Using Boris Continuum Complete 5's LED, DVE, and 2D Particles filters to create a world map of LED lights

In a recent tutorial, we took a still image file of a world map, which was 1357 x 628 pixels, and used the BCC LED filter to transform it into a wall of blinking LED lights. Then, we used the BCC DVE filter to spin the image 50 degrees along the y axis to place it at an angle to the viewer. To continue the effect, we'll take the same map image and add a particle filter to make the lights appear as though they are being sprayed onto the wall, creating the blinking and glowing LED map over time.

Click here to see the finished effect

Here's an image snapshot of where we left off with the project last time:

Let's continue work on the project by taking the FCP sequence with the map and adding the BCC 2D Particles filter on top of the existing BCC LED and DVE filters. I'll just drag the BCC 2D Particles filter from the effects bin onto the clip in the timeline and double click the clip to access the BCC 2D Particles filter parameters in the FCP Effects Control Window.

At its default settings, the filter appears to have no effect on the clip; however, if I step through the timeline, we can see that the filter is causing the map to explode off into many small particles, which is nice but not quite the effect that we are looking for. We want to make the LED lights appear to spray on to create the map, not explode off which would make the map disappear from the screen. So, there's a little tweaking that will need to be done to get the look that we are shooting for.

First off we'll set the particle X parameter to 100, which makes the particles large enough to see, yet small enough to keep the effect exciting. If we make the bulbs too small they will look like specs of dust instead of LED lights. If we make the bulbs too big, then they lose their photoreal appearance.

With the particle size set, the overall look that we are trying to create is starting to take shape, but the effect is still exploding off the screen and we want the opposite animation. Remember, we want to create a wipe-on effect where the map is assembled as if an invisible hose was used to spray LED lights onto an invisible grid out of thin air over the course of the timeline. To make the effect pop-on instead of popping off, we need to change the Automate pop-up function parameter to Reverse instead of Forward.

Next, twirl down the Scatter Wipe group. The parameters contained in the Scatter Wipe Group are what we will use to control the speed of the spray-on effect that we are looking for. This function enables the user to create particle effects that appear to wipe-on or off over time. Let's set the Wipe Speed Parameter to 3000 and the wipe angle to 180 degrees. The speed of 3000 forces the effect into completion over the 10 second timeline that we are working with; a setting of zero would effectively disable the wipe function. The angle of 180 degrees makes the particles take form from top to bottom; setting this parameter to a value of zero would make the particles go from bottom to top.

Next, twirl down the Gravity group and set the gravity angle to 180 and the gravity amount to 2000. As with all objects that exist in the real world, gravitational forces push objects above the surface down toward the ground. By setting the value of the gravity amount parameter to 2000, we are telling the particles that they need to fall very quickly. Using an angle parameter setting of 180 degrees pushes the particles straight down toward the bottom of the screen.

Finally, twirl down the Options group, and make sure that the settings match the parameters shown here:

Let's now move the CTI halfway through the timeline to see how the effect is looking. As we can see, the particles now appear to be sprayed from an invisible hose and stick to an invisible grid to create the LED map that glows and shimmers over time. The result that you are seeing when you move the CTI halfway down the timeline should look like this:

If it does, then you're ready to render the effect to disc.

Click here to see the finished effect

In the final part of this tutorial we'll add an animated text element to this composite to complete the effect...

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