Effect Settings
Each effect in a composition is configured separately: it has its own colors, speed, pattern size, and opacity. This article explains where these settings are located and how to use them. How to place an effect into a composition is covered in Adding an Effect to a Composition, and how to make its parameters change over time — in Keyframes and Effect Parameters.
The settings belong to a specific instance of the effect. They are saved in the project, travel together with that instance of the effect, and are included in the exported cue file, but they do not change the effect library or other instances of the same effect in other layouts and compositions.
Where the settings are located
- Open the composition — double-click its card in the Compositions window.
- Select the effect in the Timeline window: click its bar on the timeline or the row with its name on the left.
- The settings of the selected effect appear in the Properties window. If this window is not visible, enable it via the checkbox Window → Properties or find its tab at the edge of the workspace (see Workspace).
The Properties window consists of two parts.
The header is the top row; it does not scroll. It contains the effect name, a blend mode drop-down list to its right, a gear-shaped button (it opens the Effect Settings window), and below that an Opacity slider. This is what the header of a regular flat effect that draws an image on the layout looks like.
Effects of other types have their own header. For a 3D effect, it contains a drop-down list of 3D layouts, a Settings button, and an Opacity slider — it has no blend mode. For effects that move the fixtures themselves (for example Set Channel Values), the header contains only the Fixtures button and Fixture Count: such an effect does not draw anything, so it has neither opacity nor a blend mode.
The parameter list is everything below the header. Here are the parameters of this particular effect: a simple fill has two or three, a complex animation has a dozen and a half. The list scrolls with the mouse wheel, and when the window width changes the parameters stretch proportionally, so it's convenient to make the Properties panel wider.
Part of these same settings is also visible on the Timeline. In the effect's row, besides the enable checkbox and the name, there are a blend mode drop-down list and an Opacity numeric field with a keyframe button. A triangle to the left of the name expands parameter tracks under the effect — but not all of them: only the parameters that have keyframe mode enabled are shown there, as a simple flat list, without grouping. While no such parameter exists, the triangle is inactive and there is nothing to expand under the effect. Keyframe mode is only enabled in the Properties window, with the stopwatch button next to the slider — there is no such button on the timeline itself.
The values are shared: change one in one window and it changes in the other too. It's more convenient to pick values in Properties and place them in time on the Timeline.
The result of an edit is visible immediately — in the Mapping field and in the 3D View window. The playback cursor must be within the effect's bar for this: outside its bounds the effect is not drawn, and changes will not be visible.
How to change values
| Action | How to do it |
|---|---|
| Adjust a value by eye | Drag the slider with the mouse |
| Set an exact value | Enter a number in the field to the left of the slider. Fractional values are set to three decimal places; a minus sign is entered first, as the very first character |
| Change the value by a step | The arrows on the right side of the numeric field increase and decrease the value by one step |
| Restore the default value | Right-click the parameter |
| Undo an edit | Ctrl+Z, redo — Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y |
Right-clicking resets to the original value not only sliders but also checkboxes and drop-down lists, including the blend mode list — it returns to Normal. This is the fastest way to return a parameter to "how it was" if you got carried away experimenting.
The numeric field will not let you go beyond the parameter's limits: each slider has its own minimum and maximum, set by the effect itself.
What effect settings consist of
Each effect has its own set of parameters, but they are assembled from the same elements.
| Parameter | What it looks like and what to do with it |
|---|---|
| Number | A slider with a numeric field to the left. This is how speed, size, number of elements, brightness, angles, and coordinates are set |
| Checkbox | Turns part of the effect on or off — for example, reaction to sound |
| List | A drop-down list with ready-made options: direction of movement, display mode, distribution method |
| Color | R, G, B sliders and a color picker field |
| Gradient | A transition bar with marker points |
| Color list | A column of colors that the effect cycles through in turn |
| Text and font | A text input field and a Select button that opens the standard Windows font selection dialog |
| Coordinates | Two or three sliders labeled X, Y, Z — a point or a direction |
| File | A Select file button, an Update button, and the name of the selected file |
| Sound and beat | A group of settings by which the effect keeps the beat |
| Fixtures and channels | A list of fixtures and their channel values — used by the Set Channel Values effect |
| Spout source | Selection of the sending program for the image — used by the Spout effect |
Parameter names come from the effect itself. For Light Stream's own effects, parameter names are localized into the interface language; for graphic effects from the library, some names may remain in English — this is normal. The first parameter of graphic effects is almost always Speed.
