Sapphire Plug-ins for Open Fx: Gradient

S_Gradient Makes a smooth color gradient across the screen using given Start and End locations and colors, then optionally combines the gradient with a background clip. Increase Add Noise to reduce banding artifacts in the gradient due to color quantization. In the Sapphire Render effects submenu. Inputs: Background:  Optional.   The clip to combine the gradient with. Mask:  Optional.   Interpolate between the result and the Source input. White areas use the result of the effect. Black areas use the Source clip.

Parameters:

Load Preset:   Push-button.
Brings up the Preset Browser to browse all available presets for this effect.

Save Preset:   Push-button.
Brings up the Preset Save dialog to save a preset for this effect.

Mocha Project:   Default: 0,  Range: 0 or greater.
Brings up the Mocha window for tracking footage and generating masks.

Blur Mocha:   Default: 0,  Range: 0 or greater.
Blurs the Mocha Mask by this amount before using. This can be used to soften the edges or quantization artifacts of the mask, and smooth out the time displacements.

Mocha Opacity:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 to 1.
Controls the strength of the Mocha mask. Lower values reduce the intensity of the effect.

Invert Mocha:   Check-box,  Default: off.
If enabled, the black and white of the Mocha Mask are inverted before applying the effect.

Resize Mocha:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 to 2.
Scales the Mocha Mask. 1.0 is the original size.

Resize Rel X:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 to 2.
The relative horizontal size of the Mocha Mask.

Resize Rel Y:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 to 2.
The relative vertical size of the Mocha Mask.

Shift Mocha:   X & Y,   Default: [0 0],  Range: any.
Offsets the position of the Mocha Mask.

Dilate Mocha:   Default: 0,  Range: -100 to 100.
Dilates or erodes the Mocha Mask by this pixel amount before using.

Dilation Quality:   Popup menu,  Default: Fast.
Selects whether Dilate Mocha adusts quickly in default Fast mode or looks better in High quality mode.

Fast:  Dilate Mocha in Fast mode for quick adjustments.

High:  Dilate Mocha in High quality mode for a better looking mask shape.

Bypass Mocha:   Check-box,  Default: off.
Ignore the Mocha Mask and apply the effect to the entire source clip.

Show Mocha Only:   Check-box,  Default: off.
Bypass the effect and show the Mocha Mask itself.

Combine Masks:   Popup menu,  Default: Union.
Determines how to combine the Mocha Mask and Input Mask when both are supplied to the effect.

Union:  Uses the area covered by both masks together.

Intersect:  Uses the area that overlaps between the two masks.

Mocha Only:  Ignore the Input Mask and only use the Mocha Mask.

Start:   X & Y,   Default: [0 0.596],  Range: any.
The starting location of the gradient. This parameter can be adjusted using the Start Widget.

End:   X & Y,   Default: [0 -0.596],  Range: any.
The ending location of the gradient. This parameter can be adjusted using the End Widget.

Pre Scale Lights:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 or greater.
Scale the noise pattern by this value before applying the color parameters.

Pre Offset Darks:   Default: 0,  Range: any.
Offsets the darker regions of the noise pattern before applying the color parameters.

Start Color:   Default rgb: [1 1 1].
The color of the gradient at the Start location.

Mid Color1 Enable:   Check-box,  Default: off.
Turn on or off the mid color1 parameter.

Mid Color1:   Default rgb: [0.7 0.7 0.7].
'Darker' mid color between color1 and color0.

Mid Color2 Enable:   Check-box,  Default: off.
Turn on or off the mid color2 parameter.

Mid Color2:   Default rgb: [0.5 0.5 0.5].
Mid color between color1 and color0.

Mid Color3 Enable:   Check-box,  Default: off.
Turn on or off the mid color3 parameter.

Mid Color3:   Default rgb: [0.2 0.2 0.2].
'Lighter' mid color between color1 and color0.

End Color:   Default rgb: [0 0 0].
The color of the gradient at the End location

Scale Lights:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 or greater.
Scale the result after the colors are applied to the image.

Offset Darks:   Default: 0,  Range: -8 to 2.
Adds this gray value to the darker regions of the result. This can be negative to increase contrast.

Hue Shift:   Default: 0,  Range: any.
Shifts the hue of the textures, in revolutions from red to green to blue to red.

Saturation:   Default: 1,  Range: -2 to 8.
Scales the color saturation. Increase for more intense colors. Set to 0 for monochrome.

Swap Colors:   Check-box,  Default: off.
If checked, reverses the direction of the gradient by swapping the Start and End colors.

Brightness:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 or greater.
Scales the brightness of the gradient image (both the Start Color and End Color).

Add Noise:   Default: 0,  Range: 0 or greater.
If positive, this amount of noise is added to the gradient. This can create a grainy effect and eliminate banding in the gradient due to quantization. Set this to 1.0 to enable effective debanding for 8 bit results.

Smooth Curve:   Default: 0,  Range: 0 to 1.
If zero, a linear interpolation is used across the screen between the Start and End Color. Increase this value to use a smoother 'S' shaped curve for interpolation which can reduce the visual perception of the gradient's Start and End locations.

Bg Brightness:   Default: 1,  Range: 0 or greater.
Scales the brightness of the background before combining it with the gradient.

Combine:   Popup menu,  Default: Screen.
Determines how the gradient is combined with the background.

Grad Only:  gives the gradient image alone with no background.

Mult:  the background is multiplied by the gradient.

Add:  the background is added to the gradient.

Screen:  the background is blended with the gradient using a screen operation.

Difference:  the result is the difference between the background and gradient.

Overlay:  combines gradient and background using an overlay function.

Mask Use:   Popup menu,  Default: Luma.
Determines how the Mask input channels are used to make a monochrome mask.

Luma:  the luminance of the RGB channels is used.

Alpha:  only the Alpha channel is used.

Blur Mask:   Default: 0.05,  Range: 0 or greater.
Blurs the Mask input by this amount before using. This can provide a smoother transition between the masked and unmasked areas. It has no effect unless the Mask input is provided.

Invert Mask:   Check-box,  Default: off.
If on, inverts the mask input so the effect is applied to areas where the Mask is black instead of white. This has no effect unless the Mask input is provided.

Show Start: Check-box, Default: on.
Turns on or off the screen user interface for adjusting the Start parameter.

Show End: Check-box, Default: on.
Turns on or off the screen user interface for adjusting the End parameter.

See Also:

GradientRadial GradientMulti

WipeLine Sapphire Plug-ins Introduction