The article discusses efficient methods for incorporating lightning effects into visual scenes, emphasizing the choice between 3D implementation and post-production techniques. While traditional methods can be time-consuming and render-intensive, post-production offers a quicker alternative, perfect for less complex environments. The author demonstrates the process using Adobe After Effects to animate lightning on a background plate, highlighting the importance of timing and reference materials. Key tips include adjusting keyframes for smoother animations and ensuring the background plate's resolution and frame rate support the final effect's quality.
If you want to reinforce the impact of your lightning strike, add a little camera shake at that point, then quickly have it tail off.
For an environment shot or something less complex, doing it in post-production can be a much better way; quicker to set up and faster to render.
This is a quick effect to set up, and the resulting lightning is perfect for the shot, especially considering it will only be seen for half a second.
A lot of the final result will be dependent on your background plate, so keep in mind things like your resolution and frame rate.
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