SpeedSix.TrailParticle   (Discreet Trailz Raptor)


PURPOSE

Particle trail generation using optical flow based motion estimation to control the direction and velocity of the particles movement.

trailparticlea.jpg trailparticleb.jpg


INPUT CLIPS

 1: Input Clip : Clip to have trails. The motion is estimated using this clip and the colour of the trails comes from this clip.
 2: Background : Background to optionally composite result over.
 3: Matte : Matte to control trail locations.Areas which have a higher luminance value than specified will be considered for trails.
 4: Obscure : A clip that can optionally modulate the trails.
 5: Particle Image : A particle can be this image! Use with caution as rendering many particles as an image will <i>take some time</i>.


TrailParticle   CONTROL PAGE

Restart  (Pushbutton)
     When changing styles or skipping frames, the true image will not be created. The new output image will be using the frame created from the old settings. Therefore to be sure, click on Restart and process a few frames to see the true picture.

Type  (List Box  Options: Direct | Direct and Save Flows | Only Save Flows | Reuse Flows | Setup Matte, Default: Direct)
Direct:Calculates the flow fields and draws the trails.
Direct and Save Flows: Calculates the flows, saves them to disk and draws the trails,
Only Save Flows: Calculates the flows and saves them to disk. No trails are drawn,
Reuse Flows: Reads saved flows back from disk and draws the trails.
Setup Matte: Play with the liuminance of the matte clip to define zones where trails will be drawn.
Note: Currently all the saved flows are put into a fixed location with a fixed name.
Windows:The location is S6_HOME_DIR\SpeedSix\flow_store\flowa_<4digit_number>.ts6
The usual value of S6_HOME_DIR is C:\Program files\SpeedSix
Linux or Irix: The location is S6_HOME_DIR/SpeedSix/flow_store/flowa_<4digit_number>.ts6
The usual value of S6_HOME_DIR is /usr/local/SpeedSix
Image  (List Box  Options: Full Frame | NTSC Fields | NTSC Fields (Rev) | PAL Fields | PAL Fields (Rev), Default: Full Frame)
This specifies whether the images in the input sequence are frame based or fields based. If they are fields based (interlaced), it also specifies the field order (based on the TV system type). Output images will be frame or field based to match the input image type as selected here.
Full Frame: Images are not interlaced. This is the case with film and progressive video formats (and is, of course, the One True and Proper Way).
NTSC Fields: Images are interlaced, with fields in the normal order for the NTSC television standard.
NTSC Field (Rev): Images are interlaced, with fields the other way around from the normal order for the NTSC television standard.
PAL Fields: Images are interlaced, with fields in the normal order for the PAL television standard.
PAL Fields (Rev): Images are interlaced, with fields the other way around from the normal order for the PAL television standard.
Note: "PAL" and NTSC" don't necessarily imply anything about the image resolution in this case.
Luminance Low  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 0.8)
     Only area in the Matte clip with a luminance value greater than the chosen amount will be considered for trails.

Luminance High  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 1.0)
     Only area in the Matte clip with a luminance value lower than the chosen amount will be considered for trails.

Brightness  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 10.0, Default: 1.0)
     Tweak the luminance value to be used to encompass the area to create trails.

Seed  (Number  Min: 0, Max: 999, Default: 127)
     Change to have a different selection of particles.

Plugin Status  (Text String)
     This gives you information on what the plugin is doing, and displays error messages if appropriate. Keep an eye on it as itis very useful to know what is going on especially if you have any problems.

Shutter  (Number  Min: 2, Max: 100, Default: 2)
     How many frames the "shutter" is open for. In this case particles will be generated along the length of the pathtracked by the flow field data.
Hint: Use TrailSmooth to see the motion paths created.

Step Over  (Number  Min: 1, Max: 20, Default: 8)
     Using every possible location can create vast numbers of particles. Reduce or increase -n

Obscure  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Use the Obscure clip to modulate the drawn particles.

Composite  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     The trails can be directly composited over a chosen background or output onto black.

Obscurity  (Number  Min: -1.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 1.0)
     Blur the trails created to soften them as desired.

