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VectorDistort

The VectorDistort node takes the paint from a reference frame and propagates it through the rest of the sequence using the motion vectors generated by the SmartVector node.

See also SmartVector.

Inputs and Controls

Connection Type	Connection Name	Function
Input	Src	The sequence containing the paint corrections and the source of the motion vectors.
SmartVector	The motion vectors generated by SmartVector node. You can connect the SmartVector directly or read in the .exr files created by the node.

Connection Type

Connection Name

Function

Input

Src

The sequence containing the paint corrections and the source of the motion vectors.

SmartVector

The motion vectors generated by SmartVector node. You can connect the SmartVector directly or read in the .exr files created by the node.

Control (UI)	Knob (Scripting)	Default Value	Function
VectorDistort Tab
reference frame	reference_frame	1	Sets the frame used to calculate the warp at every other frame in the sequence.
set to current frame	N/A	N/A	Click to set the reference frame to the frame currently under the playhead.
hold frame	hold_frame	enabled	When enabled, the reference frame is warped instead of the current frame. This is equivalent to inserting a FrameHold node into the node tree after the source. When disabled, the current frame is warped instead of the reference frame.
frame distance	frame_distance	0	Sets the trade-off between warping things well for nearby frames against frames further away. Each shot has its own optimum frame distance value so try several values to see what produces the best results. For example, warping up to 20-30 frames away from the reference frame, or sequences with rapid motion, typically require values closer to 0. Warping over 100 frames away, or sequences with slower motion, typically require values closer to 6.
lifetime	lifetime	input	Sets the lifetime of the warped patch containing your corrections or image: • input - the default value, sets the frame range to the length of the sequence attached to the Src input. • custom - sets a range of frames described by the from and to fields.
from	first	1	When lifetime is set to custom, this control sets the first frame to apply the patch to in the sequence.
to	last	100	When lifetime is set to custom, this control sets the last frame to apply the patch to in the sequence.
vector filter	vector_filter	Cubic	Selects the filtering algorithm to use when creating the internal STMap from the motion vectors. Some filter types work better for certain types of motion or images, so several are provided: • Impulse - remapped pixels carry their original values. • Cubic - remapped pixels receive some smoothing. • Keys - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus minor sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Simon - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus medium sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Rifman - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus significant sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Mitchell - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus blurring to hide pixelation. • Parzen - remapped pixels receive the greatest smoothing of all filters. • Notch - remapped pixels receive flat smoothing (which tends to hide moire patterns). • Lanczos4, Lanczos6, and Sinc4 - remapped pixels receive sharpening which can be useful for scaling down. Lanczos4 provides the least sharpening and Sinc4 the most.
Output
output	output_mode	warped src	Sets the type of output produced by VectorDistort: • warped src - output the warped Src input using the reference frame as a template for warping the rest of the sequence. • st-map - output the st-map for the warp from the reference frame to the current frame. This is useful if you want to bake the results of the node for later. • st-map inverse - output the inverse st-map for the warp, that is, the warp from the current frame to the reference frame.
blur size	blur_size	0	Controls the amount of blur applied to the internally calculated STMap. Increasing the blur size can remove local distortions in the warped result, particularly in longer sequences.
channels	channels	rgba	Sets the channels to which the warp is applied.
mask channel	N/A	disabled	Enables the associated mask channel to the right. Disabling this checkbox is the same as setting the channel to none.
mask channel	mask_channel	none	Only pixels with a non-zero value in this mask channel are warped, limiting the total number of pixels processed. VectorDistort's mask channel is gradual warp between 0 and 1, rather than all or nothing. NOTE: For performance reasons it is highly recommended you supply a mask of the regions to be warped. If you don't specify a mask channel, VectorDistort warps the entire input, which typically takes longer to process.
image filter	warp_filter	Cubic	Select the filtering algorithm to apply the warp to the image, similar to that of the filters used in the IDistort and STMap nodes. • Impulse - remapped pixels carry their original values. • Cubic - remapped pixels receive some smoothing. • Keys - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus minor sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Simon - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus medium sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Rifman - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus significant sharpening (as shown by the negative -y portions of the curve). • Mitchell - remapped pixels receive some smoothing, plus blurring to hide pixelation. • Parzen - remapped pixels receive the greatest smoothing of all filters. • Notch - remapped pixels receive flat smoothing (which tends to hide moire patterns). • Lanczos4, Lanczos6, and Sinc4 - remapped pixels receive sharpening which can be useful for scaling down. Lanczos4 provides the least sharpening and Sinc4 the most.
black outside	black_outside	enabled	When enabled, render black pixels outside the image boundary, making it easier to layer the element over another. When disabled, the outside area is filled with the outermost pixels of the image sequence. In most cases, you should keep black outside checked. However, you may want to turn this off for camera shake, or if you want to texture-map or intersect the output with a similar shape. NOTE: Enabling black outside also adds a solid alpha covering the input image area if no alpha is present.
premult	premult	disabled	When enabled, premultiply the output channels by the input mask channel. This is the equivalent to adding a Premult node after this node.