Sci-fi is one of the most beloved genres in filmmaking, but it has its challenges. When you set your film in the distant future, everything has to have the edge of the unfamiliar<\/em> about it. This goes for weapons, as well. Nothing quite says “science fiction” like the demonstration of advanced technology, and by far the most common of these is someone getting shot by a raygun.<\/p>\n Ever since the beginning of filmmaking, directors have struggled to create realistic-looking visual effects when someone gets “zapped.” In early Star Trek<\/em><\/a>, the unlucky alien (or red shirt) simply disappeared in a soft glow. With today’s computers and software, we\u2019re able to create a pretty good disintegration with just the tools available to us in After Effects \u2014 and we can do it in under ten minutes. Here’s how.<\/p>\n