8.3

Creating Gradient Images for PlasmaWipe Effects
521
The following tips apply to working with gradient images:
• Keep the graphic smooth without too many hard edges. This increases the number of levels
(gradients) and creates a smoother wipe.
• Do not use dithering or antialiasing because they might add artifacts to the wipe. For
example, when a graphics application performs antialiasing, it smooths out the edge of a line
by blending the colors along the edge. These blended colors might force small portions of
the incoming or outgoing video to appear at inappropriate times.
• If you use Photoshop, use the histogram to view the gradient levels of the image. This lets
you ensure that the image uses all the available gradient values and that the effect plays
smoothly.
For more information, see “Using the Histogram to Analyze PlasmaWipe Images” on
page 524
.
For information on the effects in the Border category, see
“Understanding PlasmaWipe Frame
and Border Effects” on page 530
.
Creating a Custom Image for a PlasmaWipe Effect
This sample procedure uses Adobe Photoshop, but you can use any graphics tool that creates
black and white gradient images and lets you save an image as a raw image file.
To create a gradient image using Adobe Photoshop:
1. Create a new file with the following characteristics:
- Image size: 720 pixels (width) by 576 pixels (height)
- Resolution: 72 pixels/inch (you can use any resolution)
- Mode: Grayscale
2. Create a black and white graphic.
For example, use the Gradient tool to create a basic pattern with the following settings:
- Foreground: black
- Background: white
- Opacity: 100%
3. (Option) Use distortion filters such as Spherize, Twirl, or Ripple to modify the image.
The following illustration shows a gradient image modified by two separate distortion
operations.