BCC Trails

Category: BCC Time

Effect Name: BCC Trails

The BCC Trails filter, part of the BCC Time category, creates motion trails, video echoes, and video feedback effects which can be combined in a variety of ways.

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.

• Source Layer: The Source Layer menu sets the clip used to create the effect.

Source Geometry Group

The Source Geometry parameters adjust the source’s size and position and rotate the source around the X, Y, and Z axis.

• Lock to Scale X: Links the scale x and scale y parameters, so that scale asjustments remain proportional.
• Scale X Source: Sets the size of the source along the x axis.
• Scale Y Source: Sets the size of the source along the y axis.
• Position XY Source: Sets the X and Y coordinates of the center point of the source.
• Position Z Source: Adjusts the apparent depth of the source. Decreasing negative values move the source closer to the viewer, while increasing positive values move the source farther away from the viewer.
• Tumble Source, Spin Source, and Rotate Source: move the source around the X, Y, and Z axis, respectively. Tumble, Spin, and Rotate can be animated over values greater than 360° in order to make the source complete more than one full revolution.
• Pivot Source: When selected, the source tumbles, spins, and rotates around its own center. If this option is deselected, you can set an external pivot point around which to tumble, spin, and rotate the source. The BCC Trails Basic does not include this parameter.
• Pivot XY Source and Pivot Z Source: Set the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the pivot point. If the Pivot Source checkbox is selected, moving the pivot point has no affect.

Trails Group

The Trails parameters add motion trails to the effect and provide a variety of options for adjusting the trails’ behavior and appearance.

• Frame Separation: Sets the distance between each motion trail and the adjacent trail and/or source image. This value measures the number of frames between each trail and the frame from which the trail is created.
• Trail Count: Determines the number of trails that are visible in the effect.
• Trails Before Start: Determines whether or not the effect displays trail frames that are created before the first frame of the source layer.
• Trail Intensity: Sets the opacity of the trails.
• Auto Fade: When selected, the trails automatically fade evenly so that the first trail is entirely opaque and the last trail is almost entirely transparent.
• Manual Fade: When Auto Fade is deselected, Manual Fade sets the ratio of the opacity of each trail to the opacity of the following trail.
• Animation: Determines how the trails animate in relation to the animation of the source.
• Source Time: Each trail animates according to its source frame.
• Current Time: Each trail animates according to the parameter values at the current frame.

Trails Geometry Group

The Trails Geometry parameters allow you to manipulate the trails independently from the source layer. These parameters affect all of the trails equally.

• Scale Trails: Sets the size of the trails in relation to the size of the source layer.
• Position XY Trails: Sets the X and Y position of the trails.
• Tumble Trails, Spin Trails, and Rotate Trails: Rotates the trails around the X, Y, and Z axis respectively.
• Pivot Offset Trails: Sets the center of rotation of the trails.

Trail Feedback Group

• Scale Feedback: Sets the sizes of the trails.
• Displacement Feedback: Affects the XY position of the trails.
• Position Z Feedback: Displaces the trails along the Z axis.
• Tumble Feedback, Spin Feedback, and Rotate Feedback: Rotates the trails around the X, Y, and Z axis respectively.
• Pivot Offset Feedback: Controls the center of rotation of successive trails.

Acceleration Group

Acceleration effects are applied increasingly to each successive trail according to an acceleration pattern.

• Scale Acceleration: Sets the rate of change at which the scale magnifies.
• Displacement Acceleration: Sets the rate of change at which the film is displaced.
• Displacement Angle Acceleration: Sets the rate of change of displacement angle.
• Tumble Acceleration: Determines tumbling acceleration.
• Spin Acceleration: Determines spinning acceleration.
• Rotation Acceleration: Determines rotational acceleration.

Insert Parameters

Effects can be applied to up to three of a variety of simple effects to one or more of the trails.

• Effect Insert: Determines which effect is inserted in the trail.

