Hey everyone, thanks for joining me for another HitFilm tutorial.
Today we’re going to create a really high-energy black hole in space.
The main part of this effect is made with Fractal Noise, so it’s possible in both
HitFilm Pro and Express.
But some of the the effects we apply later on may require additional add-ons.
So, let's get started.
Similar to last week’s tutorial, we’ll be using Radiance 2.0 and Bokeh from my website.
If you haven’t downloaded those already, they’re free, and you can find the links
in the description, as well as the 2017 project file for this effect.
Let’s begin with a simple starry background.
I’ll create a Plane and add the Fractal Noise effect onto it.
In the Controls panel, Select “Starfield” in the Preset dropdown.
Make them a bit smaller by lowering the Scale under Transform.
If there are too many, lower the Offset under Appearance.
Create another Plane and make the size 3000x2000.
This is to make sure that it extends outside your frame, and you can zoom out without it
getting cropped.
I’ll add the Fractal Noise effect to this layer as well.
First I’ll change the Type to Fluid.
The Energy, Fluid, and Smoke types were added in the 2017 version of HitFilm.
In the Sub Settings dropdown, increase the Influence and Scale to around 80.
This will make it look less plastic, and more organic.
Now we can move on to the Appearance section, and under Color 2 I’ll select a pale light
blue.
It’s a bit washed out, so lower the Offset to around -.3.
What we’ve just done is the essence of this entire black hole.
You can combine numerous Fractal Noise layers to create the effect, making them different
colors and sizes and textures.
Since I want the black hole to be circular, I’ll come up and select the Ellipse Mask
tool, click in the center, hold down the Option key, and pull outwards.
In the Controls Panel, feather it to your liking.
I’ll then do the same thing, making the circle smaller in order to create the hole.
Set this Mask’s blend to Subtract, and feather it.
Right click on the Fractal layer and change the Blend Mode to Add.
Now add the Twirl effect.
Increase the Radius until it covers the whole thing, and adjust the Angle to get your preferred
amount of twistyness.
There are several techniques you can use to animate the Fractal Noise.
You could keyframe the Angle in the Twirl settings, but that might look too stretchy
if it goes too far.
You can also keyframe the Rotation in the Fractal’s Transform settings.
I did both, as well as keyframing the Seed at the top.
We can still see the stars through the black hole, so I’ll just add the Plane from the
Media panel under it.
Then, similar to the Fractal Noise layer, draw a feathered mask in the center.
I ended up having 4 or 5 different Fractal Noise layers in my final composite.
I won’t spend time walking you through each one, since the process is the same, but I’ll
show you one more and then we’ll move on to the Grade.
Let’s duplicate the texture we’ve already made, delete the Twirl, and reset the Fractal.
This time, I’ll select Energy in the Type.
In the Sub Settings, lower the Influence a touch.
Under Appearance, change the color to a saturated blue, leaning towards teal.
Lower the Offset to add some contrast, and raise the Exposure to brighten.
I can add a Diffuse effect to soften up the texture.
Now I’m going to lower the entire layer’s Opacity to 45, so that it’s barely visible.
What’s interesting about this whole effect is that the majority of the color and brightness
comes from the final grade.
It’s important to keep things dull and flat before putting that on.
I added a Purple and a Blue Spiral to give the whole scene more color variation.
This next layer is a particle simulation, which is only possible in HitFilm Pro.
I’ll be using a template for this setup, because it’s easier.
I’ve put together a pack of 10 free premade Particle Simulations to get you up and running
quickly, which you can find on the HitFilm Preset Marketplace.
Let’s drop PS Exploding Circle onto the timeline.
Since I want these particles to go inwards, I’ll change the Trajectory to Implode.
Then under Shape, increase the Radius.
We’ve got the Shape and direction set, so we can move on to customizing the appearance.
In the Particle System settings, lower the Particles Per Second to 15.
Change the Texture Source to Built In, and choose whichever you like.
I used Fire Ferocity 3.
Checkmark Align to Motion so that they turn inwards.
Change the color to a bright red/orange, and set the Blend Mode for the layer to Add.
In the Movement category, lower the speed to below 100.
Increase the Scale if you want bigger textures.
At this point I can add another Twirl effect.
Then a Diffuse to soften it.
So we’ve got our black hole textures all set up, but it looks a bit boring and flat.
Let’s create a Grade and first add the Levels Histogram effect.
The purpose of this effect is just to bring the overall brightness of the shot up.
Next is Bleach Bypass.
I know that this seems overgraded, but all of the other effects we’re going to add
will bring back the color.
I call this next effect a 3-Tier Glow.
If you’ve seen any recent video on my channel, it’s likely that I’ve used this technique.
Drop on the first Glow effect, and change the Blend to Add.
This Glow should stay close to the source, so lower the Radius until it hugs the bright
spots of the image.
Then lower the Intensity until it’s very slight.
All of these Glows will be set to Add, and so they’ll stack on top of each other; this
is why you keep the intensity low.
Duplicate this Glow, and raise the Radius.
Now do the same thing so that there are three total.
You may need to adjust the Intensity of each if they’re not strong enough or too bright.
Let’s add an Anamorphic Lens Flare which is available in the Atmospheric Lighting pack
for HitFilm Express for $25.
Turn up the Threshold, and lower the Intensity.
You can add a Hue, Saturation and Lightness can bring back the color of your image if
it’s too dull.
I used Lens Dirt 26 from my Bokeh pack.
Add the Lens Dirt effect to your Grade, which is also in the Atmospheric pack, and select
the picture under Dirt Layer after dragging it into the timeline
The Color Balance effect is useful for changing the Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows of your
shot.
Let’s add a light flare from Radiance onto this scene.
I’ll go to Import Composite Shot, choose the project file, and uncheck all but Anamorphic
Blue.
Once it opens, cut and paste the layers into your composite.
I’ll turn off the Hotspot and Gleam so that it’s less bright, and position it in the
bottom right corner.
If you’d like to change the color, add a Hue Shift effect.
This is what I ended up doing in the final effect, I just duplicated the flare and Point,
moved it to the top left, and shifted the color to orange.
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
If you’d like to see more videos like this, be sure to subscribe.
I’ll see you all in the next video.