SpeedSix.PixFly   (Discreet Box6)



PURPOSE

Disintegrates the image into its constituent pixels, each of which then flies off independently under the influence of various forces revealing the background clip.The time at which a pixel comes 'loose' from the image can optionally be controlled by the luminance of a control image (the time matte). Think of grains of sand being blown away.

pixflya.jpg pixflyb.jpg



INPUT CLIPS

 1: Clip to Fly : This clip will fly away over time depending on the forces applied.
 2: Time Matte : This clip control when a pixel will start to move. The luminance levels are mapped to time.
 3: Clip to Reveal : As the pixels fly away this clip can be revealed.



Pixfly   CONTROL PAGE

Restart Sand  (Pushbutton)
     Restart the sequence using the current settings. These controls are also on the other pages to help you quickly see the result of any changes.

Restart+PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
     Restart and run the particle system for the specified number of pre-roll frames before generating the first frame of the output clip.

Do PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
     Run the particle system for the specified number of pre-roll frames, from the current position, before generating the current frame of the output clip.

PreRoll  (Number  Min: 1, Max: 1000, Default: 5)
     Sets the number of pre-roll frames to be processed before generating the first frame of the output clip.

Back Image  (List Box  Options: On Black | Reveal, Default: On Black)
On: as the pixels fly away the background clip is revealed.
Off: the flying pixels reveal a black background.
Vel Jitter  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 40.0)
     How much random jitter is added to the initial velocities of newly loose pixels. More than zero is recommended to break up the 'banding' effect that results if a bunch of pixels come loose at the same time, travelling at the same speed.

Use Time Matte  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
Off: the Time Matte has no on effect on the image flow.
On: the luminance of the TM image will control the flow based on the luminance values. The brighter the luminance of time matte the sooner the pixels will start to move. See TMFullRangeFrom.

TM Invert  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Reverses the role of black and white in the time matte; the brighter the luminance of the TM the later the pixels start to fly away.

TM Jitter  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 1.0)
     Adds random jitter to the 'coming loose times' derived from the time matte. Useful to prevent obvious banding.

TM Fixed  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
On: causes pixels with time matte luminances greater than TM Fixed From to never come loose. Therefore you can ensure that certain areas of your Foreground clip never fly away.

TM Fixed From  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 90.0)
     Time matte luminances above this value will be such that pixels won't come loose in those areas if TM Fixed is On. e.g. if the TM Fixed From is 90.0, then pixels brighter than 90% of the maximum luminance or greater will never fly away.

TM RangeStretch  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Pre-processes the time matte image at every frame so that its darkest pixel maps to black, and its lightest to white. If the luminance of the TM is only over a limited range of values you can force it to cover the full range.

TMFullRangeFrom  (Number  Min: 1.0, Max: 1000.0, Default: 25.0)
     Number of frames from restart, before all pixels can start moving. e.g. TMFullRangeFr = 50. The time matte will be split into 50 intensity levels and it will take 50 frames for all the pixels to come loose.

Particle  (List Box  Options: Pixel | Smear | Single | Evap, Default: Pixel)
Controls how loose pixels are rendered and change in density with time.
Pixel: Pixels arriving at the same output location are averaged to give the final value.
Smear: Moving input pixels add to an accumulating output image. The output image builds up over the sequence, usually into a smeary mess.
Single: if several pixels arrive at the same output location the last pixel to arrive wins!
Evaporate: As Pixel, but the density of moving pixels decreases with time, so that they 'evaporate away'.
Smear Fade  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
     In Smear mode, the previous (accumulating) output image is first attenuated by this factor before new moving pixel colours are added to it.

Evap After  (Number  Min: 1.0, Max: 1000.0, Default: 25.0)
     In Evap mode this is the number of frames for which a pixel may be seen before it evaporates away entirely.

Demos  (List Box  Options: Basic | Wind | Swirl | Wind+Swirl | Suction | Time Matte | Reveal, Default: Basic)
Select a preset to get you going.


Forces   CONTROL PAGE

Restart Sand  (Pushbutton)
Restart+PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
     See initial descriptions.

Do PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
Turbulence  (Checkbox  Default: On)
     Turn on the turbulence feature.

Swirl Dens  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 60.0)
     How many bumps there are in the atmosphere from one edge of the frame to the other. The pixels swirl as they run into these bumps.

Swirl Amp  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 1.0)
     How powerful the bumps in the atmosphere are.

SwlMaxTim  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1000.0, Default: 0.0)
     Frames over which the swirl amplitude builds up to its maximum value (set by SwirlAmp).

Friction  (Checkbox  Default: On)
     Turn on the friction feature.

Friction  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 0.1)
     Controls the frictional force of the atmosphere on the pixels as a percentage of the pixel velocity lost per frame. i.e. slows the pixels down.

Gravity  (Checkbox  Default: On)
     Turn on the gravity feature.

Gravity  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 10.0, Default: 1.0)
     Scales the strength of the gravitational force.

GravAngle  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 359.0, Default: 270)
     Controls the angle at which gravity acts, measured in degrees clockwise from due East. The default [270.0] is towards the bottom of the image.

Multi Directional  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
On: The wind blows with equal force in all directions.
Off: The wind blows within a cone of stregth in the given direction.

Wind  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Turn on the wind feature.

Wind Source  (Position  Default: 0.25,0.5)
     Where the wind blows from.

Wind Target  (Position  Default: 0.8,0.8)
     The direction in which the wind blows if Multi Directional is off.

Wind Spread  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 180.0, Default: 40.0)
     The cone of influence of the wind when in directional mode.

Wind Speed  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 180.0, Default: 5.0)
     How strongly the wind blows.



Suction   CONTROL PAGE

Restart Sand  (Pushbutton)
Restart+PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
     See initial descriptions.

Do PreRoll  (Pushbutton)
Sink  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Turn on the suction feature.

Suction  (Position  Default: 0.5,0.5)
     Sets the XY co-ordinates of center of suction. Loose pixels will be sucked towards or repelled away from this point.

Sink Radius  (Number  Min: 0.001, Max: 5.0, Default: 0.2)
     Within this radius the pixels will be affected by any suction.

Sink Strength  (Number  Min: -180.0, Max: 180.0, Default: 2.0)
     How strong the suction is. Negative numbers repel the pixels.

Strength Rate  (Number  Min: 0.01, Max: 100.0, Default: 1.0)
     Strength of suction building up as a pixel nears the centre.

Hole Radius  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 0.01)
     If a sucked pixel lands within this radius it is killed.
The position and radius can be defined by clicking and dragging on the dark red circles and the centre cross.

Sink Swirl  (Number  Min: -100.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 3.0)
     How tightly the pixels will swirl towards the suction centre.

Index