user10434: Hi I was hoping any experienced video producer could tell me how an animation like the one showing at ~0:29-0:50 on the left side of this video is done?:



and is it possible to convert such an animation to separate transparent .png frames?

user6717: As Professor Sparkles pointed out, After Effects can generate smoke with its particle simulation.
Basically, you blur the particles and reduce their opacity and add shadowlets  (apparently requires Trapcode plugin) and lighting to make them look more volumetric.
Maybe you can nicely ask the makers of that video how they did it, because anything you create yourself might look much different, unless you know all parameters involved.
But then again, you probably shouldn't copy others' work.
You can generate smoke visuals with Blender (see e.g. this video) or other renderers with smoke/fluid simulation.
There are probably some costly dedicated generators out there, I guess
nVidia also has programming samples for its graphics cards, including one that generate smoke, so if you're a developer, you could take that, adapt it and record the output and import into AE.

user3295: If you want to do this from scratch you would need a software that has a particle simulation system. A popular tool for that is After Effects in conjunction with the plugin Particular from Red Giant. Its rather easy to use.
If you want even more realistic results you probably want to go with a more sophisticated solution often found in 3D packages like 3Ds Max, Cinema 4D or the the free and open source Blender.
If you dont want to render something yourself you can also buy stock-footage. A popular package is the Action Essentials 2 from Video Copilot. It offers pre-keyed (e.g. with transparency) footage from real smoke and fire and other misc. effects. You can easily colorize these to your liking and export them as a transparent png sequence.

10434: <p>Hi I was hoping any experienced video producer could tell me how an animation like the one showing at ~0:29-0:50 on the left side of this video is done?:
<div class="youtube-embed"><div>
                <iframe width="640px" height="395px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/633CHC6TTYY?start=0"></iframe>
            </div></div></p>

<p>and is it possible to convert such an animation to separate transparent .png frames?</p>
 6717: <p>As Professor Sparkles pointed out, After Effects can generate smoke with its particle simulation.</p>

<p>Basically, you <a href="http://youtu.be/yc2AGBoJoNk" rel="nofollow">blur the particles</a> and reduce their opacity and add shadowlets  (apparently requires <a href="http://www.trapcode.com/" rel="nofollow">Trapcode plugin</a>) and lighting to make them <a href="http://youtu.be/WE2-OPofJXI" rel="nofollow">look more volumetric</a>.</p>

<p>Maybe you can nicely ask the makers of that video how they did it, because anything you create yourself might look much different, unless you know all parameters involved.</p>

<p>But then again, you probably shouldn't copy others' work.</p>

<p>You can generate smoke visuals with Blender (see e.g. <a href="http://youtu.be/lYTVOdcgyP8" rel="nofollow">this video</a>) or other renderers with smoke/fluid simulation.</p>

<p>There are probably some costly dedicated generators out there, I guess</p>

<p><a href="http://http.developer.nvidia.com/GPUGems3/gpugems3_ch30.html" rel="nofollow">nVidia also has programming samples</a> for its graphics cards, including one that generate smoke, so if you're a developer, you could take that, adapt it and record the output and import into AE.</p>
 3295: <p>If you want to do this from scratch you would need a software that has a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_system" rel="nofollow">particle simulation system</a>. A popular tool for that is <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html" rel="nofollow">After Effects</a> in conjunction with the plugin <a href="http://www.redgiant.com/products/trapcode-particular/" rel="nofollow">Particular</a> from Red Giant. Its rather easy to use.</p>

<p>If you want even more realistic results you probably want to go with a more sophisticated solution often found in 3D packages like <a href="http://www.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/overview-dts?s_tnt=69291:1:0" rel="nofollow">3Ds Max</a>, <a href="http://www.maxon.net/products/cinema-4d-studio/who-should-use-it.html" rel="nofollow">Cinema 4D</a> or the the free and open source <a href="https://www.blender.org/features/" rel="nofollow">Blender</a>.</p>

<p>If you dont want to render something yourself you can also buy stock-footage. A popular package is the <a href="https://www.videocopilot.net/products/action2/" rel="nofollow">Action Essentials 2</a> from Video Copilot. It offers pre-keyed (e.g. with transparency) footage from real smoke and fire and other misc. effects. You can easily colorize these to your liking and export them as a transparent png sequence.</p>
