Optical Flares Effect After Effects

[Frida Kosofsky]

I tried to pre-compose but I lose the foreground type: effect and mask of the space station. So how I can keep my optical flares working all the way in the composition with the desired effects on other objects?

Before doing anything else, move down the timeline to where you should be seeing the effect but do not, select the layer that has Optical Flares applied then use the Layer/Open Layer menu to open the layer in the Layer Panel. Make sure Render and Optical Flares are selected at the bottom right of the Layer Panel. If you see the effect then another layer or another effect is blocking the Optical Flares layer. It is time to start troubleshooting the comp.

First, name your layers so you know what is in the comp and where they all are. I can figure out that Optical Flares is applied to the Black Solid in Layer 4 but I have no idea where layers 6 and 7 used as Foreground layers are in the comp or what they contain when the flare is visible at 17:14 in the timeline. I also can't see where Layer 7 - station.jpg is in the first screenshot at 0:00 or what it is supposed to be doing.

Third, your timeline does not show the Switches column so I can't see which layers have effects applied. I would use the first and second icons at the bottom left corner of the timeline panel so I could see both the Modes and Switches columns at the same time.

Now that the timeline and the comp panel are properly set up, move down the timeline until the effect (Optical Flares) appears, then move back one frame so it is gone. Now look for other layers that have effects on them and start turning off the fx in the timeline one layer at a time. If that does not show you where the problem lies turn the fx back on and start turning off layers one at a time until the Optical Flare appears.

If the effect never does reappear, select the Optical Flares layer, press the U key twice to reveal all modified properties in the Optical Flares section of the timeline, and start at the bottom resetting the modified properties.

It's exactly as Rick says - your lights get blocked by the foreground layers. In your specific scenario I can't even see how this would be useful in any way, even if you fiddle with OF's obscuration layer settings. Simply animate the light intensity by hand to get some nice looking effects.

I don't understand why your Optical Flares layer is 2D. If you have an animated camera and a light source in the universe then the light source should also be a 3D layer and it should probably be right in front of the background image.

If the Station.jpg does not have some effect or mask creating transparency then no light can get through to let the lens flare show up. Does that make sense? Maybe this will help. I start with this night shot with a moon, I duplicate the layer and add calculations, curves and extract to create an alpha channel matte, then I use the Matte layer as a foreground layer so the moon flickers as it goes behind the trees.

The Station.jpg has masks as shown in the picture, the light already gets through the masks ( windows stations). The issue is before the Station.jpg comes into the scene at 17 secs. So wee needs the flares working also from 0:17 secs.

When I started to play with the opacity of Station.jpg and also the mask modes and opacity, it gave me some good results but still for some seconds blinking.

As far as building a better looking flare goes, I tried a Google search for better lens flare after effects and got some good results:
A tutorial here on the COW [link]
And a tutorial on Creative Dojo that also links to a good Harry Frank tutorial on the same subject [link] I believe they use a 3rd-party plugin called Shine for some of it, but you can recreate Shine with some of the built-in effects too. CC Light Burst or CC Light Rays coupled with some color correction effects should do it.

Lens flares are largely just shapes with transparency, blending over the composite with an add or screen transfer mode. The positioning of these shapes can be based on rules which you can codify into a series of expressions, or perhaps handle in 3D with parenting and auto-orient.

Video Copilot Optical Flares is the perfect way to add cinematic flair and realism to your footage! Enjoy creating intricate lens flares in After Effects with an elegant, user-friendly interface. Plus, Open GL acceleration makes it super simple and fast. So, you can make stunning visuals without taking up too much of your precious time. Bring some extra sparkle into life with Video Copilot Optical Flares!

Every flare is completely customizable so the options are limitless. Plus, over 90 minutes of After Effects training with Andrew Kramer is included so new users can get comfortable quickly. Optical Flares is an affordable way to add sophistication and magic to your motion graphics and visual effects!

Plug-ins with M1 compatibility can run in the new M1-native version of After Effects, which is already up to 3x faster than previous versions on the Mac. And now, with M1-compatibility, Video Copilot plug-ins are ready to go!

The Render version of the plugin requires the same license process as the plugin itself but they can use the attached key file if they do not have access to the GUI (typical of AE Render or true nodes with no monitors).

The plugin is FANTASTIC, and ToolFarm made it effortless to download the plugin after purchase. The Plugin itself is Amazing, and everything they say it is. It has made my life so much easier, and my videos have come to life. I definitely recommend this product to people who are looking for that extra umph for their video editing.

It has a beautiful interface - makes using it great fun. As another reviewer said, it would be nice if there was a demo, but if you're looking for a flares plug-in just know that this is the one to get.

This is the new industry standard for Lens Flares! Optical Flares is by far the best plugin for creating lens flares. Not only are the possibilities endless but you can also create lens flares that look very realistic.The plugin comes with a variety (about 50-60) of presets wich are very helpful if you don't want to design your own lens flare. Plus it makes it very easy to combine different lens flares, position them with or without the help of AE Lights and much more.And it's fast. Even with a cheap graphics card you can preview the slowest lens flares in realtime. My last thought is just: Who needs Knoll Light Factory any longer?

As a compositor and motion graphics designer, light and lens effects can really mean the difference between a polished-looking or half-baked shot. Video CoPilot's Optical Flares is one-stop shopping for that final pass on your comp. Adding lens flares in post fell severely out of favor as After Effects' stock flare effect became more and more tired and outdated. But the highly customizable flare settings in Optical Flares helps breathe new life into that kind of design element, and more importantly, does a fantastic job simulating REAL flares-- hugely helpful in my work for matching shots acquired from different cameras. The do-it-yourself flare building options are actually quite daunting at first, so I depended heavily upon the really excellent presets that come bundled with the license until I learned the ropes. It's a great product and VCP's support are great as well when you have questions.

I was initially super excited for the release of Optical Flares and Video Copilot blew me away by exceeding all of my expectations. There is no doubt that Optical Flares will become an industry-standard suite in no time. It's unfortunate that a demo is not available for download, because I'm convinced that once most users get their hands dirty with Optical Flares they will immediately be hooked.

Read the full review of Optical Flares 1.0 by Nikc Miller at Microfilmmaker Magazine, June 1, 2010.

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VFX 2024.1 brings a set of new features to Real Lens Flares. Obscuration allows you to add fully integrated flare effects to any shot and the new Light Ball core projection option gives flares a physical presence in the scene.

2D + Distance gives you the ability to customize the distance of the light source in Z-Space, adding dimension to your shot. With the help of the Distance Affects Size and Size Affects Brightness Parameters you can change the moving flare.

Thanks to the upgraded lens simulation engine with support for anamorphic lenses in Real Lens Flares, filmmakers doing 3D renders, shooting video or doing motion graphics work can add Real Lens Flares to their shots.

Changing the aperture is one of the most dramatic ways that the user can change the look of the flare. With Real Lens Flares, you can change the number of blades, curvature, twist, and countless other properties of the aperture to tweak the look of your flare.

Real Lens Flares works like a real camera lens, you set the type of light, position and intensity, and our engine calculates a realistic flare based on the exposure that you set. Light Control also enables you to precisely place flares in 3D-tracked scenes based on After Effects Lights.

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