Mainvision is a freeware program that has caught on with some filmmakers. You can find it at the MainVision website. This is not an easy program to learn but you cannot beat the price. It does have  many functions like Photoshop, Premiere, and Media Studio Pro.

Lightsabers and Energy Weapons
J. Daniel Sawyer has sent in a tutorial for creating lightsabers and blasters using MainVision.

Forked Force Lightning and Electricity in MainVision
J. Daniel Sawyer has sent in a tutorial for creating lightning and electricity using MainVision.

Mainvision: Axogon Tutorials
Tyler Dykstra has put together a website with tutorials using this program.