BCC+ Ripple

Category: BCC Warp

Effect Name: BCC+ Ripple

The BCC+ Ripple filter, part of the BCC Warp category, simulates ripples spreading out from a point of origin in a pool of water, similar to what is seen after tossing a pebble into a pond. Up to three independent ripples can be auto-animated with a range of wave shapes.

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.

Note: Mocha can also be used to drive geometric parameters. See the Mocha Motion Tracker documentation for details.

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.

Allow Resizing: (Adobe After Effects only) enables automatic resizing to avoid cropping the edge.

Ripple 1 Group

Contains parameters that affect the first of three ripples.

Center Point 1: Sets position of the first ripple along the horizontal and vertical axes.
Radius: Sets the size of the ripple effect.
Height: Sets the strength of the ripple waves.
Perpendicular Height: Sets the amount of displacement perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.
Wave Width: Determines the distance between the peaks of the ripple waves. The Wave Width does not affect the maximum displacement of each point in the image, but it does affect how fast the displacement changes from point to point in the image. Wave Width also affects the total number of waves visible in the effect, because as the waves become wider, fewer fit on the screen.
Speed: Sets the motion of the waves as they move. If you look at any one peak in the wave, Speed controls the rate at which the peak moves.
Phase: Sets the position of the peak.
Inside Radius: Sets the size of the interior of the ripple.
Falloff: Sets the softness of the radius interior and exterior.

Ripple 2 Group

Contains parameters that affect the second of three ripples.

Enable: Toggles the second ripple on or off.
Link Center Point: When enabled, the center point of the second ripple is linked to the center point of the first.
Center Point 2: Sets position of the second ripple along the horizontal and vertical axes. Only available when Link Center Point is disabled.
Radius: Sets the size of the ripple effect.
Height: Sets the strength of the ripple waves.
Perpendicular Height: Sets the amount of displacement perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.
Wave Width: Determines the distance between the peaks of the ripple waves. The Wave Width does not affect the maximum displacement of each point in the image, but it does affect how fast the displacement changes from point to point in the image. Wave Width also affects the total number of waves visible in the effect, because as the waves become wider, fewer fit on the screen.
Speed: Sets the motion of the waves as they move. If you look at any one peak in the wave, Speed controls the rate at which the peak moves.
Phase: Sets the position of the peak.
Inside Radius: Sets the size of the interior of the ripple.
Falloff: Sets the softness of the radius interior and exterior.

Ripple 3 Group

Contains parameters that affect the third of three ripples.

Enable: Toggles the third ripple on or off.
Link Center Point: When enabled, the center point of the third ripple is linked to the center point of the first.
Center Point 3: Sets position of the second ripple along the horizontal and vertical axes. Only available when Link Center Point is disabled.
Radius: Sets the size of the ripple effect.
Height: Sets the strength of the ripple waves.
Perpendicular Height: Sets the amount of displacement perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.
Wave Width: Determines the distance between the peaks of the ripple waves. The Wave Width does not affect the maximum displacement of each point in the image, but it does affect how fast the displacement changes from point to point in the image. Wave Width also affects the total number of waves visible in the effect, because as the waves become wider, fewer fit on the screen.
Speed: Sets the motion of the waves as they move. If you look at any one peak in the wave, Speed controls the rate at which the peak moves.
Phase: Sets the position of the peak.
Inside Radius: Sets the size of the interior of the ripple.
Falloff: Sets the softness of the radius interior and exterior.

Global Group

Contains parameters that affect all of the ripples at once.

Radius: Sets the size of the ripple effect.
Height: Sets the strength of the ripple waves.
Perpendicular Height: Sets the amount of displacement perpendicular to the direction of wave motion.
Wave Width: Determines the distance between the peaks of the ripple waves. The Wave Width does not affect the maximum displacement of each point in the image, but it does affect how fast the displacement changes from point to point in the image. Wave Width also affects the total number of waves visible in the effect, because as the waves become wider, fewer fit on the screen.
Phase: Sets the position of the peak.

Waveform Group

Waveform Shape: Determines the shape of the ripple wave. These choices fall into two categories: Shape waveforms and Spectrum waveforms.

Note: The Shape waveforms include Sine, Triangle, Square, Sawtooth, Circle, Semi-Circle, Uncircle, and Half-Sine. These names refer to the shape repeated on a graph that plots the displacement of each point in the ripple wave on the Y axis and the distance of each point from the center on the X axis.

The Shape waveforms are mathematically derived and are not intended to look natural. For a more natural-looking alternative, experiment with the Spectrum waveforms. These waveforms are all variations of the sine wave that can produce less regular, more realistic looking ripples.

Spectrum Hybrid: The ripple's waveform shape is determined by the spectrum hybrid value, which relates to the fourteen Spectrum waveforms listed in the waveform shape menu. A value of 10 uses the Spectrum 1 waveform, 20 uses the Spectrum 2 waveform, and so on. Values between two multiples of 10 create a mix of the two adjacent Spectrum waves.
Spectrum Blend Strength: Sets the mix of the specified waveform with the Spectrum Hybrid setting. If Spectrum Hybrid is set to 0, the resulting wave conforms to the WaveForm Shape setting. At value of 100, the filter uses only the Wave. Intermediate values blend between the two.
Wave Distortion: Distorts the shape of the wave, changing the displacement of pixels that are not at zero points (for positive values) or peaks (for negative values) in the wave.
Twirl Perp Height: Determines the behavior of the angular portion of the wave.

Off: Perpendicular Height creates the same amount of displacement in the center of the ripple as it does at the edges.
On: The displacement caused by the Perpendicular Height increases farther from the center.
Super Twirl: Exaggerates the angular motion as the wave moves away from the center of the ripple.
Hyper Twirl: Further exaggerates the angular motion as the wave moves away from the center of the ripple.

Intensity: Determines the affect of the Height and Perpendicular Height settings on the ripple.

Normal: Has no effect on the Height and Perpendicular Height settings and is suitable in most circumstances.
Low: Scales down the Height and Perpendicular Height values by a factor of 10, which is useful for small ripples that require fine control.
Super: Multiplies the Height and Perpendicular Height values by a factor of 10 and can produce very exaggerated and unnatural-looking ripple effects.

Stretch: Sets the amount of stretch or squeeze applied to the ripple.
Stretch Angle: Sets the angle between the stretch direction and the horizontal axis.

Note: Stretch is useful for adjusting the perspective of the ripple. For example, you can create the appearance of a ripple in water viewed from the shore rather than from above. To achieve this effect, adjust the Stretch slider to a high value (between 75 and 100), and leave Stretch Angle at the default of 0. This effect generally looks best if Wave Width is decreased, which adds to the illusion of perspective by making the waves look closer together.

Light Group

The Light parameters adjusts the lighting of the ripple in the filtered image.

Light Level: Sets the amount of light applied to the image. At a value of 0, no light is applied. As the value increases, the light becomes more intense.
Light Color: Sets the color of the applied light.
Light Width: Affects the size of the lit area on the ripple. Increasing this value causes a wider part of the ripple to be lit; decreasing it diminishes the lit portion of the ripples.
Light Focus: Sets the shape of the light over each ripple. Increasing Light Focus causes the light to look wider and more diffuse; decreasing Light Focus makes the light bands sharper and narrower.
Light Angle: Sets the directional angle of the applied light.
Light Elevation: Sets the apparent distance from the ripples of the light source.
Ambient Light: Adjusts the diffuse light on the image. The default setting of 100 does not add or subtract ambient light from the source image. Decreasing this setting makes the image darker before the other light is applied. Ambient Light illuminates or darkens the image evenly, and is unaffected by any other lighting parameters.

Note: The Pixel Chooser does not affect the Ambient Light setting. Ambient Light is applied to all pixels. This ensures that the Pixel Chooser does not create discrepancies in the overall lighting of the image before ripple is applied. Thus, at the default Ambient Light value of 100 (where no ambient light is added or subtracted), the Pixel Chooser behaves exactly as in other filters; at other values Pixel Chooser filters every parameter except Ambient Light.

Blend Mode: Determines how the filtered image is composited with the source image. For descriptions of all the possible Apply Modes, Click Here.

