Adobe After Effects CS3 - Manual (Page 438)

AFTER EFFECTS CS3
User Guide
433
Polygon wave type with square stroke profile (bottom left), and Image Contour wave type with Sine stroke profile (bottom right)
Producer Point The point from which the waves appear.
Parameters Are Set At Specifies whether parameters can be animated for individual waves. Birth specifies that each
wave maintains the same parameter settings over time. Each Frame specifies that the waves change as the parameters
change. For example, if you create a star wave with an animated rotation property, select Birth to offset each star from
the previous one to create a twisting tunnel, or select Each Frame to make all the stars rotate in unison as the rotation
property changes.
Render Quality Controls the quality of the output. Radio Waves creates smooth, anti-aliased shapes by rendering high-
resolution versions of the shapes and then scaling them down by oversampling. For example, to create a 100x100-pixel
image, it may first generate a 400x400-pixel image and then scale it down using 4x oversampling. Oversampling
provides high-quality results but results in long render times. This option works only with Best quality mode.
Wave Type What to base the wave shape on.
Polygon What kind of polygon to use for the wave shape. These controls are available if Polygon is chosen for Wave Type.
• Sides 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.
• Curve Size Specifies how much of each side is curved at each point.
• Curvyness Specifies how extreme the curve is at each point of the wave.
• Star Specifies that the polygon is shaped like a star. To change the number of points on the star, change the
number of sides.
• Star Depth Specifies the star’s angles by controlling the distance between inner points and the star’s center.
Mask 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.
Source Layer 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.