Theo Richardson

You got notes. From the director. They sent you a reference explosion that needs to be added to the street scene. The reference is just a picture. You study the reference photo for explosion type, size, and color characteristics. You note the fireball shape, smoke density, and how light hits surrounding objects. You find stock footage matching the reference style or build a particle simulation with similar properties. You scale the explosion to fit your street scene proportions. You color match the blast to reference temperature. You adjust saturation and brightness accordingly. You position the explosion in your street using the reference ground plane and perspective. You make sure it sits naturally on the pavement level. You paint light spill on nearby buildings, cars, and street elements following the reference illumination pattern. You use warm orange highlights at 50-70% opacity. You add camera shake proportional to the explosion size shown in reference. You start movement 2-3 frames after the blast peak. You composite smoke trail and flying debris matching the reference direction and density. You layer multiple smoke elements with varying transparency. You insert lens flare at the explosion center, scaling brightness based on the reference intensity and your scene’s lighting conditions. You apply motion blur to debris particles based on their apparent speed in the reference image. You color grade the entire street scene to show the warm atmospheric bounce lighting visible in the director’s reference photo. or You paste the image on top of the video (literally) and type “an explosion in the street”. You go for a walk.