iCreate - UK (2020-05)

Final Cut Pro X

Produce

sci-fi special

effects

S

cience fiction (sci-fi) shows use special

effects to create dematerialising objects

(such as the Tardis from BBC TV’s

Doctor Who). The teleporting subject is filmed

in a location with the camera locked on a tripod.

After the subject is removed, the empty location

is filmed. By mixing the two clips together the

object seems to dematerialise while the identical

background remains solid. You can use Final Cut

Pro X to augment this old-school technique and

add extra effects such as a flashing light and

streaks of lens flare. You can also add movement

to locked source clips to give the sequence more

energy. By creating compound clips you can build

up layers of special effects and use masks to

restrict the effects to particular regions.

Enhance your science fiction scenes

with post-production video effects

Sci-fi effects

Edit clips in layers

You can create your own sci-fi show with an iPhone and Final Cut Pro X on Mac

Download

available

15

Time needed

Developer

Apple, Inc

Difficulty

Mix two clips

Here we’re using a classic Cross Dissolve to mix

between a clip featuring the police box and a clip

without it present. This make the box appear to

fade away while everyone else remains solid.

Shooting source footage

We captured the footage for this tutorial on an iPhone 11 Pro mounted on a

mini tripod. When shooting teleport footage it’s important that the exposure

and focal points don’t alter when you remove the main subject. Before filming,

hold your finger on the iPhone’s screen until the AE/AF LOCK icon appears.

Knowledge base

Compound clip

Compound clips consist of multiple layers

and effects that have been flattened into a

single layer. This enables you to add new

effects such as a camera move.

Editable properties

Each effect applied to a clip can be

fine-tuned in the Inspector. Here

we’ve tweaked the Threshold of the

Streaks effect so that lens-flare only

appears on the brightest highlights

of the flashing lamp.

Flashing light

The flashing light on top of the

police box is created by adding this

Light effect to the clip. A Vignette

mask is used to restrict the flashing

areas to the lamp itself, rather than

the scene as a whole.

Final Cut Pro X

Produce

sci-fi special

effects

S

cience fiction (sci-fi) shows use special

effects to create dematerialising objects

(such as the Tardis from BBC TV’s

Doctor Who). The teleporting subject is filmed

in a location with the camera locked on a tripod.

After the subject is removed, the empty location

is filmed. By mixing the two clips together the

object seems to dematerialise while the identical

background remains solid. You can use Final Cut

Pro X to augment this old-school technique and

add extra effects such as a flashing light and

streaks of lens flare. You can also add movement

to locked source clips to give the sequence more

energy. By creating compound clips you can build

up layers of special effects and use masks to

restrict the effects to particular regions.

Enhance your science fiction scenes

with post-production video effects

Sci-fi effects

Edit clips in layers

You can create your own sci-fi show with an iPhone and Final Cut Pro X on Mac

Download

available

15

Timeneeded

Developer

Apple, Inc

Difficulty

Mixtwoclips

Herewe’reusinga classicCrossDissolveto mix

betweena clipfeaturingthepoliceboxanda clip

withoutit present.Thismaketheboxappearto

fadeawaywhileeveryoneelseremainssolid.

Shootingsourcefootage

WecapturedthefootageforthistutorialonaniPhone 11 Promountedona

minitripod.Whenshootingteleportfootageit’simportantthattheexposure

andfocalpointsdon’talterwhenyouremovethemainsubject.Beforefilming,

holdyourfingerontheiPhone’sscreenuntiltheAE/AFLOCKiconappears.

Knowledge base

Compound clip

Compound clips consist of multiple layers

and effects that have been flattened into a

single layer. This enables you to add new

effects such as a camera move.

Editable properties

Each effect applied to a clip can be

fine-tuned in the Inspector. Here

we’ve tweaked the Threshold of the

Streaks effect so that lens-flare only

appears on the brightest highlights

of the flashing lamp.

Flashing light

The flashing light on top of the

police box is created by adding this

Light effect to the clip. A Vignette

mask is used to restrict the flashing

areas to the lamp itself, rather than

the scene as a whole.