The Feed timing info to popup menu lets you select one of the structure inputs published by the Quartz composition. The value fed to the selected input is a dictionary with the following keys and values which express properties of the effect being rendered:
- frame contains a value corresponding to the current frame being rendered. This value is an integer if the sequence (or project, when running in Motion) is progressive, or by a fractional value if the image source is interlaced. The fractional component, if present, is always equal to 0.5 and it represents the first field in a given frame (e.g. 2.5 represents the first field in the 3 frame).
- frameRate contains the frame rate used by the sequence (or project, when running inside Motion). For example, 29.97 for NTSC, 25 for PAL.
- frameRateNumerator and frameRateDenominator contain integer values which express the frame rate as an fraction (e.g. 2997 and 100 for a frame rate of 29.97).
The Feed host info to popup menu lets you select one of the structure inputs published by the Quartz composition. The value fed to the selected input is a dictionary with the following keys and values that describe the host in which the plug-in has been loaded:
- hostName contains the human-readable name of the host as a string value (e.g. “Motion”, “Final Cut Pro”)
- hostVersion contains the human-readable version of the host as a string value (e.g. “6.0.4”, “3.0.1”)
- hostVersionMajor, hostVersionMinor and hostVersionRevision contain the numeric components of the host version. For instance, if the host is Final Cut Pro and the version is “6.0.4”, these values will be 6, 0 and 4, respectively. These numeric components can more readily be used in comparisons within your composition, so that the composition need not parse the version string itself.
- hostIdentifier contains a numeric value that identifies the host as uniquely as possible. The following values are supported: 0 = unknown host, 1 = Motion, 2 = Final Cut Pro, 3 = Final Cut Express, 4 = Compressor, 5 = DVD Studio Pro, 99 = Unknown FxPlug-compatible host, 100 = After Effects, 199 = Unknown After Effects-compatible host.
- hostArchitecture contains a numeric value that identifies the plug-in architecture. A value of 1 means that the host uses the FxPlug plug-in architecture. A value of 2 means that the host uses the After Effects plug-in architecture.
- hostBundleID contains the Core Foundation bundle identifier (e.g. “com.apple.Motion”)
The Feed path to assets to popup menu lets you select one of the string inputs published by the Quartz compositions. When the plug-in runs inside the FxPlug host, FxFactory will feed the composition a URL-encoded path (file:///...) or a POSIX-style path (/Library/Application Support/...) to the FxPack location on disc:
A secondary popup menu lets you choose whether the path will be fed as a URL or a POSIX-style path. You may use this value to read images embedded inside the FxPack using the Image Downloader patch. For example, if your FxPack contains an image file named foo.jpg, you may load it from the composition by concatenating the path to the assets with "foo.jpg" and passing the newly formed URL to the Image Downloader patch.
The Composite over background layer in After Effects option lets you select the default compositing behavior of generators when applied inside After Effects. Because After Effects does not support generators natively, FxFactory allows users to apply generators to existing layer, and optionally composite the output of the generator over the original layer contents. Users can always override the initial behavior that you set inside FxFactory, because FxFactory automatically adds a parameter to control this behavior to all generators, when applied inside After Effects.
The Feed source clip image to popup menu lets you select among one of the image inputs published by the Quartz composition. When the Filter is applied inside the FxPlug host, images from the source clip are fed to the Quartz composition input selected via this popup menu.
The Feed source clip info structure popup menu lets you select among one of the structure inputs published by the Quartz composition. The value fed to the selected input is a dictionary with the following keys and values which express properties of the source clip image:
- pixelsWide and pixelsHigh contain the image dimensions (in pixels)
- pixelAspect contains the pixel aspect of the image (e.g. 0.9 for a full frame of NTSC DV footage shot at 4:3; 0.44 for a single field of NTSC DV footage shot at 4:3)
- displayAspect the aspect ratio at which the image is ultimately displayed to the viewer (usually 4:3, 19:9).
