The Teleportation Video FX

Because I'm part of this film project, naturally, there has to be video FX. And not just pointless explosions, which are frankly too easy and relatively boring. I'm talking advanced stuff. Using Adobe After Effects CS6, I'm planning on making a teleportation-like effect for the time-travelling, stalking, "Shadower" guy. This effect probably will only be seen once or twice, but it's the hardest effect in the film and will probably take a few hours to get right.

The first "type" of teleportation I'm looking at, as a basis, is the style of the film "Jumper". I like it because it's fast and quite sci-fi-like, yet rather simple. It's not overdone, hence making it short and sweet. It doesn't draw attention to itself, but because it's not a natural movement it will still be visually pleasing to the audience. It might also make them go "Wow. This is cool". Hopefully. The short action sequence on the right features and is based purely on the teleportation effect from "Jumper". The only major difference between this film effect and the one in our film will be that this effect moves the person from A to B in space, while ours takes the person from A to B in time. Plus I might add a blue-tinge to make it look cool.

The second kind of teleportation involves smoke. It's a bit more mystical, opposed to the sci-fi. To the left is an example of what I'm talking about. Though if I chose this type the smoke wouldn't be as potent. I'd lower the opacity and make it less dark. This different colour would be a lot less devious, unlike the one seen. I think combining some spark effects to this could make it more visually pleasing.

Now, would a standard fade into nothing suffice? Perhaps, I mean it wouldn't be as fun, yet the simplicity of it would be quick and easy. It could also fit a more simplified theme, opposed to magic or sci-fi. However, it wouldn't be as visually pleasing in comparison to the other effects. Also I don't think it's anywhere near as cool...

Alternatively, there could just be no fade at all. He could just disappear and reappear seamlessly. It's a bit lazy, but as you can see from the video on the left, it can be strangely effective.

Yes, this next one is a bit like Star Trek... Ok, it is almost exactly like Star Trek. But I like the style of it. It gives off both a fantasy and science fiction feel. It's very nice to look at too. However, this type of effect could be quite hard and time consuming to produce.

I like how the "slow burn" kind of effects look. They have a degree of detail and grittiness which other effects lack. It gives the audience time to see what's happening and doesn't surprise them when the character disappears, but instead allows them time to watch and enjoy. The downside to this effect is that it's very time-consuming, and it's very easy to see when the editor has made a mistake. One mistake when editing this can spoil the entire illusion of the film.

-BW