BCC Gradient

Category: Common Controls

Effect Name: BCC Gradient

The BCC Gradient allows allows for the loading and saving of gradient presets. After you apply a BCC filter and adjust the gradient parameters, you can save the parameter settings and reload them later. Several premade presets are also included. Gradient presets are compatible with any filter that uses gradients.

Working With the Gradient Presets

The Load and Save controls are available in each filter that uses a gradient. This feature allows you to save favorite gradient settings and apply them to multiple projects.

Loading Effects:

To load a previously saved gradient setting, click the “L” or Load button. A dialog box allows you to choose a preset. The saved settings are recalled and applied to your effect.

Saving Effects:

After you adjust the gradient parameters, you can save the settings by clicking the “S” or Save button. A dialog box lets you name the file. Preset names are limited to alphanumeric characters. Special characters may result in the preset being dimmed in the Load preset list. Saving a BCC setting creates a static gradient that uses the values at the first frame.

• Grandient Color Ramp: Provides a preview of the gradient you are creating. The Gradient Preview will not update while you drag sliders.
• Color Space:Ddetermines whether the gradient is created in RGB, HSL, or HSV color space. Choose HSL or HSV is you want to animate the colors in the gradient while maintaining the level of saturation.
• Color 1, Color 2, Color 3, Color 4, Color 5, and Color 6: Selects up to six different colors to add to the gradient. The Color 1 and Color 6 colors are always used. Each of the remaining colors has a Color On checkbox. Select this option to add the corresponding color to the gradient. Deselect this option to remove the corresponding color from the gradient.

• Black Point: Sets the value in the Input Channel which is treated as the pure Color 1 level in the output. All pixels whose Input Channel value is lower than the Black Point value are mapped to the Color 1 color. Increasing positive Black Point values cause more pixels to be purely Color 1 in the output. Decreasing negative values cause fewer pixels to be purely Color 1.
• White Point: Sets the value in the Input Channel which is mapped to the pure Color 6 in the output. Decreasing White Point causes more pixels to be purely Color 6 in the output.
• Squeeze: Compresses and shifts the gradient values.

Advanced Gradient Controls Group

• Loop Mode: Determines the output behavior when either Loop Count or Gradient Offset are changed from their default values.
• Off: Looping past the end of the gradient uses the end color. This is the default value.
• Forward Loop The gradient loops back to Color 1 after it passes Color 6. You can increase Loop Count to set the number of loops or change Gradient Offset to move the mapping through this loop.
• Back and Forth Loop: The color mapping goes from 1 to 6 to 6 to 1, etc.

Note: The advanced group is not present in all BCC filters.

• Loop Count: Sets the number of times that the gradient loops.
• Gradient Offset: Offsets the starting point of the gradient. This can be animated to create palette-shifting effects.
• Color Ease: Sets the softness of the transitions between pure colors in the gradient.

Gradient HSL Group

• Hue: Cycles the colors in the gradient around the color wheel in the HSL color space.
• Saturation: Sets the intensity of each color’s hue in the gradient. Negative values desaturate the gradient, while positive values increase the saturation of the gradient.
• Lightness: Sets the brightness of the colors in the gradient. Higher values lighten the colors, while lower values darken the colors.