Particles  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 5.0)
Quantity Variance  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 10.0)
     The actual number of particles born at each frame is the average number specified by Fecundity plus or minus a random amount ranging up to the specified Fecundity Variance.
Note: if you are using a birth matte you may not get the full amount as checks are made on the probability of finding a suitable place to create a particle. Without this the particle system could try indefinitely to create the particles and you would not like that!

Lifetime  (Number  Min: 1.0, Max: 1000.0, Default: 20.0)
     The average number of frames for which a particle will live. It will definitely be killed after it has lived this number of frames (plus or minus the Lifetime Var below). They may die younger (see Extinction).

Lifetime Var  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 5.0)
     The actual lifetime of a particle is the average lifetime plus or minus a random number ranging up to LifetimeVar.

Extinction  (Number  Min: 1.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 20.0)
Extinct Var  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 5.0)
     Each particle will gradually fade out as it gets older. Making the extinction twice the lifetime will ensure they do not disappear, but pop off if still in screen.

Restart On Process  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     If available turn On immediately before processing to ensure that the first frame is taken from the clip with no flowing affecting it.


Look   CONTROL PAGE

Particle  (List Box  Options: Point | Soft Point | Streak | Lump | Star | Image | Star and Streak, Default: Star)
Chose the style of particle you want to draw with.
Point: a single pixel.
Soft Point: this softened pixel will need a great many particles to be seen, but probably the nicest if you have the time.
Streak: pixels drawn between the current and previous position to give directionality to the movement. Often helpful to see exactly what is happening.
Lump: soft blobs of a given size.
Star: well they are stars!
Image: the last input clip can be used as an image to be drawn wherever a particle is needed. When it is read in, the image area is clipped to a bounding box based on the image being on a black background. The complete image can be used if needed.
Lump Rad  (Number  Min: 1.0, Max: 40.0, Default: 10.0)
Lump RadVar  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
     When lump, star or image is used they are scaled to the Lump Radius plus or minus a random Radius Variance.

Add a Sparkle  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
Amount of Sparkle  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 0.2)
     Add a sparkle to the stars by fluctuating the brightness.

Streak Scale  (Number  Min: 0.1, Max: 1000.0, Default: 100.0)
     When Streak is selected the 'tail' can be scaled to exaggerate the motion.

Init Dens  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
Condensation  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
     The density of each particle at birth can be reduced and then the rate of condensation, or 'solidifying' is applied. Think of smoke, at the source you hardly see it until, as it cools it becomes more visible, then turbulence dissipates it. Changing the Condensation will have an immediate effect on all the particles as it is based on the time each particle has been alive. To see an Initial Density change you need to re-run the sequence.

MonoVar  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
ColourVar  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
Initial Colour  (Colour Box  Default: black)
     Each particle can take its colour from the colour box which is then changed by the Colour Variance and the saturation by the Monochrome Variance. Thus you can have various colours for your particles if you feel like it.

Fade  (List Box  Options: Col+Dens | Colour | Density, Default: Col+Dens)
Choose the compositing mode you prefer. Density will make the most use of Density, Condensation and Extinction factors. Colour on its own, the least.
Image  (List Box  Options: Stamp | Punch Front&Back | Punch Back, Default: Stamp)
Using the 6th input as a particle Image chose the method of compositing the shape in the scene.
Stamp: replaces the background.
Punch Front & Back: uses the luminance of the image to composite it into the scene.
Punch Back: uses the luminance to add it into the scene.

Note: The aspect ratio of this input clip should match the background aspect ratio to avoid distortion.
Use Input Colours  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     Take base colour for the particles from the input image.

Moving  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
     When the Image mode is selected the image used can either be static (faster) or moving; When oving each particle will use the current frame from the Particle Image clip.
When static, the frame used is taken from the current posistion when Restart is called.

Reacquire  (Pushbutton)
     The 6th input need only be one frame. Once loaded it may be used throughout. If you change the input to the 6th clip nothing will happen until you activate the Reacquire button. The old image is then replace with the new. Currently alive particles will now be drawn with the new image.


