QUICK HALATION AE SCRIPT

$2 or More
  • Full Automated Process
  • Dockable Script
  • Seperate Control Layer

Requirements: 

Ae CC2024+

QUICK HALATION

FEATURES

One Button Action!

Select The layer, click the button!

Halation Layer

It duplicates, renames, and applies all native AE plugins!

Control Layer

A single layer to dial in your preferred look!

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How it works

What is Halation?

Halation is a glow effect that occurs around bright light sources in film. Surprisingly, halation is a flaw in the film. Keeping it extremely simplified, when light enters the camera’s aperture and passes through the layers of celluloid film, it reaches the final red layer and bounces back into the red layer of the film. It pretty much gives that red layer some extra love. This results in a “halo” effect, making the presence of light known around the brightest parts of the frame.

EMULATING HALATION IN AFTER EFFECTS

Now that we understand the concept of halation, let’s explore how to achieve this effect in After Effects. There are multiple ways to recreate halation, and we will discuss two of them.

Method 1

1. Duplicate the footage and rename it to “Halation”.
2. Apply a Levels effect to crush the dark values and leave only the highlights.
3. Use a Curves effect to tweak the highlights and create the desired effect.
4. Apply a Shift Channels effect to operate on the red and green values.
5. Add a Channel Blur effect to create the blurriness and fall-off of the halo.
6. Adjust the blend mode of the halation layer to “Add” for it to show up on the footage.

Method 2

1. Duplicate the footage and rename it to “Halation”.
2. Apply a Cineon Converter effect and adjust the white point to crush the darker values.
3. Use a Curves effect to fine-tune the highlights and eliminate unwanted parts of the frame.
4. Apply a Find Edges effect to emphasize the halo effect.
5. Add a Tint effect to map the white point to a desired color (e.g., red or burnt orange).
6. Use a Gaussian Blur effect to create the fall-off and softness of the halo.
7. Adjust the blend mode of the halation layer to “Add” for it to show up on the footage.

QUICK HALATION PRESET

After Effects Presets

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QUICK HALATION Preset

Name Your Own Price!

Requirements: 

Ae CC2023+

Also, this might not work for every situation – for example, I do run into issues with the highlights on hair – so it may take some finessing. Besides that, it’s quick, works well on 3D renders, and helps add to that coveted “film look.”

For information on how to install Presets/Scripts, please visit our Knowledge Base Documentation.

CHANGE LOG

  • Initial Release 2024.03.15
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To install your brand new After Effects Script:

  1. Unzip this file.
  2. Navigate to the Adobe Scripts folder:
    • Win: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptsUI Panels\
    • Mac: /Users/**username**/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Support Files/Scripts/ScriptsUI Panels/
  3. Copy the .jsxbin file to the \ScriptsUI Panels\ folder
  4. Restart Ae and look in the bottom Window menu for your awesome new tool!