Hi All - I’m coming out of the closet with this - I have no idea how to use sapphire sparks to get the best out of them. And OFX ones quite frankly intimidate me.
I started my career using Smoke and The Company I worked for wouldn’t spend the money on a Sapphire Sparks licence for Smoke so I just learned how to do stuff without them.
However, I am curious. Are there any tutorials out there on them?
I like Matchbox too. And use them a lot. Mind, I can never quite remember what they all do.
@richardamckeand wins the internet sending me this
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sapphire+ofx+flame
What a link!
I have been off sapphire sparks for a number of years now due to my last company refusing to buy them but now I am working with an incredibly talented artist who is so comfortable with them that I find myself picking up her setups and looking at what has been used and wondering if I could have figured out their purpose just by looking at their names in OFX.
I love this @richardamckeand and thanks for coming out @johnt . I too am slightly intimidated.
Many years back I would just have gone through all of them and tried to figure out what the hell I would want dog vision for.
I always wanted to use Sapphire Zap on a job. And now I have for about 6 months straight. That’ll do. Still don’t know many other sparks except lens and textures. Dan Williams is a demon. Watched him make some golden tears on a Robbie Williams video. It was a pretty chain of Sapphire Sparks.
@randy @andymilkis I’ve just had a quick look through the Logik Live archive and I don’t think we have had a sapphire showcase or masterclass.
Is there someone who considers themselves a dab hand with sapphire sparks who would like to do a short demo?
I use them, and I’ve worked for them, developing lens flares. Hit me up.
Hey @johnt & @PlaceYourBetts
You’re in luck. This Sunday’s Logik Live is all about Sapphire Sparks! @Brian.fox from BorisFX Is going to be on to show off the latest and greatest in the new 2021.5 release, with a focus on S_Effect, S_Transition, S_FreeLens, S_UltraGlow, S_UltraZap. I’m gonna start promoting it tomorrow.
Hello all,
Looking forward to spending a relaxing Sunday afternoon chatting Sapphire with y’all. While I sadly cannot claim to be a master Flame artist (former Smoke guy- don’t judge), I can walk you through some of my hidden faves and new effects with Mr. Milkis. Also I’m bringing along my partner in crime Larissa who is the chief developer of Sapphire. I highly recommend also getting Dan Williams on at some point to show proper pro techniques.
Here is another great source for Sapphire info…It’s not Flame specific but overall concepts and techniques apply to all hosts: Boris FX | Videos
Brian Fox
Sapphire Product Manager
Boris FX
Looking very much forward to Sunday’s Logik Live. I’ve been beta testing Sapphire for more than 10 years, and have enjoyed watching the evolution. BorisFX puts a great deal of energy into the product.
Great! I also would like to see some tried and tested old school effects (we still have sapphire_11) Which kind of works with some symlinking to old flame paths. But all presets and lens designer are not working anymore now 
What are the sparks you use on a daily basis, if any.
If I know enough benefits to use sparks instead of matchbox in our jobs, I can maybe get
the company to upgrade to the newest Sapphire release!
For most it’s simple,
Load defaults,
wind up the brightness a lot,
tweak threshold to find where you want it to affect, then reduce brightness to taste.
Tweak the other parameters at the level you plan to use it and see what works.
Edge-flash, rack defocus comp, edge-blur and glows come in handy often.