How To: Make a building explode in After Effects

This video shows you how to create a building explosion (more specifically, the Statue of Liberty) in Adobe After Effects in less than ten minutes. The smoke and fire are downloaded separately, while the shattering of the statue is created in After Effects. First, duplicate the layers into what will and what will not explode, then create a mask around each one. Then, set the shatter effect to the exploding layer. Set the shape pattern to glass to make it more realistic. Also, you can raise the repetition to make more exploding pieces. To make sure there are no leftover pieces after the explosion, increase the radius after the explosion.