One of the compositor's primary tasks is to manage the transparency of layers, and Boris RED 2.5 offers a number of unique ways to do this.

Among these is the animation of compositing modes in a single layer through the "Apply Mix From" setting. This can be used to soften the effect of a composite mode, or animated to transition from one mode to another. Not only does this approach offer more options than traditional approaches, it offers reduced rendering times by not requiring copies of additional layers to provide the transition between composite modes.

RED features 27 modes in all, including 6 new ones: Boost Expo 1 and 2, Boost EQ + and -, Boost Bias, and 50-50 Mix. Although the algorithms they use are different, each carries the exact colors of the original layers through to the composite, without the crushing introduced by standard composite modes.

For the many Composite modes that produce extreme values, Boris RED also provide tools for adjusting brighness and contrast of the composited output, as well as the opacity of the composited layer and its mix with the original -- all part of the Composite tab in the Boris RED Controls window.

No other compositing application offers anything resembling this variety of control over the actual process of compositing.

Below, top: unfiltered images. From Lower Left: Boost Eq +, Boost Eq -, and Boost Bias. Note consistent chroma values in each.

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