Create a fireworks effect using After Effects

Create a fireworks effect

To add some sparkle to your composition, follow these steps:

Choose File > New Composition in After Effects to create a new composition in whatever resolution you’d like to work in.
In the Composition Settings dialog box (Composition > Composition settings if you closed the window), set the Duration to 4 seconds (0;00;04;00).
Create a new solid layer in your composition by choosing Layer > New > Solid. In the Solid Settings dialog box, select Make Comp Size and then click OK.
Choose Effect > Simulation > CC Particle Systems II.
Select Composition > Preview > RAM Preview to do a RAM preview (see Figure 1). Check out the sparks!

Figure 1: Create some sparks with CC Particle Systems II.

We don’t need to do much to make this look really pretty. What we have now is a constant stream of sparks. Let’s set some keyframes for the Birth Rate of these particles to give us a single “pop.”
Drag the current-time indicator (CTI) in the Timeline to the beginning of the comp and then set an initial keyframe for Birth Rate by clicking the stopwatch to the left of its name in the Effect Controls panel (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Set the initial keyframe for the Birth Rate effect.
Set the Birth Rate to 40 in the Effect Controls panel, and then move the CTI ahead 5 frames and set the Birth Rate to 0. Do a RAM preview again and you’ll now see that “pop,” but we still have some work to do to make this more convincing.
In the Effect Controls panel, twirl open the controls for Physics and set Gravity to 0.2, which will keep the particles from falling away so quickly. Set the Resistance to 10 to keep the particles from traveling too far away from their point of origination (also known as the Producer).
Twirl open the controls for Particle and set Max Opacity to 50%.

Duplicate layers and create a sequence

Now we’ll duplicate the effect a few times to create a short sequence that includes multiple fireworks.

First, make the Solid layer 2 seconds long. Click and drag the right-hand edge of the clip to the left until it lines up with the 2-second mark on the Timeline (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Make the Solid layer 2 seconds long.
With the Solid layer selected, choose Edit > Duplicate to duplicate the layer, and then change the position of the Producer by first selecting the CC Particle Systems II effect in the Effect Controls panel. Then click and drag the Producer in the Composition Viewer to a new location (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: The Producer is a small circle with a cross inside it.
Repeat step 9 three more times until you have five copies of the layer, each with its Producer in a different location.
Now to have these fire off in a sequence, select all five of the layers, and then choose Animation > Keyframe Assistant > Sequence Layers.

Figure 5: Sequence the layers.
In the Sequence Layers dialog box, select Overlap. Each layer should fire 10 frames after the previous layer, so this is basically a math problem that depends on your frame rate:
- If you’re working in 30fps, enter a duration of 1:20 (0;00;01;20).
- If you’re working in 25fps, enter a duration of 1:15 (0;00;01;15).
- If you’re working in 24fps, enter a duration of 1:14 (0;00;01;14).
Click OK, do a RAM preview, and then sit back and watch the show.