Your favorite recipe for white pops

Hi all:

I know, there are a million ways to do them. What are your favorite methods for doing the classic visual "white pop" that is accompanied by a character having a flashback and are often accompanied by a big reverbed whoosh? Trying the dip to color dissolve and I just can't get it to look organic and smooth.

Thanks,

Dan

Too Much Too Soon, called "Flash Frame" or something. It's free too.

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Is the end result any different than me just doing a 5 frame white matte, applying opacity keyframes with smoothing? It seems like there so many different ways to do this.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

Dan

There are a bunch of different things to change up the look. Try a little blur on the images ramping up down with the dissolves. Use a color correction filter and drive up the blacks and whites during the dissolves. Take a glow filter and ramp it up to extremes and back on the new shot.

I have seen folks just use a straight cut to and from the white field as well.

I have a secret recipe (in AE) = It includes a Glow / Compound Blur / Bulge (sometimes) / Add (transfer Mode) - all used on a white solid Adjustment layer. Tweakers have at it.

Lazy = White solid / add transfer mode / 3 frame fade up / 7 frame fade out. Tweak to taste.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks for the recipe Joe. Unfortunately I am not an AE guy, just FCP and Motion.

Thanks,

Dan

My flash frame recipe is on my blog at [alex4d.wordpress.com]

Short version:

1. Add a "Dip to Color Dissolve" transition
2. Change transition settings to Threshold=0, Soft=80, Color=White(!)
3. Set the duration to 6 frames
4. Set the transition alignment to "Start on Edit" (keyboard shortcut: Option-1)

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Hi Alex:

This sounds more my speed, thanks for the advice. I'll give it a spin.

Dan

Don't be lazy, Dan

An aperture flash should BLOOM to it's highest point then come down...not just fade to white. There is a "Bloom" filter in FCP. Use that at the end of one clip (cut out last 7 frames and apply it) and the beginning of the next (cut out first 12 frames and apply it). I hate a plain 'ol "white flash". Looks cheesy.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks Joe. I'll give that one a try too today.

Dan

the free Too Much Too Soon filter does most of that.
you should give it a go.


nick

"Too Much Too Soon" is not a filter...it is a compilation of filters...and there's no "Flash Frame" in the group. A link would help here, fellas.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

...strike that. I just found it in the "Video Transitions" drop down...not "Video Filters".

GREAT transition, btw. Exactly what I accomplish with my recipe. Go for it.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Too Much Too Soon is a family of effects. The package contains both filters and transitions. It's a bit overused, but that's because it is convenient and looks good.

[www.mattias.nu]


www.derekmok.com

Guys, I really appreciate it. Mattias' flash frame is superb, exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks so much,

Dan

The ideal "white pop" in my opinion simulates a light leak in film, where light exposes the end of one reel. Light leaks were common in early roughly edited films, such as newsreels, where one reel was spliced onto another, because they wanted to use all the footage possible.

Light leaks have become common in broadcast commercials and used as stylistic elements in features.

I use an HD light leak element from Artbeats with a composite mode of "screen"... can't really simulate that particular look with filters.

Working on a tutorial on that subject at the moment!

Sounds interesting Josh. I used to shoot a lot of 16mm and S16 and yes, I love the look of the ends of reels on daylight spools.

Looking forward to seeing your tutorial.

Dan

Hi Dan,

Oops, I forgot to mention, a couple of real film light leak elements are bundled with the tutorial!