After finding out that the DVDs for Star Trek: The Next Generation included an extra where the elements used to make up the iconic transporter look were shown, I decided to see if I could recreate them within After Effects. The original footage in the extra is not quite complete and is in SD quality. I saw it in a roundtable video on YouTube and the compression has not helped it either. So the challenge was can I use just the included effects in AE to get close. And you be the judge (although I think I got it).
In TNG VFX Supervisor Dan Curry's book (Star Trek: The Artistry of Dan Curry) he breaks down the effect into 4 parts:
- The Shower curtain
- Swirling particles
- The Power Pellet
- The fading out
Using his notes and the clips from the roundtable extra, I used Shape layers with dashes, gaps, repeater and Pucker & Bloat settings for the initial particles. Fractal Noise supplied the shower curtain and CC Particle World the swirling particles. CC Star Burst created the power pellet with the help of some glows. Finally, I used expression controls and Essential Graphics to turn my composition into a reusable precomp.
