NEW TUTORIAL: Lightning Explosion Part-02
November 3rd, 2009

In part 02 of this electrifying series we will create a human explosion using clever compositing techniques and blood elements from Action Essentials 2.

Watch Tutorial

Be sure to watch behind the scenes in our latest blog show.

You can also follow us on Twitter for updates and info @videocopilot

Andrew Kramer
POSTED:
16 years ago
88 Comments
12 years ago
I loved this tutorial. You rock Andrew! I made my own version and put it on youtube and a co-worker thought it was real
15 years ago
Thank you for the brilliant toot!

I was out for a walk today and something very similar happened to me dooood!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAiXwvnotkw

Happy 4th of July you AE Genius!!!
Marcos
15 years ago
Completely unreal action, a lighting would never do such thing in a human body....if it was a bomb i would agree that the scene was awasome !!
But in some movies and actons think more in real-world physics !!!
luis carlos
15 years ago
hello andrew me llamo luis soy solo quiero acerte una pregunta soy fiel fantico tuyo desd que vi todo lo que haces quisiera saber si tu estudias para esto o solamente lo haces porque te gusta porque no creo que en una escuela te haigan ense??±ado todo esto jeje saludos desd panama..
16 years ago
Poor old Sam! First hit by lightning, then exploded his guts out...I wonder what's next? Abducted by aliens and torture him in a white chamber or maybe a head decapitation as a result of a heroic orc battle? The tuts are great (as always)!
16 years ago
I just wanted to leave a general comment, just to say thanks. You're really great. And you're really really good. I'm learning a lot from you and really enjoying the ride. Thanks!!
16 years ago
Here my sample!

http://vimeo.com/7739774
16 years ago
it reminds me a lot at the splashes from the movie District 9. You've done it well.
Danijel
16 years ago
Cool
16 years ago
Itâ??????s the videos like this that re-motivate me to get out there and get filming again.
16 years ago
Wow, this tutorial was really awesome, I hope next tutorials are as good as this one.
Valent
16 years ago
Hi Andrew and hi y'all!

I'm from Hong Kong. Yeayeayea... I'm a Chinese... so what? I know English and I learnt sooo many things from Andrew Which means Andrew isn't only teaching the American, also the other nationalities, all over the world! D

great tutorial and thanks for it <3

This is my version of the Lightning Strike+Explosion, please enjoy =]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwxe4bvPkQY
David
16 years ago
Hey man when will the next dvd of these free tutorials be released..
sly
16 years ago
my mouth still stands open....

Andrew everytime i think you can't go higher.... you do.
This is another perfect example how awesome your tutorials are, keep it up, you rule !
whiteto
16 years ago
the leg are look like zomBie!!

that good for Halloween
Jay
16 years ago
These are great tutorials, but I feel you leave out a lot of information from the tutorial compared to the original video.

For example: You did not go over how to make the individual splashes of water on the ground, the lens blur effect of water droplets streaming down the camera or the blood shooting at the camera.

Just a suggestion so you can try to fit in everything next time.
Anthony Villanueva
16 years ago
OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED SAM! YOU BASTARDS
16 years ago
thanks man this complite tut video
thanks agine withe out sound tody see it withe sound effects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJbkpos2R0s
16 years ago
Kumar, U r a blessings to this generation, Thanks you for everything! The Lightning Explosion is jst Awesome! ur the best man!
Serghei
16 years ago
Andrew I now you can help not only for me but for all

http://www.barbecue-design.de/home/latest/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1247136232&archive=&start_from=&ucat=8&
Serghei
16 years ago
Andrew pleace make a tutorial using this idea, tank you!!!!!

http://www.barbecue-design.de/home/latest/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1247136232&archive=&start_from=&ucat=8&

sorry for mstake I can"t write in english
GQ
16 years ago
Something similar to Dr.Manhattan, in the film Watchmen ^_^
Josh Scott
16 years ago
It's the videos like this that re-motivate me to get out there and get filming again.
Awesome stuff.
Action Essentials 2 is amazing!
16 years ago
When I grow up, I wanna be like Andrew Kramer
charlie brown the 3rd
16 years ago
you make me sick kramer, you have to much talent for one man, how about you share some of that talent with the rest of us huh ...... oh hang about you are. Well i guess ill be off to strike my loving but very annoyed girlfreind with lightning and blow her to pieces.

p.s my girlfriend asks if you could please do some more pleasant tutorials as she is sick of being killed off in our otherwise pleasant home videos.
Anjil Rana
16 years ago
Wow, U r Terrific man.............


Thanx for the tutorial

Best Regards
A. Rana
Olympia Logger
16 years ago
Wow Simon Box,

What a swell clip.
It's like TWO things in ONE!

