I tried to make an effect similar to a laser blast like from X-men and this was my result. The only thing I regret doing was making the explosion a little too small and placing it close range. The reason it was in close range was so that you could see my actor's eyes change when your watching it in HD.

Watch on youtube for a larger video player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuIwgfzPUQo