How Do I Make a Four-Color Dither Video?

Load a clip in BeamTracer Performer, add DITHER, and choose CLASSIC → INDEXED PALETTE → ARCADE POP. Set MIX to 1 and EDGE PRESERVE to 0 for a picture drawn from the four swatches. Start with BAYER for a regular screen or switch to BLUE NOISE for scattered dots.

Arcade Pop with Bayer 4 × 4. Watch the patches of color on the cheek and the space between her fingers.

How do I set up the four-color look?

Look at an area with a gradual change in light, such as the cheek or the wall behind the subject. If the face breaks into blocks, lower PIXEL SCALE first. Keep the palette fixed while you tune the grid so you can see what the smaller cells change.

How do I trade the Bayer grid for scattered dots?

Set ALGORITHM to BLUE NOISE and INDEXED PALETTE to POCKET GREEN. Try PIXEL SCALE at 4. Look at the midtones on the wall: the dots still break up the solid areas, but they no longer line up in rows the way they do in Bayer.

Pocket Green with Blue Noise.

To compare the patterns without a color change, switch back to BAYER and keep POCKET GREEN selected. If you want the cells to take up roughly the same proportion of the frame at different output sizes, try GRID SIZE → LOCK ROWS.

How do I make my own four-color palette?

Choose CUSTOM under INDEXED PALETTE. Give the darkest shade room to separate from the next one, and keep one light swatch for highlights. Four colors with similar brightness can make a face look flat even when the hues are different.

For the clip below, enter #152032, #5456A1, #F1898F, and #FFEAB9 in PALETTE COLOR 1–4. Use BAYER → CLUSTERED DOT with PIXEL SCALE at 5 to see the dot clusters in the flat areas.

If you want some original color back around the eyes or hair, raise EDGE PRESERVE a little or lower MIX. Either adjustment can introduce colors outside the palette. Use the image effects guide to compare the other screens and print materials.