Introduction: How to Make a Harry Potter Wand Effect With Light

What did I make?
-In this instructable I will be showing you how to create a Harry Potter style wand beam. If you don't understand something or if I missed some details, please let me know.

How did I make it?
Materials needed:
-2 flashlights or LEDs. Preferably a red or green on along with a bright white one.
-A tripod
-A wand or small stick (it doesn't have to look perfect since it will be so zoomed out)
-A Digital SLR camera or a point and shoot that has an adjustable shutter speed that can go up to 20 seconds
-A Dark background (I used a dark blue curtain)
-A Dark room

You have to be sure that you are doing this in a dark room, otherwise you will be exposed as you draw in the light beam. The first thing you need to do is set up your tripod in front of the dark background so that all you can see is the background. I used a prop (the white string) to help me in the next step.
Set your shutter speed to 20 seconds with a 2 second timer and with the flash on. This makes it so you can pose when the flash first goes off. Right after you pose, you must find the exact spot that the tip of your wand was during the flash (this is why I used a prop to help me) and then you need to turn on your white flashlight or LED and draw it forward about half a foot. This creates a sort of 'magical explosion'. Then you need to find a way to remember the exact spot you left off, and then draw out of the screen with the red or green light.
This step might be laborious and you may have to try it a couple times to get the exact position.
Once you finally get the light aligned with the tip of the wand, you have your finished product. I realized after I made mine that Voldemort has a green beam coming out of his wand, so I edited it in photoshop to make it as Voldemort-like as possible. (The last picture)

Enjoy!
And please post your results if they work out!
Thank you for reading


Where did I make it?
-In my room
What did I learn from?
-I learned that the possibilities are endless when working with Cameras. I am finding something new every day.
(The questions are for the Make-to-Learn Youth Contest)