How Do I Make an Animated Video Grid with Stretch and Bounce?

To make an animated portrait grid in BeamTracer, load a video in Performer, add TRACK, and choose FOLLOW → FACE. Turn GRID on, set CELL PICTURE → STRETCH, and choose MOVEMENT → RECOMPOSE. FACE TREATMENT lets you keep the face intact, split its features across moving cells, or track a head while its surroundings flex.

Hi, I'm Trina with BeamTracer.com. I like a recognizable face in this effect: the surrounding picture stretches into strips while the expression stays visible. Start with KEEP FACE, then try SEGMENT FACE for a more distorted portrait.

KEEP FACE, STRETCH and RECOMPOSE with 12 modules. The source is the moving TRINA · HANDS example; the face stays together while the surrounding cells change proportions.

How do I make the moving grid on my own video?

Open FX Rack and load your footage through VIDEO · IMAGE. For a portrait, select FOLLOW → FACE so TRACK can use the detected face when arranging the grid.

For the clean view shown here, turn FACE OUTLINES off under SHOW GUIDES, and turn BOXES + LABELS and LABELS off. Tracking continues while those guides are hidden.

Can I split the face into moving segments too?

Choose FACE TREATMENT → SEGMENT FACE. The eyes, nose and mouth can fall into separate cells, so their proportions change independently as the grid moves. The cells retain their source regions, keeping those facial details available as the picture compresses and unfolds.

SEGMENT FACE with 24 modules, CELL VARIATION 0.65, STRETCH and RECOMPOSE. More divisions let different parts of the portrait stretch separately.

Switch back to KEEP FACE when you want one intact face cell. Both treatments use the largest detected face and appear with FOLLOW → FACE or FACE + HANDS, SUBJECT alignment, and STRETCH or MAGNIFY. A clear, well-lit face gives tracking more to work with.

Can the grid follow my head while the surrounding cells flex?

Choose FACE TREATMENT → TRACK HEAD with FOLLOW → FACE, SUBJECT alignment and STRETCH. The head cell follows the detected face and keeps its source proportions. Movement acts on the surrounding cells, which expand and compress around that cell as you move.

TRACK HEAD with HEAD PADDING 0.35, STRETCH and RECOMPOSE. This take uses 24 modules, CELL VARIATION 0.65, GRID MOTION 0.85 and MOVEMENT SPEED 1.00.

Adjust HEAD PADDING to leave room for hair or a hat. This is a padded region estimated from face tracking, so check its boundary on your footage. It does not trace individual strands of hair. KEEP FACE lets the intact face cell stretch with the grid; TRACK HEAD holds its cell's proportions while the surrounding picture flexes. SEGMENT FACE remains available for the divided portrait.

Can the box sizes react to music or an LFO?

Yes. HORIZONTAL FLEX redistributes cell widths; VERTICAL FLEX redistributes their heights. Open the modulation button beneath either slider and choose a source. Try LFO A horizontally and LFO B vertically for movement without music, or choose an audio source for a musical response.

TRACK HEAD with HORIZONTAL FLEX assigned to LFO A and VERTICAL FLEX assigned to LFO B. GRID MOTION is 0, so the size changes come from modulation.

Start with a small modulation range. With TRACK HEAD, the surrounding cells flex while the head region stays intact. With SEGMENT FACE, the face patches change size too. Leave both flex controls at 0 with no assignments to retain the existing movement.

What is the difference between ORIGINAL, STRETCH and MAGNIFY?

ORIGINAL retains the grid system's existing picture treatment. In FRAGMENT, that includes shifted picture patches. STRETCH keeps the complete picture divided among the cells while their destination rectangles change shape.

ORIGINAL with FRAGMENT and RUBBER BAND. This treatment can shift parts of the picture.

STRETCH with KEEP FACE, 12 modules and RUBBER BAND movement at 0.60 strength.

MAGNIFY zooms into each source region, from 1× to 8×. With FACE tracking and SUBJECT alignment, face-bearing regions stay uncropped in all three face treatments; surrounding cells magnify. In KEEP FACE, this leaves the complete face visible inside its cell.

MAGNIFY at 2.50× with KEEP FACE and RUBBER BAND. Compare the enlarged surrounding details with the intact face.

How do I add rubber-band, bounce or jiggle movement?

Use GRID MOTION for movement strength and MOVEMENT SPEED for its rate. RUBBER BAND overshoots the cell edges, BOUNCE changes their rebound, and JIGGLE gives the cuts a faster shake. SETTLING controls how quickly these spring movements fade. Shared edges stay connected.

The next examples use GRID MOTION → 0.60, MOVEMENT SPEED → 1.00 and SETTLING → 1.00, with MAGNIFY at 2.50× and KEEP FACE.

BOUNCE. The cells rebound while the face stays in one source patch.

JIGGLE at the same strength and speed. Lower GRID MOTION if the shake competes with the expression.

These spring styles respond to the shared beat and repeat without music. RECOMPOSE runs continuously at MOVEMENT SPEED and does not use SETTLING. The silent clips show movement without music; they are not beat-sync comparisons.

Can the grid follow lines already in the footage?

Set GRID ALIGNMENT → SOURCE LINES to find strong vertical and horizontal contrast boundaries. LINE SENSITIVITY changes how much contrast qualifies. This is useful for footage with straight divisions, such as shelves or window frames. Where detected boundaries leave gaps, the grid subdivides the remaining space.

SOURCE LINES with MEASURE, STRETCH and RUBBER BAND on the same portrait. The picture stays visible across the cells as the contrast-based divisions change.

Start with LINE SENSITIVITY → 0.60 and watch the boundaries before adding movement. SOURCE LINES uses image contrast. Switch to SUBJECT alignment for FACE TREATMENT. Diagonal perspective lines and faint edges may not align with this grid.

How do I combine the grid with other effects and export it?

Place TRACK in the rack with the other effects you want to use. The rack processes its picture in order, so changing the order changes which image the next effect receives. Add one effect at a time and check the result before recording.

For a character treatment, follow the ASCII hand-window guide. It includes body masking and settings for a brighter background. Keep the grid recipe as a separate look while experimenting so you can return to it.

RECORD captures a live performance as MP4. Check the saved file for the cell motion and any sound you intended to include. The FX Rack guide covers the other tracking and grid controls.