Color
Color is set by three sliders with values from 0 to 255: R — red, G — green, B — blue. There is no separate slider for the white channel: how the color splits across the channels of a specific fixture is determined by the pixel type assigned to the fixture during patching (see Patching Fixtures).
Below the sliders is a color picker field. Clicking it opens a palette: a set of standard colors, a list of recently used ones, and a tab for picking an arbitrary shade. The color chosen in the palette is immediately reflected in the sliders, and vice versa.
Gradient
The gradient is shown as a bar with round markers — transition points. Below the bar is the same set of R, G, B sliders with a palette: it edits the color of the selected point.
- Add a point — double-click the bar at the desired spot.
- Move a point — drag the marker along the bar.
- Delete a point — right-click the marker, then Delete.
- Change a point's color — click the marker: the selected marker is outlined in orange, and its color is edited with the sliders and palette below the bar.
- Reverse the gradient — the R button to the right of the bar (tooltip Reverse) swaps the order of the colors.
Color list
Some effects, such as Color Change, work not with a single color but with a list. The Add button adds a new color to the list, Delete removes the selected one, and the order of colors is changed by dragging rows — the effect cycles through them in exactly this order. The Random checkbox makes the effect take colors from the list not in order, but randomly.
Sound and beat
Effects that work "to the beat" are configured with a single group of parameters.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Audio in | When enabled, the effect catches beats in the sound arriving at the program's audio input. When disabled, the effect keeps its own beat evenly on its own |
| BPM | The tempo of its own beat, in beats per minute. Works when Audio in is disabled |
| Beat divider → Enable and number | Beat thinning: the effect triggers not on every beat, but on every second, third, and so on — by the specified number |
| Beat divider → Random | Beats are skipped randomly, on average one out of the specified number triggers. The movement becomes less mechanical |
The sound is taken from the input selected in the program's settings: Settings → Properties (Ctrl+P), the Audio input group. If no input is selected, an effect with Audio in enabled will remain motionless — see Properties.
Opacity and blend mode
Two settings in the header of the Properties window are present on all effects that draw an image, and control how the effect combines with the effects below it.
- Opacity — from 0 to 255, 255 by default. At 255 the effect is fully visible, at 0 it is not visible at all. On the Timeline this same parameter is called Opacity, and next to it there is a keyframe button.
- Blend mode — the compositing rule: overlay, add brightness, multiply colors, use the effect as a mask.
Both settings can be animated with keyframes: this is exactly how smooth appearances and transitions between effects are made. For details on layering, see Режимы смешивания.
The "Effect Settings" window
The gear button in the header of the Properties window (for a 3D effect — the Settings button) opens a small Effect Settings window. These are not effect parameters: they are not animated with keyframes and do not appear on the timeline. Here you set the resolution at which the effect is drawn and how the finished image is placed on the layout. Changes apply immediately; the window closes with the Esc key.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Size | The resolution at which the effect is drawn, relative to the size of its layout: 2X, Normal, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, or Custom |
| Width, Height | Resolution in pixels. The fields are only available when Custom is selected; otherwise they simply show the current size |
| Flip Horizontal, Flip Vertical | Mirror the effect's image |
| Rotation | Rotates the effect's image within the layout, in degrees |
| Scale X, Y | Stretches the image horizontally and vertically, in percent. 100 — no change, more than 100 — the picture is larger |
| Offset X, Y | Shifts the effect's image within the layout, in percent of its size |
| Delay | Shifts the effect's time, in milliseconds. The same effect on a neighboring layout with a different delay will run "in a wave," lagging behind |
Two things are worth remembering about Size.
