The S_UltraZap filter comes from the Emmy award winning Boris FX Sapphire filter set.

Render.

To select a preset, pick one from the Presets window.

The effect is advanced in time.

The starting point of the bolts.

Enables Point 1.

First control point.

Enables Point 2.

Second control point.

Enables Point 3.

Third control point.

Enables Point 4.

Fourth control point.

The end point of the bolts

The number of lightning bolts to draw between the Start and End location.

The width of the lightning bolts.

The length of the lightning bolts. If less than 1, the bolts will not be drawn all the way from start to end.

Scales the amount of wrinkles in the bolts. Decrease for straighter, smoother bolts or increase for more kinky bolts.

Similar to Wrinkle Amp but affects the general path of the bolt. If decreased, the bolt will stay closer to the line between the Start and End points. If increased, it can wander further away from this line. This differs from the Wrinkle Amp parameter in that it can be used to make straighter bolts while still keeping the wrinkles at the detailed level.

Determines how pointed the start of the bolts are. If 0, the entire bolt will have equal width. If 1, the bolts will thin out along their entire length for a pointed end. If it is .5, the bolts will start thin and grow to the width parameter at the center of the bolt.

Determines how pointed the end of the bolts are. If 0, the entire bolt will have equal width. If 1, the bolts will thin out along their entire length for a pointed end. If it is .5, the bolts will start thinning out halfway between the start and end points.

Add softness to the bolt before glowing.

Only blur the edges of the zap. This is useful if there is noise on the zap.

Scales the brightness of the lightning bolts.

The color at the start of the main bolt.

The color at the tip of the main bolt.

This varies the start and end color between multiple bolts. This does not change the color along a single bolt.

The amount of random variation in the width of the bolts along their lengths.

Offsets the End location by a random amount within a circle of this radius. If Bolts is greater than 1, this can be useful to spread out the different End points. For example, you can create multiple radiating bolts by increasing this radius and placing the End point near the Start point.

Used to initialize the random number generator. The actual seed value is not significant, but different seeds produce different random lightning bolts and the same value should give a repeatable result.

The offset from the start point of where bolts are drawn.

Applies a noise pattern to the bolt before the glow.

The frequency of the bolt noise.

Hides the core bolt and only shows the branches.

Scales the number of additional bolts that branch from the main bolt. Set this to 0 for basic bolts with no extra branches.

The maximum angle of the random branches relative to the bolt they are branching off of. If this is 0, the branches will be more lined up with the main bolt. With larger values, the branches will be more perpendicular to the main bolt.

The scaled length of the branches relative to the distance between the Start and End points.

The color at the tips of the branches.

Varies the end color between multiple branches.

Specifies how the branch width should be calculated.

Branch width is calculated based on how far along the bolt the branch splits off.

Branch width is calculated based on how wide the bolt is at the point where the branch splits off.

Width of branches relative to the main bolt.

The number of lightning bolts to draw between the Start and End location.

The width of the lightning bolts.

The length of the lightning bolts. If less than 1, the bolts will not be drawn all the way from start to end.

Scales the amount of wrinkles in the bolts. Decrease for straighter, smoother bolts or increase for more kinky bolts.

Similar to Wrinkle Amp but affects the general path of the bolt. If decreased, the bolt will stay closer to the line between the Start and End points. If increased, it can wander further away from this line. This differs from the Wrinkle Amp parameter in that it can be used to make straighter bolts while still keeping the wrinkles at the detailed level.

Determines how pointed the start of the bolts are. If 0, the entire bolt will have equal width. If 1, the bolts will thin out along their entire length for a pointed end. If it is .5, the bolts will start thin and grow to the width parameter at the center of the bolt.

Determines how pointed the end of the bolts are. If 0, the entire bolt will have equal width. If 1, the bolts will thin out along their entire length for a pointed end. If it is .5, the bolts will start thinning out halfway between the start and end points.

Scales the brightness of the lightning bolts.

The color at the start of the main bolt.

The color at the tip of the main bolt.

This varies the start and end color between multiple bolts. This does not change the color along a single bolt.

The amount of random variation in the width of the bolts along their lengths.

Offsets the End location by a random amount within a circle of this radius. If Bolts is greater than 1, this can be useful to spread out the different End points. For example, you can create multiple radiating bolts by increasing this radius and placing the End point near the Start point.

Used to initialize the random number generator. The actual seed value is not significant, but different seeds produce different random lightning bolts and the same value should give a repeatable result.

The offset from the start point of where bolts are drawn.

Scales the number of additional bolts that branch from the bolt. Set this to 0 for basic bolts with no extra branches.

The maximum angle of the random branches relative to the bolt they are branching off of. If this is 0, the branches will be more lined up with the main bolt. With larger values, the branches will be more perpendicular to the main bolt.

Width of branches relative to the bolt.

The scaled length of the branches relative to the distance between the Start and End points.

The color at the tips of the branches.

Varies the end color between multiple branches.

Scales the brightness of the lightning glow.

Threshold for what colors are glowed from the zap.

Scales the color of the lightning glow.

The width of the lightning glow.

The relative red width of the glow.

The relative green width of the glow.

The relative blue width of the glow.

Boost or cut the distance that the glow extends.

Amount to grow the outskirts of the thresholded result, or shrink if negative.

Scales the glow distance of the secondary glow.

Scales the color of the secondary glow.

Enables highlights using an electrical plasma texture.

The spatial frequency of the highlights. Increase to zoom out or decrease to zoom in.

Enables/disables the atmosphere layer.

Adjusts the amount, or amplitude, of the atmospheric effect. 0 gives a smooth glow, higher values give more dusty look.

Controls the spatial frequency of the atmospheric noise. Turn this up to get finer details or turn down for broader overall variation.

Determines how the lightning and glow are combined with the image.

Performs a blend function which can help prevent overly bright results.

Adds the lightning to the image. This gives brighter glows over light backgrounds.

Renders the lightning over black.

Scales the brightness of the image before combining with the lightning. If 0, the result will contain only the lightning over black.

Enables/disables the on-screen control for displaying the spline.