ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
User Guide
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Segments
Specifies the number of segments that form the main lightning bolt. Higher values produce more detail
but reduce the smoothness of motion.
Amplitude
Specifies the size of undulations in the lightning bolt as a percentage of the layer width.
Detail Level, Detail Amplitude
Specify how much detail is added to the lightning bolt and any branches. For Detail
Level, typical values are between 2 and 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
Specifies the amount of 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
Specifies the amount of branching from branches. Higher values produce tree-like lightning bolts.
Branch Angle
Specifies the size of the angle between a branch and the main lightning bolt.
Branch Seg. Length
Specifies the length of each branch segment as a fraction of the average length of the segments
in the lightning bolt.
Branch Segments
Specifies the maximum number of segments for each branch. To produce long branches, specify
higher values for both the branch segment length and the branch segments.
Branch Width
Specifies the average width of each branch as a fraction of the width of the lightning bolt.
Speed
Specifies how fast the lightning bolt undulates.
Stability
Determines how closely the lightning undulates along 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 does not 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 is not
selected, the end of the bolt undulates around the end point.
Width, Width Variation
Specify 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
Specifies the width of the inner glow, as specified by the Inside Color value. The Core Width is relative
to the total width of the lightning bolt.
Outside Color, Inside Color
Specify the colors used for the lightning bolt’s outer and inner glows. 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
Specify 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.
Random Seed
Specifies a starting point for randomizing the lightning effects you have specified. Because random
movement of the lightning may interfere with another image or layer, typing another value for the Random Seed
starts the randomizing at a different point, changing the movement of the lightning bolt.
Blending Mode
Specifies how the lightning is added to the layer. These modes behave the same as layer blending
modes.
Summary of Contents for AFTER EFFECTS 7.0
Page 1: ...Chapter 1 User Guide...
