BCC 2D Particles

Category: BCC Particles

Effect Name: BCC 2D Particles

The BCC 2D Particles filter, part of the BCC Particles category, breaks the source image into particles and disperses them in 2D space.

Working with the Filter

Presets and Common Controls

• BCC filters come with a library of factory installed presets plus the ability to create your own custom presets and preview them with the BCC FX Browser™.
• BCC filters also include common controls that configure global effect preferences and other host-specific effect settings.

For more information about working with presets and other common controls, Click Here.

Beat Reactor

The Beat Reactor is an audio-driven animation system that links effect parameters to an audio track. This allows visual effects to react dynamically to sound without manual key-framing.

For more information, see Beat Reactor Documentation.

• Scatter (initial): Determines the initial position of the scattered image. At the default of 0, the image appears as if it is not scattered, which is ideal for creating transitions from one complete image to another. Negative Scatter values do not scatter the image, but are useful if the image needs to appear unaffected for a longer period of time.
• Automate Scatter: Determines the speed and direction of the auto-animation. The choices are Manual; Fast, Medium, or Slow Forward; and Fast, Medium, or Slow Reverse. The Forward options create an effect that shatters the initial image and disperses it, revealing a new image; whereas the Reverse options cause pieces to fly onto the screen to form the transition image. For more precise control over the animation of the effect, choose Manual. This allows you to use the Scatter setting as your time value directly, and animate it forwards, backwards, or both using keyframes.
• Particle X: Provides a multiplication factor for Grid Spacing that determines the order of magnitude of the grid spacing. For example, if Grid Spacing is set to 15 and Particle X is set to 100, the image breaks into 1500 particles. As the number of particles increases, the size of each individual particle decreases.

• Explosion Type: Determines the animation style of the explosion.

• Burst: Creates a fast initial burst, then particles slow down.
• Soft Burst: Creates a slower initial burst, then particles slow down.
• Constant: Causes particles to disperse at a constant speed.
• Soft Acceleration: Causes particles to move slowly at first, then gradually accelerate.
• Acceleration: Causes particles to move slowly at first, then quickly accelerate.

• Movement Speed: Sets the velocity of the particles.
• Light: Sets the intensity of the directional light on the moving particles. At a value of 0, all the particles are evenly lit, as if by an ambient light source. Increasing values increase the intensity of the directional light. Particles that rotate toward the light source are more brightly illuminated, whereas particles that rotate away from the light source appear more deeply in shadow.
• Light Angle: Sets the direction of the light beam.
• Light Color: Sets the color of the directional light.

Custom Shape Group

The controls in this group create custom particle shapes by using the alpha or color information from another layer in the timeline.

• Shape Image: Selects the layer in the timeline used to create the custom shape.
• Shape Use: Determines how the Shape Image layer media is used to create the shape.
• Alpha: Uses the alpha channel to determine particle shape.
• Inverted Alpha: Uses the inverse of the alpha channel to determine particle shape.
• Color: Uses the color information to determine the particle shape.
• Inverted Color: Uses inverted color information to determine particle shape.
• Source: Creates particles that are small copies of the original image.
• Shape Size: Determines how the Shape Image media is scaled in creating the particles. Larger means that the custom shape size is greater than or equal to the original particle size, Smaller means that it is less than or equal to the original particle size, and Conform to Particle means it is scaled to the size of the original Shape Image media from which the particles are made.
• Shape Transformation: Transforms each particle into a rectangle. At a Shape Transformation value of 0, the particles are unaffected and conform to the custom shape. At a value of 100, the particles are completely rectangular. This parameter is useful for creating smooth transitions in which the original image splits into rectangles which then transform into the custom shape.
• Save Unscattered: When enabled, unscattered particles do not break up the image when using custom shapes.
• Shape Type: Determines how the animation of the Shape Image affects the particle shape.

• Animate Shape: The custom shape animates along with the source Shape Image layer.
• Random Frames: Chooses the first few frames of the custom shape image and randomly distributes those shapes among the particles. When Random Frames is chosen, Shape Frame Count determines the number of frames selected from the Shape Image layer. Shape Random Seed sets which value is input to the random number generator used by the filter to determine which Shape Image layer frame is used for each output frame.

• Optimize Resample: When selected, the filter automatically performs Resample Quality adjustments.

Scatter Wipe Group

The Scatter Wipe group shatters images in a wipe-like fashion, and allows for controling the rate and direction in which particles break off and disperse. Particles may be wiped in a single direction or via a custom gradient.

• Scatter Wipe: Determines how the wipe progresses through the image.

• Off: No wipe takes place.
• On: The particles wipe across in the pattern designated by the Wipe Custom Gradient.
• Pass Through: Similar to On, except that the particles begin at a negative Scatter value rather than a value of 0. Particles come together along the edge of the wipe, then fall apart again as the wipe passes across the screen. This creates an effect which looks like a line that forms and dissipates the image as the line moves across the screen.
• Random Wipe: The particles break off randomly across the screen.

