I started by seeing how well I could accomplish a camera track with a lightsaber hilt model from Videocopilot's Star Pack. I used the 3D camera tracker native to After Effects to generate useful scene data, and then I fed the position data to the Element 3D plugin by Videocopliot which generated the hilt on the coffee table. A small lens flare at the end of the shot using Optical Flares by Videocopilot gave it a J.J. Abrams touch.
Next, I tried to integrate a 3D camera track with an object in motion. I also wanted to test how well I could generate scene lighting using After Effects lights to match the shot as close as possible. The TIE Fighter model from Star Pack was a great fit for this exercise, and I used some footage from the top of my snowy cul-de sac as the landing pad set. I threw in a dust element and a few more lens flares to round out the shot.
Finally, I recruited some friends to make a short film for a recreational video competition through a club at Cal Poly. In the film, I also made use of a plugin called Saber by Videocopilot to cut together a short lightsaber battle. The frame-by-frame roto was tedious but rewarding. Short sequences from the film are shown at left.