Adaptation A: Lightning Tests #1

I wanted to do some tests to see how I could create some lightning effects for my infographic. I found a few tutorials that required a plug-in that I may try, but for now I used the Advanced Lightning effect within After Effects. I played around with the different settings, removing the default blue colour so it would fit in with my infographic more. After experimenting with these effects, I figured out what settings I'd need to animate to give it some nice movement and make it appear like it was striking. I tested out different 'lightning types' but I preferred the Directional, Strike, and Two-Way Strike the most. I feel that Strike (the first one in this video) would work best considering the lightning will be striking a metal rod, but I need to do more tests once I have some more assets.