• Wipe Custom Gradient: Selects a layer in the timeline to use as the custom gradient. Regions in the image corresponding to the darkest areas in the gradient break up first, followed by increasingly lighter areas. If None is chosen, the wipe moves across the screen in a straight line. The direction of the line is determined by Wipe Angle.
• Invert Gradient: Inverts the luma or alpha values in the custom wipe gradient, thereby reversing the scatter wipe pattern.
• Wipe Angle: Sets the angle of the wipe at which the whole image is broken in particles.
• Wipe Speed: Sets the speed of the wipe by determining the Scatter value at which the whole image is broken in particles.

Move Group

• Velocity Type: Sets the pattern of movement the particles follow.

• Random: Moves the particles in random directions as they disperse.
• Straight: Moves the particles in a straight line along the Direction angle.
• Centripetal: Moves the particles toward the center point determined by Center X and Center Y.
• Centrifugal: Moves the particles away from the center point.
• Spiral CW: Moves the particles in a clockwise spiral around the center point.
• Spiral CCW: Moves the particles in a counter-clockwise spiral around the center point.
• No Movement: Makes the particles rotate but not change position.

• Variance: Sets the range of different particle speeds that can appear in the effect. A Variance of 0 synchronizes all of the particles. A larger Variance value increasingly randomizes particle speeds.
• Adjustment: Behavior is based on Velocity Type.
• Random and Straight: Adjustment works as a variance control on the particle direction. By animating Adjustment, you can make the particles swerve or change course.
• Spiral CW and Spiral CCW: Adjustment determines the strength of the spiral. Increasing this value makes the particles spiral much faster, while decreasing this value makes them spiral more slowly.
• Centripetal and Centrifugal: Adjustment has no effect.
• Center of Velocity: Sets the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the center point from, toward, or around which the particles move when Velocity Type is set to Centripetal, Centrifugal, Spiral CW, or Spiral CCW.

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• Velocity Radius: Sets the radius of the particle system when Velocity Type is set to Centripetal, Centrifugal, Spiral CW, or Spiral CCW.
• Stop at Center: Determines what happens when particles reach the center point. If Stop at Center is selected, particles move into the center of the image and disappear when they reach the center point. If this option is deselected, the particles pass through the Center and continue moving through to the back side, creating an implosion effect.

Gravity Group

The Gravity controls apply a simulated gravitational force to the velocity of the particles.

• Gravity: Applies a secondary force to the particles’ movement in addition to their normal velocities. A small amount of Gravity can often help make an effect look more natural by creating more parabolic movement.
• Gravity Type: Determines how gravity is applied to the particles.
• Random: Applies a random gravitational pull to the particles.
• Straight: Exerts a straight downward pull on the particles. You can adjust the Gravity Angle control to pull in any direction, simulating wind.
• Centripetal: Applies gravity that pulls particles away from the point defined by the Center of Gravity position controls.
• Centrifugal: Pulls particles away from the point defined by Center of Gravity. Gravity Angle sets the angle of the particles as they move.
• Gravity Angle: Used to pull particles can be pulled in any direction, which can be used to simulate wind.
• Center of Gravity: Sets the center point for the gravitational force.

Options Group

The Options parameters affect particle density, position, size and behavior.

• Grid Spacing: Works in conjunction with Particle X to determine the number of particles created from the image.
• Density: Sets the density of the particles in relation to each other. Low Density values spread the particles farther apart; high values pack the particles more closely together.
• Position Variance: Varies the positions of each particle.

• Size: Sets the size of the particles without affecting the grid spacing or the number of particles.
• Size Variance: Varies the size of the particles by scaling them to 100% of their original size plus the Size Variance value.
• XY Ratio: Determines the aspect ratio of the particle grid.
• Process Channels: Determines which channels in the source image are processed.
• Opacity: Sets the transparency level of all the particles.
• Opacity Variance: Varies the opacity of the particles. If you want the particles to change from completely opaque to completely transparent as the effect progresses, animate Opacity from 100 to 0, and set Opacity Variance to 0. If Opacity Variance is set to any value other than 0, some visible particles are at an Opacity value of 0, and some particles are transparent at an Opacity value of 100.
• Process Channels: Determines which channels in the source image are processed. The default setting, All, processes all four channels, however it is possile process Alpha Only, Red Only, Green Only, or Blue Only.
• Expand Clipping: When enabled, the effect will extend beyond the boundaries of the layer it is applied to.
• Keep Original: When enabled, the original image appears behind the particles so that they reveal the image behind them, rather than creating an alpha channel.
• Random Seed: Determines which value is input to the random number generator used by the filter.
• Frame Size: Scales the entire effect toward or away from the velocity center point. This is useful for making sure that all the particles are visible within a given frame.
• Z-Order: determines where in space the particles fall away.

• Normal: Causes particles that break up first to fall in front of the rest of the image.
• Reversed: Causes these particles to fall behind the rest of the image.
• Random: Creates effects in which the particles randomly fall in front of or behind the other particles.

• Wall Bounce: When enabled, prevents particles from leaving the frame. Particles that approach the edges of the frame “bounce” and continue to drift.
• Parameter Suppression: Parameters such as Size and Position Variance affect the initial (unscattered) image. Parameter Suppression allows for the animation of all these parameters at once.
• Mix with Original: Blends the source and filtered images. Use this parameter to animate the effect from the unfiltered to the filtered image without adjusting other settings, or to reduce the affect of the filter by mixing it with the source image.