BCC+ Lens Flare

Category: BCC Lights

Effect Name: BCC+ Lens Flare

The BCC+ Lens Flare filter, part of the BCC Lights category, adds photo-realistic lens flares to a scene. Lens flares are produced by the scattering or flaring of light within a lens when pointed into a bright light. Although an image aberration, lens flares can be added for dramatic effect and are created by combing the following elements: Caustic, Chroma Bands, Chroma Ring, Circle, Circles, Disc, Edge Streak, Ellipse, Fan Rays, Hot Spot, Polygon, Polygons, Radial Streaks, Random Spikes, Ring, Spikes, Spiral Rays, Star, Star Caustic, and Stripe.

Working with the Filter

FX Editor and Presets

• Use the FX Editor to load or save presets for reuse.
• To load a preset: Open the FX Editor, select a preset from the Presets panel, and click Apply to return to the host application.
• To save a custom preset: While in the FX Editor, click the Create Custom Preset icon in the parameter list, enter a preset name, and click Done. Additionally, a custom preset can be saved from the main menu bar by selecting File->Save Preset.
• To import custom presets from another drive: While in the FX Editor, select File->Import Preset from the main menu bar.

Effect Controls

Mocha Mask and Track

Continuum effects include integrated masking and matte tools that allow you to restrict the effect to specific regions of the image.

• Mocha masks: used to create custom spline masks. Mocha also includes Matte Assist ML and Matte Refine ML, which use machine learning to generate and track masks.
• Pixel Chooser: used to generate geometric shapes, gradients, or mattes based on channel, luma, or color-based selections. Additionally, an AI depth map generator, and an AI-powered face detection model allow for precise control of masks and mattes.

For more information, see Mocha and Pixel Chooser.

Compare Mode

The Compare Mode is used to view the filtered result alongside the original source layer. Several split-screen and side-by-side display options are available.

For more information, see Compare Mode.

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.

Flare Editor

Individual Flare elements can be edited directly in the Flare Editor. This feature is available from within the BCC FX Editor. To design custom elements, click Edit Flare button from within the FX Editor. The Flare Editor interface consists of a Viewer, Parameters, Global, Flare (currently used flare elements) and Elements (all available elements).

Flare Editor User Interface

Flare Elements

Lens flares are made up of a colletion of various individual elements.

• Caustic: Simulates an optical distortion created by the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface.
• Chroma Bands: Creates rainbow diffraction patterns.
• Chroma Ring: Rainbow lines that emanate from the center of the light source.
• Circle: An individual circle.
• Circles: Creates a specified number of random circles often seen in lens flares.
• Disc: Generates a circular ramp with individual control of the inner, middle, and outer areas.
• Ellipse: Similar to Disc, but elliptical in shape.
• Edge Streak: Caused by a light source at the edge of the frame reflecting off the shiny lens aperture. It only appears when the light source is positioned outside of the frame.
• Fan Rays: Generates asymmetric fanned rays.
• Hot Spot: Simulates the circular glow created when a light source interacts with a lens.
• Polygon: An individual polygon.
• Polygons: Creates a specified number of random polygons caused by light interacting with the lens’s polygonal bladed aperture.
• Radial Streaks: Short radial streaks emanating from the center point.
• Random Spikes: Generates asymmetric radial rays.
• Ring: A rainbow ring that fades as it is moved to the edges of the screen.
• Spikes: Long radial rays emanating from the center point.
• Spiral Rays: Creates spiral rays.
• Star: A star pattern created when light reflects off the intersection of the lens’s aperture blades.
• Star Caustic: A star-shaped caustic created by the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a lens’s reflective coatings.
• Stripe: A tapered stripe that simulates anamorphic lens flares.

Working With Elements

To Add Elements to the flare:

• Double-click an element in the Elements window and it is added to the end of the stack in the Flare window. If an element is selected in the Flare window prior to the double-click, the new element is added after the selection.
• Drag and drop from the Elements window to the Flare window or Viewer. Multiple selected elements can be dragged and dropped simultaneously.

To Delete Elements from the flare:

• Press the Delete key or
• Click the Delete Element icon at the bottom of the Flare window.

To Duplicate elements:

• Duplicate selected elements using the Duplicate Element icon at the bottom of the Flare window.

Edit Elements

Selected elements in the Flare window will have their controls displayed in the Parameters window.

When multiple elements are selected, the controls for all selected elements are displayed in the Parameters window.

Moving Elements In The Flare Window

Drag the icon of an element to a new position in the stack. Multiple elements can be moved at once.

Rename Elements

Click in the element text box and type to rename it.

