Guns a-Blazin': Creating a Muzzle Flash with Premiere Elements 7
- Filming Tips
- Step 1: Setting Up Your Project
- Step 2: Adding Media to the Project and the Timeline
- Step 3: Marking the Firing Points
- Step 4: Choosing the Color for the Muzzle Flash
- Step 5: Defining the Shape of the Muzzle Flash
- Step 6: Adding Some Blur
- Step 7: Duplicating the Muzzle Flash
- Final Steps: Adding a Sound Effect and a Background
- Render and Save
- Resources
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Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
A muzzle flash is the visual indication of a gun firing—although, strictly speaking, in the real world a muzzle flash doesn't occur every time a gun is fired. In the movie world, however, it happens all the time. Why? Well, partly because it adds a dramatic punch to the sound of the gun firing, but mainly because audiences have come to expect it. If you want your movies to live up to audience expectations, you should know how to do add a muzzle flash!
In this article, you'll learn how to use all the necessary tools in Premiere Elements 7 to create a cool-looking muzzle flash. No extra graphics or expensive plug-ins are required. It's just you, the Timeline, and a little imagination—the only three tools you need to create an amazing movie effect.
Filming Tips
The footage shown throughout this article was created indoors with the actor "firing" an Airsoft pistol. This footage was filmed against a green screen to allow the video editor to composite the actor into a street scene at a later point in the project (see Figure 1).
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When creating a scene like this, try to make sure that the actor keeps the weapon relatively still when pulling the trigger. Once the trigger is pulled, a real gun would recoil, so get your actor to reproduce this effect by jerking the gun back slightly as each shot is taken (see Figure 2).
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