Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 435

AFTER EFFECTS CS3 429
User Guide
The length of each branch segment as a fraction of the average length of the segments in the
Branch Seg. Length
lightning bolt.
The maximum number of segments for each branch. To produce long branches, specify higher
Branch Segments
values for both Branch Seg. Length and Branch Segments.
The average width of each branch as a fraction of the width of the lightning bolt.
Branch Width
How fast the lightning bolt undulates.
Speed
How closely the lightning follows the line defined by the start and end points. Lower values keep the
Stability
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.
Determines whether the end point of the lightning bolt remains fixed in place. If this control isn't
Fixed Endpoint
selected, the end of the bolt undulates around the end point.
The width of the main lightning bolt and how much the width of different segments can
Width, Width Variation
vary. Width changes are randomized. A value of 0 produces no width changes; a value of 1 produces the maximum
width changes.
The width of the inner glow, as specified by the Inside Color value. Core Width is relative to the total
Core Width
width of the lightning bolt.
The colors used for the lightning bolt's outer and inner glows. Because the Lightning
Outside Color, Inside Color
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.
The strength and direction of a force that pulls the lightning bolt. Use the Pull Force value
Pull Force, Pull Direction
with the Stability value to create a Jacob's Ladder appearance.
An input value for the random noise generator that is the basis of the Lightning effect. If the random
Random Seed
movement of the lightning interferes with another image or layer, enter a new value for Random Seed until you find
one that works for you.
The blending mode to use to composite the lightning on top of the original layer. These blending
Blending Mode
modes work identically to the ones in the Timeline panel.
Regenerates the lightning at each frame. To make the lightning behave the same way at the
Rerun At Each Frame
same frame every time you run it, don't select this option. Selecting this option increases rendering time.
Paint Bucket effect
The Paint Bucket effect (formerly Basic Fill effect) is a nondestructive paint effect that fills an area with a solid color.
It works much like the Paint Bucket tool in Adobe Photoshop. Use the Paint Bucket effect for colorizing cartoon-type
outlined drawings or replacing areas of color in an image.
This effect works with 8-bpc color.
The effect fills an area that contains the Fill Point. The area is determined by analyzing pixels that neighbor
Fill Point
the Fill Point and expanding the fill area by adding matching pixels. How far the fill color spreads depends upon the
Tolerance setting, as well as the option you choose from the Fill Selector menu.
Which values to operate on:
Fill Selector
•
Specifies that the effect fills the fill point's RGB and alpha channels with the new color.
Color & Alpha