How to Recreate Visual Effects from The Doctor Strange Movie?

All movies inspired by Marvel’s comics feature mind-bending effects that leave the audience speechless. Dr. Strange, is no exception, as the motion picture tells a tale of a recovering surgeon who discovers a way to open portals to other dimensions. The visual effects that were used to depict the portals Dr. Strange opens seem so realistic and natural in the movie. So, if you are a fan of this movie, you’ve come to the right place because in this article we are going to show you how you can recreate these effects in HitFilm Pro and Adobe After Effects.

• Part 1: Create Doctor Strange Shield/Portal Effect with Filmora Video Editor
• Part 2: Replicating the Doctor Strange Visual Effects with HitFilm Pro

Part 1: How to Easily Create Doctor Strange Shield/Portal Effect with Wondershare Filmora Video Editor

With the superhero cinematic elements, the motion tracking and green screen features in Filmora, you can now create the portal or shield effect easily. Follow the steps below or watch the video tutorial to find out how to create Doctor Strange shield effect in Filmora.

1. Import video to Filmora

Launch Filmora video editor and import the footage to the timeline. Trim out unnecessary parts if necessary.

2. Enable Motion Tracking

Double click the video and go to Motion tracking, click the motion tracking to enable it. Use the box in the preview window to specify the object to track. Click Starting tracking to track the movement. Here, we will track the movement of hand.

3. Add Shield Elements to Video

Go to Elements tab at the top, and search Superhero Cinematic in the search bar, and then you will see all the related effects. Select one of the shield element and drop it to the track above the video.

Double click the shield element in timeline and then adjust its size, position in the preview window.

4. Attach Shield Element to Follow Movement

Double click the video and then go to Motion Tracking option, click the drop-down menu and select the element you want to attach, here I will select Superheroes Cinematic Pack Element 10. Click OK to save the change.

5. Preview and Export

Playback the video to check the result in the preview window, and if everything goes well, click the Export to save the video. 

Besides adding Doctor Strange shield effect to video, you can also try the portal effects. Watch the video tutorial below to check how to make Doctor Strange portal effect in Filmora.

Based on the video tutorial above, here is how to create Marvel Portal Effect in Filmora. Things you need include the main video with green screen background, a background video before transport, a destination video after transport, and excellent acting skill like JJ.

The features you may use include green screen to composite videos, image mask to show destination video, portal ring element, transition for smooth transport, and shake effect for better result.

Step 1: Import Video to Filmora

Import the videos to the Filmora timeline. Drag the main video to the timeline. After that, drag the background video to the top of the timeline.

Note: The video must be a green screen background.

Step 2: Check the Chrome Key Box

Double-click on the green screen video and check the Chrome Key box to composite the videos. After that, click on OK.

Step 3: Add A Portal Ring

Click on Elements on the top bar, and then search Super Hero Cinematic in the search bar, find the portal ring element and drag it to the timeline. Double-click on the portal ring window and activate the Horizontal Flip effect.

Note: After that, move the green screen to the third and portal ring to the second track of the timeline. Moreover, you can also speed up the disappearance of the portal ring.

Step 4: Add Destination Video

Add the destination video to the fourth track, since we just want to show part of the destination video in the portal, we need to add Image Mask effect to it.

Go to Effects tab and drag the Image Mask to the video, and then double-click on it to adjust the settings.

After that move the destination video to the second track.

Step 5: Add Transition

Go to the Transition window, drag Round Zoom in from the Basic section, and drop on the destination clip. Trim the destination video to the end when the subject walks into the portal. Now, drag Round Zoom out and drop it to the end of the Destination clip.

Step 6: Duplicate the Portal Ring

In our case, when we play back the timeline, we find that the subject is not inside the portal ring when walking into it. we can fix this quickly by duplicating the portal ring clip. Copy and paste the portal ring on the fifth track. Delete the part before the subject steps into the portal ring. Double click the ring and set the Blending mode to Lighten from the Compositing section.

Step 7: Add Shake Effect

Go to the Effects window and drag the Extreme Effect in the Shade section. Drop it on the top of the timeline and stretch it to the length of the portal ring.

Part 2: Replicating the Visual from The Dr. Strange Movie with HitFilm Pro

Becoming proficient at creating visual effects requires years of training, but before you set yourself on that path you must first choose software that provides you with all the tools you need in order to produce impressive visual effects. HitFilm Pro is a video editing software that has more than 800 built-in VFX as well as powerful animation features.

Recreating the shield and the portal from Dr. Strange requires near-professional VFX skills because you have to know how to create composite shots, planes, layers or adjust the settings of the visual effects HitFilm Pro offers.

1. Preparation

Prepare for the process of replicating the shield and the portal effects by finding the source footage online you’re going to use as a guideline and then create a new project in HitFilm Pro. Furthermore, you’re going to need an image of a zodiac circle to make the process of making the shield a bit faster. You should keep in mind that you have to invert the image’s colors and remove all the symbols you don’t need from the image before you can use it in your project.

2. Create new composite shot and new layer

Start making the shield by creating a new composite shot in HitFilm Pro, and then click on the New Layer icon and select the Plane option.

3. Create a circle

Make sure to set the plane’s color to white and then proceed to create a circle mask, by selecting the Circle tool. Place the circle you’ve created at the center of the plane, and when done head over to the controls panel to duplicate the circle mask.

Change the Blend mode to Subtract and slightly increase the Expansion value in the Shape menu to improve the visibility of the circle you’re creating.

Use the Feather option to make the masks softer and resize them so that they resemble the circles in the source image. Position the image of a Zodiac circle over the masks you created and then apply the Demult effect to turn its background transparent.

4. Create recangle shape

Use the Rectangle Mask tool to create rectangular elements of the shield and position them within the circle masks you’ve already created. Place a plane with the Radio Waves effect applied to it at the very center of the shield and change its shape to hexagon and adjust its Curvature and Pitch settings. The duration of the effect you’re creating determines which values you are going to assign to the Wave Start and Wave End options.

5. Add Animation

Animate the squares and the zodiac circle by keyframing the rotation feature and then apply Energy Distortion effect to a new layer. Increase the effect’s Distortion, Scale and Diffusion Strenght settings, and reduce the Diffusion Bias value from the Effect Controls panel.

That's how to create a Doctor Strange portal effect with HitFilm Pro. You can also create a portal effect. Click on the New Layer icon and select the Point option, then go to the Transform menu in the Effect Controls panel and assign a -400 value to the Anchor Point option.

Add keyframes to the Rotation setting in order to determine how many times the Point you created should spin. Make two copies of the Point layer and then set Rotation keyframes for each new Point you created. Add the Particle Simulator effect to the timeline and attach it to the first Point you created from the Shape submenu that is located in the Emitter menu.

Change the effect’s Trajectory to Cone, adjust Rotation (Z) and Radius options and alter the Particles Per Second value. Go to the Appearance menu and select the Rain Streak option from the list of built-in texture sources.

Enable the Align to Motion option by clicking on it and adjust the Life, Scale and Speed settings in the Movement menu. Apply the same settings to all three Points and add the Glow effect to the portal. Fine-tune its options in order to add color to your portal and you’re done.

Conclusion

Recreating the portal and shield effects from the Dr. Strange movie is a highly complex task that can take a lot of time to complete. What’s more, finding the right context in which you can use these two visual effects can prove to be an even more difficult job because the Dr. Strange movie takes place in a universe in which magic portals and shield make sense. Creating such a universe in your video is anything but easy, and you must find the perfect motivation to use these effects. Try Wondershare Filmora video editor to create a Doctor Strange looking video today.