Adobe After Effects - Manual (Page 520)

Sides
Curve Size
Curvyness
Star
Star Depth
Mask
Source Layer
Source Center
Value Channel
Invert Input
Value Threshold
Pre-Blur
Tolerance
Contour
Frequency
Expansion
Orientation
Three sides create a triangle, four create a square, and so on. Size values above 64 result in a smooth circle. You can also
approximate a circle by setting Sides to 3, Curve Size to 1, and Curvyness to about 0.62.
Specifies how much of each side is curved at each point.
Specifies how extreme the curve is at each point of the wave.
Specifies that the polygon is shaped like a star. To change the number of points on the star, change the number of sides.
Specifies the angles of a star by controlling the distance between inner points and the center of the star.
Specifies the mask used to create a wave. This control is available if you choose Mask from the Wave Type pop-up menu.
Image Contour controls
You can base the wave shape on the contours of an image by choosing Image Contours for Wave Type.
The layer to use as input for the creation of the image contours. Select an animated layer to emit moving shapes. A well-defined
outline, high-contrast grayscale layer, or alpha channel works well as a source. The Radio Waves effect detects edges and converts sources into
outlines.
Specifies the center point of the shape, relative to the source layer. For example, if you isolate a shape that is positioned in the
left half of the frame, the shape radiates to the left by default; you can move the source center anywhere on the layer.
The color attributes of the source layer used to define the image contours.
Inverts the chosen value channel option.
Specifies the threshold for the chosen value channel. It determines the percentage value at which everything below it or above it
is mapped to either white or black. This control can make a big difference in the shape of the wave.
Smooths out the value channel before the value threshold is sampled. If you have a high-contrast image, such as white on black, and
you want the wave to follow the edges very closely, set this option to 0.
Defines how tightly the wave conforms to the layer. A high setting results in sharp corners; a low value can make the wave shape
more sensitive to noise.
Specifies the shape in the source layer that you want to use as the emitted wave. Contour numbers the shapes by their order in the
frame from top to bottom, left to right. The shape in the upper-left corner is number 1.
Wave Motion controls
Wave Motion controls specify how the wave emits from the center point.
Specifies the number of waves per second flowing out of the producer point.
Specifies the speed at which the wave travels from the producer point once it is born. This option doesn’t affect the number of waves
per second.
Specifies the rotation of the shape at birth around its center point. To animate the rotation, use the Spin control.
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