- The lower the resolution, the larger the picture. The 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 options give noticeable "pixelation": the effect's details become larger, transitions become coarser. This is a working technique if you want large blobs instead of fine ripple.
- Too high a resolution is useless. Each effect in a composition is drawn on its own raster, but the fixtures still only receive as many points as there are fixtures in the layout. The 2X option and large custom sizes should only be set if the effect's image is noticeably "jagged," and not for every effect in a row: extra pixels needlessly load the video card.
As long as a size other than Custom is selected, the resolution is calculated automatically from the layout's size: change the layout, and the effect's resolution changes too. Custom Width and Height, on the other hand, remain as set.
Settings that change over time
Any numeric parameter, color, and opacity can be made not just set once, but changed while the effect is playing. For this, there are two buttons to the right of the slider in the Properties window:
- L — assigns a function to the parameter (sine, linear, pulses, noise) or links it to external control: OSC, MIDI, DMX, or a virtual controller. When a function or link is assigned, the button turns orange, and for a function the label changes to F;
- stopwatch — enables keyframe mode for the parameter. As soon as it is enabled, the parameter appears as a separate track under the effect on the Timeline, and values are placed in time, with the program calculating the transitions between them.
While the stopwatch is enabled or a function is assigned, the regular slider behaves differently: it either edits the value at the cursor position, or stops working altogether. All this is covered in detail in the article Keyframes and Effect Parameters.
Image, video, and sound settings
Imported files sit on the timeline as bars, just like effects, and are configured in the same Properties window.
| What is configured | Where and how |
|---|---|
| Selecting an image | The Select file button, with the name of the selected one shown next to it. The Update button re-reads the file from disk — useful if the image was edited in an external editor |
| Image stretching method | A list of two options: Automatically — smooth stretching with anti-aliasing, Nearest neighbor (hard edges) — no anti-aliasing, with sharp square pixels |
| Selecting video or sound | The Open media file button; the file name and its duration are shown next to it |
| Video proportions | The Save aspect ratio checkbox — keep the original frame proportions instead of stretching it to fill the whole area |
| Duration | The Set timeline item duration button fits the length of the timeline bar to the duration of the file |
| Sound volume | The Volume slider |
The files themselves are not embedded into the project; only paths to them are saved: before moving the project to another computer, collect it with the command File → Collect Project.
If something goes wrong
The "Properties" window is empty. No effect is selected. Click the effect's bar or its name row in the Timeline window.
I change parameters, but nothing happens on the fixtures. Check in order: the playback cursor is within the effect's bar; the checkbox to the left of the effect's name is enabled; Opacity is not at zero; the effect is not covered by another effect lying above it (see Режимы смешивания); the fixtures fall within the layout's boundaries.
The slider moves, but the value doesn't change. The parameter has keyframe mode enabled or a function assigned — turn off the stopwatch or clear the function via the L button → Functions → Clear.
The triangle next to the effect on the timeline doesn't expand. This means none of this effect's parameters have keyframe mode enabled. Enable it with the stopwatch in the Properties window — the parameter will immediately appear under the effect.
I accidentally messed everything up. Right-click the parameter — it will return to its default value. Recent actions can be undone with Ctrl+Z.
I configured the effect, but in another composition it's still the old one. Instances of an effect are independent. To get the same effect with all its settings, right-click the effect's row: Duplicate makes a copy in the same composition, and Clone → composition name places a copy in another composition. This is faster than configuring it again.
I added the effect from the library again, and the settings are gone. The library stores a template with default settings; your edits are not written back to it — see Библиотека эффектов.
The effect's image is too fine-grained or, conversely, too coarse. Adjust the Size in the Effect Settings window via the gear button.