question about ae and lsmaker

I've messed around with LSmaker and it is ok. We are also teetering with the idea of getting AE thru a friend of ours. Obviously, AE is vastly superior, but is it easier and quicker than LSmaker? I find the point and click method in LSmaker fairly easy, but i havent figured out all fo the settings, etc. I very much want quality- and i was just wondering if with AE's superior look came insanely difficult methods. thank you.

 

and i was just wondering if with AE's superior look came insanely difficult methods.

I'd say no, the method for creating sabers in AE is fairly simple. Follow the tutoials once, maybe twice and your good to go. You essentially create a new white layer. Than use a mask to trace the saber, and hit the keyframe button. Move onto the next frame, and repeat a couple hundred times.

Once your done that you just feather the mask to add glow and colorize it. (Don't think of this as a tutorial by any means, I'm just giving you an idea of the steps involved.)

I have been using AE for quite some time now so AE functions seem easy. But even for a beginner, once you understand the tutorials, its really quite easy.

 

Nothing about AE is insane or difficult. It's arguably the fastest way to get the quality you're talking about. The more time and effort you put into it, the higher the quality the result will be.

-Spiff

 

It's also worth nothing that any form of rotoscoping will take a lot of time - there's no way to get around it.

Good luck!

 

It's also worth noting that if you're thinking of buying a $500 program to make lightsabers you are outside of your head. Get a cheaper program like Effects Lab DV or something similar.

 

But do not use LSMaker for a serious flick. I used it for a school project and I got a 4 minute lightsaber duel to look pretty good in two afternoons, but I would never use it for an actual fanfilm.