It's a short movie AND a profoundly acute symptom.
Joey
16 years ago
Although i really like Sam, He has been disintegrated, he needed to be struck by lightning. Sorry Sam. Love the tut, and was wondering if morphing can be acheived in ae cs4? keep it up Andrew.
16 years ago
Hey Andrew I just saw the quick matte plugin, when are you going to release that?
@RA Elliot

Can't wait for the Bar Graph Tutorial. .

hahaha. .
Charlie Brown
16 years ago
I just scrolled down some comments and i am getting pissed!!!...about RA Elliot!!!....Andrew?.....ANDREW!!!...you was hoping?.. I KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU HOPE?...1st place winner is AMERICANS!!!(about visiting Your page)....so take the hope and throw it away...YOU don't need it!!!....believe in IT!!!...cause it's happening and YOU have no clue!!!
16 years ago
Great tutorial, Mr. Kramer! This is exactly what I need for a shot I'm planning in a sequel to a short film I worked on last year.

I'll be sure to post the sequel to the Videocopilot forum once it's complete this December. It will definitely involve the techniques from this tutorial, and other elements from Action Essentials 2. Thanks for being awesome.

-Simon Box

The original movie can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqCANjg8ZmQ
jeff
16 years ago
you make it look so easy. respect.
Jason
16 years ago
I loved the tutorial and thought it was very fun. You have pretty much already covered the main ideas in this tutorial that you did in other tutorials such as the "Assisted Suicide" tutorial and the 2 sky replacment tutorials but it was still a very fun and entertaining tutorial. I mean who does not like to blow stuff (Sam) up. After part one of the tutorial I finished it up on my own doing the exact things you did. I want to incorporate this into a short film just because it is so entartaining. Keep up the good work and keep those fun tutorials coming. Thanks so much.
16 years ago
Not a comment on the tutorial, but those anamorphic lens flare presets in optical flares look amazing! Please tell me you are going to include those presets in the package.

Another suggestion, Andrew, would be to set up a Optical Flare Library on your site, and let users submit custom created flares to that library. That way, we could all share presets, and have a wealth of flares to use. Just an idea.
Ali
16 years ago
How did you make the blood on the camera lens?
gatinhot
16 years ago
once again amazing... ofcourse i could do better (well i did the eye thing but you couldn't see it)
Qw3rtium
16 years ago
RA Elliott, yes. Only the bar graph tutorial to go
16 years ago
Anyone else notice we're drawing near to the 100th tutorial?
mike l
16 years ago
i loved the tutorial! everyone loves blood splattering!
i was a little suprised to see the edges never ended up getting refined in the key..
there was still a white halo around everything.
Reno
16 years ago
No one every makes a negative comment. I'll be a trend breaker - ha.

I honestly wasn't tutorial excited this time (sorry). I have no idea if I'll ever need to explode a human body. I mean it's really cool but it seems like mostly something teenagers would enjoy to show off.

I could use 3D graphs all day (wink wink) though. I do not like the Red Giant plugin and there is a void of 3D graph knowledge out there. I'd actually pay cash money to see that tutorial when it's done.

Still it's amazing how much I use minor elements of the tutorials all the time - like the boomerang fix from the fly-by titles. The tutorials here do have a lot more than just overall face value.
Hangtimex
16 years ago
I love the tutorials. Sadly most people don't take them and apply them to their own projects, rather just repeat exactly what you showed them how to do. I can bearly stand to go on youtube after you release a tutorial, because people upload the exact same thing (at least 10 per tut).

My point here is that the comments on making it better, are most likely coming from the ones that don't even try to use this information to create their own perfected projects.

no need to make a tutorial showing a new concept to become a work of art. At least a few of us know why you did what you did.
thank you Andrew
16 years ago
So... Was that a typo in the description or is it a hint of things to come for poor Sam? Using 'composting' techniques sounds rather nasty. Love the tutorial and it came out the day that my AE2 arrived.
Robert
16 years ago
Hay Andrew any idea when the quick matte plugin is coming out? Also im working on the h'ween candy thing to.
BillyW
16 years ago
Very nice Andrew!
Some Guy
16 years ago
Wow! The sky animation tip is amazing.
16 years ago
Mr. Kramer...do you use Facebook or Twitter? Philly wants to be apart of the visual effects movement.
16 years ago
Andrew, nice work!

that's tutorials for add in the amateurs movie's are really nice!

i hope you make more!

like i jumper effects, energy effects, everyone love it!

but, you are the best anyway!

congratulations for you are!
keep walking!
edwin
16 years ago
yep you gat me on this one staff is tight
16 years ago
Poor Sam Loya!
Young was a good...!
God's blessings to...!
Siddharth Sinha
16 years ago
Its cool...very intrestin....
16 years ago
Great Tutorial!

the blood on the floor looks great! you did forget to talk about the blood on the lens though, did you use AE2 for that or did you just blur out some "fake" blood?
Mr. Holland
16 years ago
Very nice tutorial, I love the skyline of new york that you put in the back, nice idea!
oras
16 years ago
thank you andy ^_^
regards from baghdad
Mause2k
16 years ago
Great tutorial Andrew! I am waiting for the next tutorial !
16 years ago
hi,
thanks for you tutorials,
interesting and useful...
but your tutorials not opening in my country " iran "
whats the problem?!
16 years ago
Thanks for this great tutorial..
On a constructive comment,i think the clouds could be animated using a technique Aharon Rabinowitz posted a while ago...
http://allbetsareoff.com/tutorials/creating-3d-cloud-motion-from-a-still-image/

...or you could just use great footage like VC real clouds

I used many techniques from this tutorial for a project i'm wworking with my students (i'm a teacher) in which a car crash is simulatesd from inside the car, on a rainy day...

