Video Editing Special Effects - Star Wars

What would I need (besides a computer and a camcorder) to add special effects to my home videos? I’m not talking about cheesy scene transitions and screen texts, but the really cool stuff like the glowing lightsabres and lazer guns seen in the Star Wars movies and such? I’ve got an idea that I’d like to see come to life but I don’t have a clue as to how to make something like that work.

When Star Wars 1 came out, there were a bunch of fan movies with Original Star Wars type effects, and a bunch of other sites showing how to do it.

Looks like several sites are now defunct, but check out this place, which (at first glance) appears to have some movie making tips you might find interesting.

Google is your friend.

I’m not sure if the links provided are affordable for the average home-movie maker, mind you, but the linked page has a ton of references. You might start looking there.

Once you have digitalized your clips on your hard disk (preferently in *.avi or *.mov format, depending your system, I recommend you Discreet’s3Ds Max and Combustion. We use them regularly but you’ll need to study how to use the software carefully. It’s not an easy task, but worths the pain.

If you’re using a Mac, you can use iMovie (included) to edit your video, then buy a couple of low-cost effects plug-ins to get whatever goodies you want. For example, Virtix Arsenal has 12 effects, including a “laser” that can be traced to match your footage and do light-saber effects (sample clip available on the site).

For 2D effects like lasers and lightsabres and other compositing, most PC based Star Wars fanfilm makers use Photoshop, After Effects, and any range of editing apps from Vegas Video, or Premiere Pro, through to Avid Xpress. Mac users tend to use Final Cut Express (or Pro).

For 3D effects, they will use 3DStudio Max or Lightwave. Some are lucky to use Maya.

Look 'em up. Some are mighty expensive, but the fanfilm makers tend to have access to either a lot of money, the Education versions (and sometimes illegal copies, though I think that’s happening less and less as the prices of Prosumer apps are coming down every year).