I filmed a subject on the green screen holding an old camera with one of those big flashes, and she pushes the button, but of course it doesn't work anymore. So how do I simulate the flash going off? Lens Flair tool, but I cant get it to look realistic at all.
Re: How do I simulate a camera flash? by Joey Foreman on May 14, 2008 at 11:55:36 pm
Lens Flare simulates the effect of light reflected back onto a camera lens when the beams of a light source enter it directly. You know - a lens flare. You see it in movies all the time.
Give CC Light Rays a try. You can position its point of origin, and I usually just apply it to a one or two frame adjustment layer. Tweak its defaults, give it a blue tint, etc.
Joey Foreman
Editor/Animator
Nowhere Productions, Athens, GA
Re: How do I simulate a camera flash? by david bogie on May 16, 2008 at 6:52:26 pm
If you want realism, shoot it. The problem with faking flashbulbs is the light source is a point. This creates directional light that casts hard focused shadows. You cannot put that in as a post production overlay with any convincing degree of "realism".
needlessly pedantic:
Old photo flashbulbs were filled with a coiled metal thread or foil. When energized with a small amount of current with the shutter, an ignitor squib started a chain reaction that not-quite-instantly caused the metal to combust. There is a slight ramp-up of the light output from the bulb that is imperceptible but the end of the physical sequence is quite noticeable. The glass bulb envelope reaches red or white hot temperatures and, as the metal plasma cools, the amount of light ramps down and the color of the light changes.
bogiesan
This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: "For crying out loud, read the freakin' manual."
