Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 620)

614 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Effects and animation presets
Last updated 12/21/2009
Lightning effect
If you are working on a project that was created in an older version of After Effects and the Lightning effect is applied
to one or more layers, you can continue to use this effect; otherwise, use the Advanced Lightning effect. (See
“
Advanced Lightning effect ” on page 487.)
This effect works with 8-bpc color.
Start Point, End Point Where the lightning begins and ends.
Segments The number of segments that form the main lightning bolt. Higher values produce more detail but reduce
the smoothness of motion.
Amplitude The size of undulations in the lightning bolt as a percentage of the layer width.
Detail Level, Detail Amplitude How much detail is added to the lightning bolt and any branches. For Detail Level,
typical values are in the range 2–3. For Detail Amplitude, a typical value is 0.3. Higher values for either control are best
for still images but tend to obscure animation.
Branching The amount of branching (forking) that appears at the ends of bolt segments. A value of 0 produces no
branching; a value of 1.0 produces branching at every segment.
Rebranching The amount of branching from branches. Higher values produce treelike lightning bolts.
Branch Angle The angle between a branch and the main lightning bolt.
Branch Seg. Length The length of each branch segment as a fraction of the average length of the segments in the
lightning bolt.
Branch Segments The maximum number of segments for each branch. To produce long branches, specify higher
values for both Branch Seg. Length and Branch Segments.
Branch Width The average width of each branch as a fraction of the width of the lightning bolt.
Speed How fast the lightning bolt undulates.
Stability How closely the lightning follows the line defined by the start and end points. Lower values keep the lightning
bolt close to the line; higher values create significant bouncing. Use Stability with Pull Force to simulate a Jacob’s
Ladder effect and cause the lightning bolt to snap back to a position along the start line after it has been pulled in the
Pull Force direction. A Stability value that is too low doesn’t allow the lightning to be stretched into an arc before it
snaps back; a value that is too high lets the lightning bolt bounce around.
Fixed Endpoint Determines whether the end point of the lightning bolt remains fixed in place. If this control isn’t
selected, the end of the bolt undulates around the end point.
Width, Width Variation The width of the main lightning bolt and how much the width of different segments can vary.
Width changes are randomized. A value of 0 produces no width changes; a value of 1 produces the maximum width
changes.
Core Width The width of the inner glow, as specified by the Inside Color value. Core Width is relative to the total width
of the lightning bolt.
Outside Color, Inside Color The colors used for the outer and inner glows of the lightning bolt. Because the Lightning
effect adds these colors on top of existing colors in the composition, primary colors often produce the best results.
Bright colors often become much lighter, sometimes becoming white, depending on the brightness of colors beneath.
Pull Force, Pull Direction The strength and direction of a force that pulls the lightning bolt. Use the Pull Force value
with the Stability value to create a Jacob’s Ladder appearance.