- fieldOrder a numeric value which is equal to 0 if the image source is progressive, 1 if the image source is interlaced and the upper field comes first, 2 if the image source is interlaced and the lower field comes first.
- field a value which is equal to 0 if the image contains progressive data, 1 if the image represents the upper field, 2 if the image represents the lower field.
- pixelFormat a value which represents the pixel format of the image: 0 for RGB + alpha images, 1 for YUV + alpha (Y'CbCr) images. (Please note that the plug-in must be YUV-capable for the pixel format to be YUV + alpha.)
- startFrame a value which represents the start time (in frames) of the image source.
- endFrame a value which represents the end time (in frame) of the image source
- duration a value which represents the total duration (in frames) of the image source
The startFrame, endFrame and duration properties are represented by an integer value if the image source is progressive (1, 2, 3, etc.) or by a fractional value if the image source is interlaced (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, etc.). The fractional component, if present, is always equal to 0.5 and it represents the first field in a given frame (e.g. 2.5 represents the first field in the 3 frame).
IMPORTANT: This structure is guaranteed to contain meaningful values only when running plug-ins inside Final Cut Studio 2 applications, and Final Cut Express.
When the plug-in type is Transition, additional options are available:
- The Feed source clip image to popup menu lets you select among one of the image inputs published by the Quartz composition. When the Filter is applied inside the FxPlug host, images from the source clip are fed to the Quartz composition input selected via this popup menu.
- The Feed source clip info structure popup menu lets you select among one of the structure inputs published by the Quartz composition. The value fed to the selected input is a dictionary with the following keys and values which express properties of the source clip image:
- pixelsWide and pixelsHigh contain the image dimensions (in pixels)
- pixelAspect contains the pixel aspect of the image (e.g. 0.9 for a full frame of NTSC DV footage shot at 4:3; 0.44 for a single field of NTSC DV footage shot at 4:3)
- displayAspect the aspect ratio at which the image is ultimately displayed to the viewer (usually 4:3, 19:9).
- fieldOrder a numeric value which is equal to 0 if the image source is progressive, 1 if the image source is interlaced and the upper field comes first, 2 if the image source is interlaced and the lower field comes first.
- field a value which is equal to 0 if the image contains progressive data, 1 if the image represents the upper field, 2 if the image represents the lower field.
- pixelFormat a value which represents the pixel format of the image: 0 for RGB + alpha images, 1 for YUV + alpha (Y'CbCr) images. (Please note that the plug-in must be YUV-capable for the pixel format to be YUV + alpha.)
- startFrame a value which represents the start time (in frames) of the image source.
- endFrame a value which represents the end time (in frame) of the image source
- duration a value which represents the total duration (in frames) of the image source
The startFrame, endFrame and duration properties are represented by an integer value if the image source is progressive (1, 2, 3, etc.) or by a fractional value if the image source is interlaced (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, etc.). The fractional component, if present, is always equal to 0.5 and it represents the first field in a given frame (e.g. 2.5 represents the first field in the 3 frame).
IMPORTANT: This structure is guaranteed to contain meaningful values only when running plug-ins inside Final Cut Studio 2 applications, and Final Cut Express.
- The Feed destination clip image to popup menu lets you select among one of the image inputs published by the Quartz composition. When the Transition plug-in is applied between two clips in Final Cut Pro, images from the destination (target) clip are fed to the Quartz composition input selected via this popup menu.
- The Feed source clip info structure popup menu lets you select among one of the structure inputs published by the Quartz composition. The value fed to the selected input is a dictionary with the keys and values which express properties of the destination clip image. (This structure uses the same keys and values discussed above for the source clip)
- The Feed transition time fraction to popup menu lets you select among one of the number inputs published by the Quartz composition. When the Transition plug-in is applied in Final Cut Pro, the value that gets fed to the Quartz composition will range between 0, at the beginning of the transition, and 1, at the end of the transition. This time fraction lets the Quartz composition drive the animation in a manner that makes it independent of the actual duration (in seconds) of the transition effect inside the sequence.