ActionVFX. Stunning Visual Effects Library Online (Free & Paid)

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Some time ago, I needed some visual effects assets for my short film VECT0R.

In particular, I was looking for some muzzle flashes, gun smoke from a pistol, and blood splatter.

So, I went to my usual stock photo libraries, which I usually use for licensing royalty-free photos and vector graphics.

But I couldn’t find anything to get me there this time.

So, I decided to search online for other sources. And that’s when I stumbled upon ActionVFX. And it is the best visual effects library on the market by far! And, of course, it’s all royalty-free!

ActionVFX is High-Quality VFX Ready to Use

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Suppose I had just known of ActionVFX when I looked for the necessary visual effects.

In that case, I could have spent 5 minutes searching instead of the 5 hours I spent searching, downloading, and doing a lot of trial-and-error compositing in After Effects without any useful results.

And they keep adding more VFX assets all the time.

ActionVFX has quickly become my one-stop go-to VFX library whenever I need an explosion, muzzle flash, smoke, fire, snow, atmospheric dust, or fog – you name it.

TIP: When you do muzzle flares and gun smoke, remember the ratio of 1:3, i.e., the muzzle flare should always be approximately the same length as the distance from the mouth of the gun/rifle to the chamber where the bullets are (or a bit shorter than the length of the barrel). After the initial muzzle flare, the gun smoke should be three times as long.

Pricing and Buying Options

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The assets are priced very fair. And if you compare them to the traditional stock footage sites, I would say they’re priced extremely fair.

As prices are subject to change, I can’t mention them here. So I’ll describe how to get the best deals. And keep an eye out for special deals and sales.

Buy as Packs

One way to buy ActionVFX is to buy it in packs. Packs are a selection of effects within a single category.

For example, you can buy the Severed Necks & Limbs Pack (yikes!), which has 35 clips in shot in 12-Bit ProRes 4444 at 59.94fps on a RED GEMINI 5K.

The packs are 2K and 4K; the 2K version is cheaper.

You can easily pay between $50-$400 for a single stock footage video clip on other sites, and still, you won’t get this quality. So purchasing in packs is a good way to go, e.g., if you need a lot of explosions from different angles and sizes.

Buy as Single Clips

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You can also do it if you want a single clip – say “Severed Neck 7”. This will be the most expensive option in the long run, but if you need a few effects now and then, this is the way to go.

I’ve used this option now and then, and even though it’s the most expensive option, I still think the pricing is fair. Especially since you often only need the 2K version (unless you need the effect to be in the extreme foreground in a 4K or 6K video).

Often, though, I find myself scaling even the 2K clips down. But I’ve used things like atmospheric fog and dust before, which I’ve needed to fill the whole screen, so the 4K version comes in handy here.

The cheapest way to buy is to sign up for a subscription plan.

There are three options available:

  • The Silver Tier at USD 24 per month gives access to all assets with the Silver label.
  • The Gold Tier at USD 49 per month gives access to all assets with the Gold label.
  • The Elite Tier at USD 79 per month gives access to all assets with the Elite label.

These plans are all single-seat, but they have business plans available.

You also get 40% off all collections not included in your plan. So, let’s say you’ve purchased the Silver plan but need a couple of assets with the Elite label.

Now you get a nice discount on these.

Free VFX Assets For You

But before you take the plunge with ActionVFX.com, why not try out some of their free VFX assets?

If you follow this link, it will take you directly to the free assets library, with lots of cool free effects you can test out in your projects.

For example, you’ll find free VFXs such as lighting, blood, bullet holes, dust waves, burn marks, and sound effects.

As a new thing, they also offer practice footage, which you can use to practice your compositing skills.

I hope you find what you’re looking for. And feel free to share some of your cool VFX work in the comments below.


Author

    by
  • Jan Sørup

    Jan Sørup is a indie filmmaker, videographer and photographer from Denmark. He owns filmdaft.com and the Danish company Apertura, which produces video content for big companies in Denmark and Scandinavia. Jan has a background in music, has drawn webcomics, and is a former lecturer at the University of Copenhagen.

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