Forces   CONTROL PAGE

Scale Speed  (Number  Min: 10.0, Max: 500.0, Default: 100.0)
     If the motion you have set up is too fast or slow then use this global speed change control to adjust the pace of the particles. It will not change any of your set values, but scales them appropriately behind the scenes for you.


Turbulence  (Checkbox  Default: On)
SwirlDens  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 60.0)
SwirlAmp  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 1.0)
SwlMaxTim  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1000.0, Default: 0.0)
     For natural swirls and eddies of the air through which the particles move you need turbulence. The Density is the fineness of the turbulence patterns. The lower the Density value the broader the sweeps of turbulence are. High values give rapid changes in direction. The motion can be exaggerated with the Amplitude setting, dramatically forcing the particles around or subtly twisting them as they move. The effect of the turbulence can be built up using Swirl Maximum Time. At 0.0 the particles are influenced by the turbulence immediately. Otherwise it takes that number of frames from birth for the turbulence to build up.

Friction  (Checkbox  Default: On)
Friction  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 1.0, Default: 0.05)
     Friction slows things down. Rubbing against the air and each other, friction will reduce the momentum of the particles,

Gravity  (Checkbox  Default: On)
Gravity  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 10.0, Default: 0.2)
Grav Angle  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 359.0, Default: 270.0)
     At values over 0.0 gravity acts on the particles dragging them in the direction set by the Gravity Angle. A setting of 270.0 degrees is downwards. A natural choice, but varying the angle can bias the movement for artistic purposes.

Multi Directional  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
Wind  (Checkbox  Default: Off)
Wind Source  (Position  Default: 0.2,0.4)

Wind Target  (Position  Default: 0.8,0.4)

Wind Spread  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 180.0, Default: 10.0)
Wind Speed  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 180.0, Default: 5.0)
     Add in Wind when you want to blow the particles, or some of them, in a specific direction. Drag the wind source to where you want to blow from and the target sets the direction or extent of influence depending on MultiDirectional. When Off the wind has a cone of influence and the wind does not stop blowing at the target location. The Spread governs how far the affect of the wind reaches. When a particle enters the cone, the wind starts to take effect which gradually builds up towards the center of the cone, and then dies away again. Turn MultiDirectional On and the wind blows outward from the center, gradually loosing speed as it reaches the target perimeter. Speed is how fast the wind is blowing. It can be nice to animate this to give gusts.


Motion&Tune   CONTROL PAGE

Position Var  (Number  Min: 0.001, Max: 2.0, Default: 0.01)
     The particles are born within the region of Position plus and minus Position Var along the motion tracked trail.

Vel Dir  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 360.0, Default: 0.0)
     The direction initially comes from the flow data but you can change the natural direction by adding to the initial angle.

Flow Resolution  (List Box  Options: Full | Half | Quarter, Default: Quarter)
Resolution at which to compute optical flow. The basic algorithm used by TrailParticle System is optical flow. This treats brightness in an image as it it were a sort of fluid (like water), and it tries to see in which direction the brightness has flowed out of each pixel from one input frame to the next. To capture big motions, it does this on a "pyramid" of image resolutions, starting from the very small and refining the estimates up to a fairly high resolution (potentially the full image resolution). The maximum image resolution it will use for this pyramid is called the Flow Resolution.
Note: This not the resolution at which your result images are computed!
Show Vectors  (List Box  Options: None | Forward | Backward | Both, Default: None)
None: Motion vectors will not be drawn.
Forward: Draw forward motion vectors (from the earlier image of a pair to the later).
Backward: Draw backward motion vectors (from the later image of a pair to the earlier).
Both: Draw the forward and backward motion vectors.
Vel Mag Var  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 10.0)
     A random amount, plus or minus the initial velocity, is added to vary the initial velocity.

Vel Dir Var  (Number  Min: 0.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 0.0)
     At 100.0 percent the particles will travel in all directions. 0.0 they will follow the direction set. And anywhere in-between...

Vel Scale  (Number  Min: -100.0, Max: 100.0, Default: 100.0)
     The particles derive their base velocity and direction from the flow data.Use this to increase or decrease their natural speed. Positive values with Motion will throw the particles in the direction of the movement; negative values throws the particles in the opposite direction to the motion.

Index