The Video Copilot Show is back! What is the Video Copilot show? And where did it go? Well, we used to do this thingwhere we filmedstuff we made...

Starting next week we will be taking you behind the scenes as we try to pull anotherintensevisual effects shot! Our goal was to tryand do something more challenging andshowexamples of what issues maycome up when shooting for visual effects and how to solve them! Or at least hide them enough so nobody notices.

Visual Effects are evolving and we want keep pushing the complexity of our tutorials. That is why we'll be covering things like matte painting, 3D set extensions, and crazy stuff like compositing translucent surfaces... I'll explain later!

The upcoming episode is one of the most complex ones we've done and I imagine in the future we will probably get lazy andjust film some dust flying around...

Right now, I'm splitting my time between finishing our short film Intercept (Circa 2015) and some killersoftware development and designprojects. The new Video Copilot show will hopefully be a vehicle to focus on specific visual effects and creating them from start to finish!

NOTE: Plug-in Installers Updated for After Effects 15.3
Some of you may know that you can copy the "Video Copilot" Plug-in folder over to the new After Effects plug-in folder but we also updated the installers as well. You can log-in to get the latest installers for Element 3D V2, Optical Flares and Heat Distortion. Or download the newSaber installer here!

I've also been experimenting with Element 3D almost everyday... Looking forward to showing you what we've been working on after a fewof these projects drop!

Reloading. #element3d & Motion Design 2 with Animation engine!

A video posted by Video Copilot (@andrewkramer) on Jul 6, 2016 at 6:38pm PDT

As I started worktoday I was overcome with a feeling of positive energy that real progress was underway.I got a chance to see major updatesonsomenewplug-ins we're developing and one high-flyingmodel pack. Plus this week I had achance to shoota new Blog Show and make some big progress on my short film Intercept!

I know there have been some bumps in the road this past year but I finally feel likeI'm back into a solid balance with life and work and family! The spinning wheels are finally gaining tracking and we're moving forward again!

The above video is a small taste of some of the VFX we're doingfor Intercept and yes the car crashes are rendered in Element 3D!! I don't quite have a release date for the film but I have a target in mind and I'm working towards that goal.

With the new Saber plug-in and Star Pack I'm getting better at balancingthe amount of work it realistically takes to create high quality stuff asmy expectations have gone up (Especially after working on Star Wars!) and I know the community wants to see more in depth and high quality tutorials and that is what we are going to focus on this year!

Working on a blog show!

A video posted by Video Copilot (@andrewkramer) on May 17, 2016 at 3:14pm PDT

I know there have been more than a few bumps in the road but I promise Intercept is happening! I was trying to do too much at once and it all went off the rails! I've finally got things balanced out with work, life and family and can't wait to finish it!

A video posted by Video Copilot (@andrewkramer) on May 19, 2016 at 8:11pm PDT

Happy Star Wars day! To celebrate our love for Star Wars we are giving away a sweet collection of 3D modelsthat we built so you can learn tocreate your own visual effects! Our goalis to show you tips for Lighting, Rigging and animating so you can learn to create exciting visual FX too!

These are not just some piece of junk models,these models are HD quality with detailed 4K textures! Plus they render fast inside Element 3D! How fast? Fast enough for you!

We had a blast creating this collection and we hope you will have fun playing with these models too!

Just to be clear, we do not mean to imply any Star Wars endorsement or sponsorship, Star Wars was a huge inspiration to my visual FX education and we know it has inspired many others to learn about visual FX.

Note: All scenes rendered inside Element 3D V2!

Need Light Sabers orlaser blasts? Use our Free Saber plug-in!

Included Models: OBJ with DDS Textures and optional JPG files!

*Some of the names included on this page are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm.

DOWNLOAD STAR WARS MODEL PACK! (Place in Video Copilot model folder)

DOWNLOAD model pack

Alternate Textures Files: Download JPG Map files

Need some LightSabers or Laser blasts? Use our Free Saber plug-in!

Here is my Star Wars hologram presentation. I get into the design process a bit and focus on some of the challenges and interesting techniques we used. Including the time I met Harrison Ford... kinda.

NAB was a lot of fun this year.Fun to see many of the design friends and all of the people from the community. Thanks to the team at Adobe for recording the session so we could share online! At some point I'd love to get into more technical details and in-depth info about the work process.

Here is a mini-interview I didas well!

If you are going to be at NAB todayor tomorrow, join me at the Adobe booth at 2PM!

I'll be talking about some things I learned while working on Star Wars: The Force Awakenshelping to makeHolograms, Graphics and Titles!

Be sure to follow us on Twittter for updates throughout the week!

I had a great time working on the film and working with thisawesome and talented team! SHOUT Out to:Jayse, Navarro, Ryan, Brandon, Brian, Seth and Dustin! Never met a nicer, funnier, creative groupof artists!