How to Create Realistic Fire Effects

Do you know that many cinema films and big-budget companies use visual effects to create realistic fires? It saves them from potential danger in production and helps them manage the time required to create a project. In this article, you will get pro tips and easy ways to add Fire effects by Wondershare Filmora.

Note: let's not count Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan productions because their movies have a higher budget, and creating fake fire is easy.

Part 1. What do you need to create fire effects?

Using simple tools such as Filmora and visual effects, you can create a realistic fire effect with an easy setup. For filming the effect, we will need

1. A good camera
2. A light source
3. Video editing software - Wondershare Filmora
4. Basic editing skills

However, the light source is key to the fire effects. It will be beneficial if you have a warmer color light or a light that can change its temperature. You can use tungsten light bulbs or small circular LEDs that are pretty famous with Vloggers and tick-tock users.

Part 2. How to make a realistic effect fire?

After getting prepared, it's time to do the real things. Follow the steps below to create a realistic fire effect like a pro.

Step1 Record your footage

While recording the video, you can slightly shake your light source, which will give it the flickering effect of the flame. Here, you can do this in two ways.

Shaking the light manually

Just make sure when you are shaking the light, it is not shaken aggressively, or it will lose its realism to a real fire.

Shaking the light using a dimmer

You can also use some skills to create the flickering effect of the fire without literally shaking the LED light. Dimmers come to help. A dimmer is a device that enables you to change the temperature of the LED light. If you have a dimmer, your work will be more accessible.

A regulator on the dimmer will help you switch between low and high tones. It will flicker the light on the object like a flame and make it look like it was placed in front of a real fire.

Step2 Record the object

Our next step will be to record the object on which the effect is taking place. Ensure the camera is placed under a good light source so that the picture is not dim and the object is exposed. Make sure the camera is placed at the level of the eye so that it will help you record your video clearly and accurately.

Also, keep in mind to zoom out the camera lens, which will fix the frame of the video so that the object or the person is entirely on the screen. Another tip for creating a realistic fire effect would be the person acting as the object. The more natural the acting is, the more realistic would be the fire effect.

Step3 Edit the footage

We are being safe and saving time by not using actual fire. The goal of creating a fake fire would be the effect and reaction of the object or the actor.

1. Download a professional video editing software - Wondershare Filmora

Visit Wondershare Filmora official site if you haven't already downloaded it.

Note: download the latest version of filmora. It will give you a pro version and help you to create more realistic fire effects.

2. Create a new project and import the recorded clips

Before adding the fire effects to your video, you must ensure that you are familiar with the editing software. Your first step would be to add your clips to the timeline. Drag the footage from the library and enter it into the timeline.

3. create the fire effect more realistic by adding smoke

The next step would be to add smoke to the fire. As it is only fair that the fire makes the smoke so. Adding the smoke will create the fire effect more realistic. Follow the below steps to get your cinematic video!

#Step1 Search for smoke effects

To add the smoke effect, click on the element's icon on the bar above and search for smokescreen 2.

#Step2 Add a smoke effect

Once you have searched and found the smoke screen 2 effects, then import that effect onto your timeline so that you can begin editing.

Once you've added the fire effect, you will notice the change on the screen in the top right corner.

#Step3 Add duration

The next step would be to set the duration of the smokescreen effect so that it matches the length of the video. To do so,

• Click on the edge of the smoke screen effect.
• Drag it to the right if the effect appears smaller than the video clip.
• And drag it to the left if it is larger than the video clip.
• As soon as it matches the length of the video, leave the drag, and it will fit right into place.

#Step4 Make some changes to the smoke effect

Once you have matched the duration of the smoke screen effect to the video clip, our next step would be to make some changes. These changes will make the smokescreen appear more pleasing—double-click on the smokescreen effect, which will open the transform menu.

We would first focus on the transform panel. Here you would have many options, but our focus would be on rotation, scale, and position.

Note: make sure to rotate the smoke screen effect by simply sliding the slider or dragging the slider right or left to your desire.

• You would have created an angle of the smokescreen to make it more natural.
• Now, we would have to adjust the scale of the smokescreen effect.
• Drag the slider to the right to expand the smoke to spread on the screen. It will help the smoke screen do appear more natural.
• You can adjust how much the smoke screen is visible on the screen by decreasing the opacity.

Adjust the slider to the left so it blends in with the flickering of the light we created. Now playback the video from the big screen to get an idea of the effect you added. And here are our parameters for reference.

Cool, isn't it? Now we have added smoke to our timeline. Combined with the flickering light effect, we are closer to our goal.

Step4 Add flames or sparks

To mimic a real fire, we also have one more element that is missing, And that will be the sparks and the flames. And if you want to bring the fire effect of your video to the pro level, we would have to use the film stock effects. Flames and sparks are also available in the Wondershare Filmora.

#Step1 Search for Fire Tab

• To do so, click on the bar above the element's icon.
• Once you have opened the elements tab, look to your left window, where further options are available.
• From these options, click on the fire tab.
• A new window will pop up in the library panel.

#Step2 Add the flame to the timeline

Click on a large scale 14 and drag it into your timeline above the smoke effect and the clip. Doing so would have created two extra layers after the video tab.

#Step3 Adjust the flame effect

Now, we have to do steps similar to the ones above the first job. But first, you have to click on the edges of the effect. Then, match it to the length of your video.

Now, remember if the length of the effect is more than that of the video clip. You can adjust it by clicking on the edge and dragging it to the left. And if it appears to be smaller than the video clip, drag the edge to the right to match the length.

#Step4 Blend the video

When you look at the effect as you play the video from the start, you will notice that the effect is a little more intense than we want. To change it to your desires, you can follow the following steps.

• First of all, double-click and open the transform
• Experiment with the rotation and the scale and position; make your choice.
• Then move on to the compositing panel and focus on the blending mode.
• Here, you will notice a drop-down panel and select the screen option from all the other options.
• Doing so would help you blend the spark effect video much better.

If you focus on the spark effect that appears on the screen, you will notice that it seems to be much more intense than we require. If you want to blend it further, you can use the opacity adjuster and decrease the transparency. Then, adjust the slider till you feel it to be just right.

And the following are ideal parameters of our adjustment just for you to refer to.

Final results

Now can easily create a realistic-looking fire effect by Wondershare Filmora.

Best editing views

See how easy it was to create a fire effect without using real fire. A fire effect you can use:

• To make your car catch on fire.
• You are screaming at the top of your lungs in a yard where your garden is on fire.
• Act like your husband forgot to watch the stove on with the dish in the kitchen.

You can create all these scenarios by using camera tricks and lighting effects. And a few skills in video editing, easily! How cool is that?

If you are a beginner or a frequent user of Wondershare Filmora, following the steps explained above will help you quickly get the hang of how to add fire effects to your videos.

Also, if you have a YouTube channel or a content creator, adding these effects will add unique creativity to your videos and ultimately boost your approach.