• Off: Applies no additional effect.
• Brightness: Sets brightness and contrast.
• Contrast: Sets contrast and brightness.
• Hue: Sets hue and saturation.
• Saturation: Sets saturation and hue.
• Black & White: Mixes with grayscale.
• Black & Color: Mixes with tinted copy.
• Color & White: Mixes with tinted copy.
• Colorize: Mixes with solid color.
• Invert: Inverts the image.
• Blur: Applies blur.
• Choke: Adjusts alpha channel.
• Radial Wipe: Creates wipe.
• Key Out Dark: Removes dark pixels.
• Key Out Light: Removes light pixels.
• Key Out Color: Removes similar colors.
• Key In Color: Removes dissimilar colors.

• Off: Does not display any jitter curves.
• Curves: Display curves showing the amount of jitter at each frame or at selected frames of the effect.
• Curves Over Layer: Display the jitter curves over the rendered clip. This mode allows you to simultaneously preview the jitter curves and the rendered output, which can be useful for adjusting the effect.
• Curves Over Comp: Display the jitter curves over all other layers in the effect.

Jitter Curves Group

• Time View: The Time View menu controls the time range shown on the graph.
• Full Effect: Displays the jitter curves from the start to the end of the effect.
• 16, 8, 4, and 2 Seconds: Displays the curves for the given number of seconds after the frame specified by Scroll Curves.
• Scroll Curves: Selects the first frame in the effect that is displayed when Time View is set to 16, 8, 4, or 2 seconds. This parameter has no effect if Time View is set to Full Effect.

Jitter Group

• Shape Jitter: Determines the shape of the Jitter curve.
• Off: Turns Jitter off.
• Noise Jumps: Causes the noise to jump to a new value in increments.
• Random Walk: Causes the noise to start at 0, then add a new random number in increments.
• Smooth Noise: Creates a new noise value every frame, then smooths the curve that is created.
• Smooth Walk: Creates a Random Walk curve, then smooths the result.
• Constant: Adds the Master Jitter value to the base parameter value set by the Source and Insert settings, creating a static effect.
• The remaining choices all produce regular waves of varying shapes.
• Master Jitter: Sets the intensity of the jitter by scaling all of the other jitter parameters.
• Timing Jitter: Sets the timing of the jitter.
• Random Seed Jitter: Sets the value that is input to the random number generator used to generate noise.
• Frame Offset Jitter: Offsets the position of the jitter curve by the specified number of frames.
• Start Jitter: determines on which trail Jitter begins.
• End Jitter: determines on which trail Jitter ends.
• Destination Jitter: Selects which parameter is affected by the jitter.
• Off: No parameters are affected.
• Scale: Jitters both the X and Y Scale.
• Motion: Jitters the motion of the layer in the X, Y, and Z directions simultaneously.
• XY Wobble: Jitters the layer in the direction perpendicular to the layer’s direction of motion in the X and Y planes.
• Angular Motion: Jitters Tumble, Spin, and Rotate.
• Insert Color Channels Jitters the respective color channel in the chosen Insert colors.
• The remaining choices affect the parameters of the same name.

Composite Group

• Apply Mode: determines how the trails and source layer are composited.
• Apply Mix: blends the Apply Mode setting with the Apply Mix From setting.

Note: Use Apply Mix to soften the effect of a given apply mode, or animate Apply Mix to blend from one apply mode to another over time.

• Use Apply Settings: determines which elements are affected by Apply Mode and Apply Mix.
• Trails and Composite: Applies the settings to both the trails and the source layer.
• Trails Only: Applies the settings to the trails only, leaving the source layer unaffected.
• Composite Only: Applies the settings to the source layer only.
• Ignore: Disregards the settings and applies the effect normally to both the trails and the source layer.
• Composite Trails: Controls how the trails overlap the source.
• In Front: Composites the trails in front of the source layer.
• Behind: Composites the trails behind the source layer.
• Trails Only: Composites the trails only, removing the source layer from the effect.
• Render Order: Determines how the trails overlap each other.
• Oldest in Front: Places each successive trail in front of the previous trail.
• Youngest in Front: Place each successive trail behind the previous trail.
• Source Opacity: Sets the opacity of the source layer in the filtered output and does not affect the trails.