Flare Group

• Input is Linear: Enable this if your image is in true linear color space. Gamma corrected images should have this parameter disabled.
• Blend: Determines the blend mode used to composite the lens flare.
• Add: The lens flare is added to your image.
• Screen: The lens flare is combined with the image using a Screen blend mode, which is similar to Add but retains highlights.
• Color: Sets the color.
• Brightness: Controls the brightness.
• Position: Adjusts the origin of the lens flare.
• Pivot: Changes the end position of the lens flare.
• Scale: Determines the size.
• Aspect: Sets the aspect ratio.
• Angle: Sets the angle.
• Softness: Blurs the lens flare.

Occlusion Group

The Occlusion group allows the lens flare to be blocked by the source image. When occluded, the brightness of the lens flare will automatically animate based on the input channel.

• Source: Selects an image as the occlusion source.
• Channel: Determines which channel to use for the occlusion source.
• Invert: Inverts the source channels.
• Threshold: Controls how much the occlusion source affects the flare.

Note:The Source input is only available in OFX hosts that support auxiliary inputs. If auxiliary inputs are not supported, they will not be visible. Consult the host documentation for instructions on how to assign a source input as this will vary by host.

Flicker Group

• Amount: Sets the amount of flicker.
• Speed: Sets the speed of the flicker.

Edge Flare Group

Triggers the flare as the lens flare enters or exists the frame.

• Amount: Sets the amount of the edge flare.
• Size: Sets the size of the edge flare.

Noise Group

Adds noise to the lens flare elements. Noise can selectively be added to elements based on whether an element’s Lens Noise parameter is enabled. Alternatively, noise may be applied to all elements using the parameter below.

• All Elements: Applies the noise pattern to all lens flare elements.
• Amount: Sets the amount of the noise.
• Scale: Determines the size of the noise.
• X Offset: Moves the noise horizontally.
• Y Offset: Moves the noise vertically.
• Detail: Sets the detail of the noise.
• Texture: Controls the complexity of the noise.
• Randomize: Randomizes the size and position of the noise.

Element Controls

Each flare element uses a subset of the parameters below.

• Angle: Sets the angle.
• Aspect: Sets the aspect ratio.
• Blur: Blurs the element.
• Brightness: Controls the brightness.
• Brightness Variance: Randomizes the brightness between multiple elements.
• Center: Determines the center of the Chroma Ring along the flare.
• Center Brightness: Sets the brightness of the stripe’s center.
• Center Offset: Pushes all the Disc edges outwards.
• Chroma: Changes the saturation of the Chroma Ring.
• Color: Sets the color.
• Color Variance: Randomizes the color between multiple elements.
• Cycles: Determines the number of Chroma Bands.
• Density: Sets the amount of rays.
• Edge Fade: Fades the element as it moves towards the edge of the screen.
• Element Count: Sets the number of elements.
• Hotspot: Sets the size of the Star’s center hotspot.
• Inside Width: Changes the size of the inner ramp.
• Jitter: Randomizes the angle.
• Length: Sets the length of the stripe.
• Lens Noise: Determines whether the Lens Noise controls affect the enabled element.
• Lock To X Axis: Locks the element to the X axis so it will only move vertically.
• Lock To Y Axis: Locks the element to the Y axis so it will only move horizontally.
• Match Flare Angle: Matches the Circle and Polygon element’s angle to the flare angle. This is especially useful when the Aspect parameter has been adjusted.
• Middle Width: Adjusts the size of the middle ramp.
• Noise: Controls the amount of noise in an element.
• Noise Density: The strength of the noise.
• Offset: For most elements, Offset determines the element’s inner diameter. For Circles and Polygons, it shifts the shapes along the flare axis.
• Outside Width: Sets the size of the outer ramp.
• Position: Sets the position of the element along the flare.
• Position Variance: Randomizes the position between multiple elements along the flare.
• Ramp Gamma: Sets the Hot Spot’s black point.
• Ramp Scale: Changes the Hot Spot’s size.
• Randomize: Randomizes size and position.
• Ring Brightness: Sets the brightness of the Hot Spot’s ring.
• Ring Size: Changes the size of the Hot Spot’s ring.
• Ring Softness: Softens the Hot Spot’s ring.
• Scale: Sets the size.
• Sides: Determines the number of sides.
• Size Variance: Randomizes the size between multiple elements.
• Softness: Blurs the element.
• Softness Variance: Randomizes the softness between multiple elements.
• Spread: Determines the distribution of an element.
• Taper: Tapers the Chroma Band’s edges.
• Total Scale: Sets the size of all elements.
• Vertical Variance: Randomizes the vertical position between multiple elements.
• Weight: polygons and Circles can be weighted to either the beginning or end of the lens flare.
• Warp: Enables the warping of the Ellipse and Ring elements as they exit the frame.
• Width: Adjusts the width.
• X-Offset: Offsets the element horizontally.
• Y-Offset: Offsets the element vertically.