn't include lightsaber effects. You could buy an add-on, or invest in HitFilm 4 Pro which is available here: hitfilm.com/pro
+JKashFilms HitFilm 4 Pro contains ALL of the addon packs and more, as it is the professional version of the Express software. You can see what's included in each product at the bottom of each page: hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express
+HitFilm Where would I go to find the pack, because I can't seem to find the lightsaber effect in the effects panel. Do I have to download it separately?
+JKashFilms The lightsaber effect was free and included in Express for only a limited time in December 2015 as part of a Star Wars promotion. You can still purchase the lightsaber effect for Express, but you will need to invest in the sci-fi adventure pack to get it: hitfilm.com/store/hitfilm-3-express Hope that helps!
