I kno that a true film maker / editor should make his own muzzle flashes, but the truth is I am slow at that and I am pressed for time because I want to show off this short project my brothers and I are filming by Thanksgiving to my family. So does anybody know where I can download muzzle flashes that are ready to go to lay onto my timeline in FCP3? Thanks in advance!!!

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Mike Jones
Green Sky Productions

This website might have what you are looking for. I am pretty sure it has been reccomended in this forum quite a bit to those seeking some sort of similar visual effect you are seeking.

Detonation Films

Hope this helps.

-Bodd

This really should do the trick, just zoom in or out, position left or right on screen, make the backround transparent, and spend hours lining it up. Perfect, thats what i intend to do when i need flahses.

How do you make your own?

I, unfortunately, take many many hours to make my own. But for future reference, here you go:

1)Save the frame you want the flash on as a picture (I use 3 for pistols and I blink in and out for machine guns. For this tutorial, pistols).
2)Open up the frames in Adobe Photoshop (or whatever you have).
3)The first frame will have the biggest flash. where you want the flare to go, Draw a circle, fill with white, smudge the edges so it points the way you want it, then go to layer effects and add an outer glow of a whitish yellow.
4)Then you copy the same flare over to the next frame.
5)Elongate the flare.
6) Repeat step four for the last one.
7)Elongate the flare so that it looks like its about to wink out.

If done correctly, the flash will go and appear to wink out. for night shots, use the DODGE TOOL to lihgten up the surroundings, creating the illusion of a new light source from the gun.

Film Director is not a name,
It's a lifestyle.

Nice tip Rellik. I just tried that, and it looks pretty damn good so far. I'll have to try to make a sequence for video and see how it plays out.

I film firecrackers and fireworks (which I hang from branches with string) going off at night. That way you can pretty much key out the black with a color key very easily. Then you feather the edges and its done! A real animated explosion! If you really want to go into detail, mask the outer areas of the flash and make those transparent and feathered.