Film Glow Group

Enable: Toggles the film glow parameter controls.
Intensity: Sets the intensity of the glow result. Higher values yield a stronger glow across the image while lower values restrict the glow intensity.
Color: Sets the color of the glow. In it’s default state the glow is white. By selecting a color with the color chip, the glow can be set to any RGB value. With the eyedropper, the glow color can be selected directly from the image pixels.
Radius: Sets the radius over which the glow spreads to surrounding regions. Higher values will result in a larger, more diffuse glow, while lower values will create a more restricted glow.
Radius X: Sets the width of the glow along the X axis. Higher values will result in a glow that is stretched horizontally along the X axis, while lower values will restrict the glow horizontally along the X axis.
Radius Y : Sets the width of the glow along the Y axis. Higher values will result in a glow that is stretched vertically along the Y axis, while lower values will restrict the glow horizontally along the Y axis..
Desaturation: Sets the glow result by adjusting the chroma values that are used for the input. At 0 the function has no effect on the result generating a traditional film glow, increasing the value in this parameter yields a result that looks colder and less saturated.
Threshold: Sets the pixel values that are affected by the glow – a setting of 0 will apply a glow to all of the pixels in the input clip, while a setting of 100 will not apply any glow to the image.

RGB Independent Sub-Group

Red Scale: Sets the scale of the red glow uniformly.
Green Scale: Sets the scale of the green glow uniformly.
Blue Scale: Sets the scale of the blue glow uniformly.

Secondary Glow Sub-Group

Enable Secondary Glow: Toggles the secondary film glow parameter controls.
Link Glow Intensity: When enabled, the secondary glow intensity is linked to the main glow intensity parameter.
Intensity: Sets the intensity of the secondary glow result. Higher values yield a stronger glow across the image while lower values restrict the glow intensity.
Color: Sets the color of the secondary glow. By selecting a color with the color chip, the glow can be set to any RGB value. With the eyedropper, the glow color can be selected directly from the image pixels.
Radius: Sets the radius over which the glow spreads to surrounding regions. Higher values will result in a larger, more diffuse glow, while lower values will create a more restricted glow.
Radius X: Sets the width of the glow along the X axis. Higher values will result in a glow that is stretched horizontally along the X axis, while lower values will restrict the glow horizontally along the X axis.
Radius Y : Sets the width of the glow along the Y axis. Higher values will result in a glow that is stretched vertically along the Y axis, while lower values will restrict the glow horizontally along the Y axis..
Desaturation: Sets the glow result by adjusting the chroma values that are used for the input. At 0 the function has no effect on the result generating a traditional film glow, increasing the value in this parameter yields a result that looks colder and less saturated.
Threshold: Sets the pixel values that are affected by the glow – a setting of 0 will apply a glow to all of the pixels in the input clip, while a setting of 100 will not apply any glow to the image.

Lens Distortion Group

Enable: Toggles the lens distortion group parameters.
Distortion: Pulls the corners of the image in or out. Negative values pull the corners outward (useful for correcting barrel distortion), while positive values pull the corners inward (useful for correcting pin-cushion distortion).
Anamorphic Squeeze: Corrects the squeeze commonly found in anamorphic motion picture lenses.
Curvature X / Curvature Y: Corrects non-radial, asymmetric distortions often seen with anamorphic lenses.
Center: Sets the center point used for distortion. Use the on-screen center control (drag in the viewer) to reposition the distortion center.
Edge Mode: Defines how the edges of the filtered frame are handled.

Transparent: Makes the edges of the result transparent.
Repeat: Extends edge pixels outward to create opaque edges. (Default)
Reflect: Mirrors edge pixels back into the image.
Wrap: Wraps the edge pixels to create opaque edges.

Pinning Group

The BCC Distortion Pinning controls are used to fine tune edge treatment in situations where a distortion effect might cause regions from outside the image edges to be remapped inside the boundary.

Click Here

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 effect of the filter by mixing it with the source image.
GPU Rendering:Specifies how the effect is rendered.

Default: Uses product-wide default of 16 bit half-float GPU rendering.
16 Bit Float: Manually force 16 bit half-float GPU rendering.
32 Bit Float: Manually force 32 bit full-float GPU rendering.
Disabled: Forces CPU rendering.