Thanks again!
Alex
16 years ago
"In part 02 of this electrifying series we will create a human explosion using clever COMPOSTING techniques"

Didn't see them explained in the tutorial, am I right? xD
BBB
16 years ago
michael bay lens flare

hahahahahahahahahahahhahah . its so true its so true.
Casey Millwood
16 years ago
Just when I thought I was happy with previous work I have done, you go and show this tutorial. Awesome as always. thanks heaps.

Casey, Sydney - Australia
Airman
16 years ago
An awesome tutorial as always!
I noticed in the original composite some lightning flashes in the sky. How can you achieve that effect?
16 years ago
Very nice tutorial!
I like this kind of tuts, tuts with "real" footage.
16 years ago
I watched the first part of the lightning tutorial yesterday and the second part today. For me, you tutorials are the best way to learn After Effects. Earlier I tried to read a couple of AE books but that didn't work for me. After finding your site I learned more by watching just one of your tutorials than I learned from those two books combined. I just wish I had found your site earlier. Excellent work!
16 years ago
Wow Cool tutorial, Action Essential 2 it's a great
Product, Check my Action Essential vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqS9L1fruok
16 years ago
just awesome! just awesome!
Love it..
i just bought AE2.. it's really rocking
thanks
Amir
16 years ago
Hi dear Andrew ,I can't see your tutorials recently?!! I try Mozilla Firefox ,IE 7 and opera but none of them play your video do you know why ?plzzzzz help me
Rishi_AV
16 years ago
I really enjoy with your tutorials, thanks Andrew,
thanks for my CG GOD
Nikolaus
16 years ago
Yeah, great. So i will start my day with listening your voice and learn from the master
Dextrmania
16 years ago
Nice tutorial Andrew but as i told u before,this is more like a color correcting tutorial for me!!

The problem is that ur stock footage is view dependent,it doesnt really work with motion tracking. what i prefer to do is simply make my exlosion passes in 3ds max with fumefx and THEN follow you up with your tutorials.
Great job man
by the way have u ever used Magic Bullet from Red giant?
16 years ago
Hey Andrew great tutorial!

The 3D light casting tutorial would be great on the ground to
16 years ago
Wow, quick up for the second part. Thanks, Andrew. Another great one, as always... as RA Elliott said, lots of possibilities here. In addition to reactive light, I'd probably also add a little movement to the clouds. The devil is in the details!
@RA Elliot/Sir Andrew Kramer
I just wanted to add. .

maybe we could put a crater effect. .
so that it would be much more realistic. .

i don't really know. .
hahaha. .
coz i never seen a lightning hit the road
in front of me. . haha. .
Suvir
16 years ago
Suggestion/Request....

Next blog show --> small update about the new ae CS5 if possible....

Cheers
Suvir
16 years ago
Luvin it..... Killing sam is always fun....
Sniperwolf
16 years ago
Thanks Andrew for the part two of the halloween tutorial waiting for other VFX tutorials
--AlGeRiA--
Jason
16 years ago
@ Sullivan

Andrew does say what 3rd party tools are required in each of his tutorials if any. And this is an After Effects site so pretty much everything requires After effects.
16 years ago
@Sullivan, the 3rd party tools are listed on the tutorial landing page. There is also an icon to indicate what software is used such as AE. We don't have a difficulty because that is an arbitrary reference that is debatable. We do recommend people watch our basic training to help understand the features of After Effects.
ryan
16 years ago
Hay i saw the quick matte plugin in the end. Whens that comeing out?
Sullivan
16 years ago
hey andrew i just had a suggestion on a couple things you could do to help people navigate your tutorials better. 1: post what programs are required, 2: the level of difficulty, and 3: the third party plugins/stock elements required.

just a suggestion.
16 years ago
Good Idea RA Elliott, I was hoping people would catch that!
Ljubomir Sinozic
16 years ago
Thank you for part 2 tutorial love it looks amazing as alweys
16 years ago
Very cool Andrew. Just a suggestion: if you REALLY want to get detailed with it, throw in some 3d light casting (tut no. 93) on the ground from the bolt. Or add a floor plane and have the rain bounce around or something. Endless possibilities, really...
Olympia Logger
16 years ago
Superb... as usual.

I have a PRACTICAL working question.

How do you budget you time and organize your day?
You can do all this and run your business at the same time.
I usually work 6 days a week, can hardly find 5 seconds to myself in the day to fart and IF I'm lucky can get around to getting into your tutorials every other weekend or so.

Do you do this all in one setting or rotate it into other daily tasking ???

Or what...?
16 years ago
Thanks,I can't wait to see it.
sasha strelnikoff
16 years ago
super i love`d it
16 years ago
wow,very cool,I really love it
TnK,man