How Do I Make Smoke Follow a Moving Video?
To make smoke follow a moving video, load the clip in BeamTracer Performer and add SMOKE to the FX RACK. Set FROM → OUTLINE for smoke around moving edges, or MOTION for broader moving areas. LIFE sets how long the puffs remain; WIND carries them across the picture.
Hi, I'm Trina with BeamTracer.com. Start with the hand video and watch what happens after a gesture stops. Smoke continues traveling while the hands move somewhere else. Keep the portrait visible as you adjust the puffs.
FROM is MOTION, WIND is 0.45 at 0°, and LIFE is 3 seconds. The source video keeps playing. All demonstrations on this page are silent.
How do I add smoke without losing the original video?
Start with DRIFT → 0. That turns off the drifting picture treatment while leaving the smoke puffs available. SMOKE controls their strength, and MIX blends the complete effect with the source.
- Open Performer and open FX RACK.
- Load a clip through VIDEO · IMAGE, or choose TRINA · HANDS.
- Expand ADD AN EFFECT → TRAILS & TIME and enable SMOKE.
- Set DRIFT → 0, SMOKE → 1.00, and FROM → OUTLINE.
- Set RATE → 5000 /s, LIFE → 2.00 s, PUFF SIZE → 1.50, and COLOR → TINT. This example keeps the default lavender tint.
- Close the rack and watch a complete gesture. Use RECORD to save the live performance as MP4, then play the downloaded file.
OUTLINE, DRIFT 0 and WIND 0. The smoke is easiest to see just after a hand moves away.
A higher RATE adds more puffs. A larger PUFF SIZE covers more of the picture. If the face starts disappearing into haze, shorten LIFE or reduce the size before raising the rate again.
What changes between OUTLINE, MOTION and EVERYWHERE?
OUTLINE starts smoke around moving edges. MOTION uses moving parts of the picture more broadly. EVERYWHERE can emit across a still image too, so the whole frame can become hazy even when the subject pauses.
The FROM buttons change while the same video continues playing. Native controls let you pause on a setting.
This recipe follows motion in the picture. It does not use hand landmarks to turn your fingers into a fluid controller. For an effect that responds to tracked hands, try the particle portrait and HAND STIR lesson.
How do I steer the smoke and leave a picture trail?
Raise WIND, then choose WIND ANGLE to carry the puffs sideways. RISE controls their upward travel; TURBULENCE adds irregular movement. Increase LIFE when you want a gesture to leave smoke behind for longer.
DRIFT adds a separate trail of the picture itself. With DRIFT above zero, TRAIL, DRIFT SPEED, DRIFT DIRECTION and DRIFT SWIRL become available. Start low: a long picture trail can bury a portrait faster than the puffs do.
DRIFT 0.30, TRAIL 0.60, DRIFT SPEED 0.40, DRIFT DIRECTION OUTWARD and DRIFT SWIRL 1.20. PIXELATE and BEAT REVEAL are 0 in this comparison.
Can I keep the video's colors in the smoke?
Choose COLOR → PICTURE to sample the source colors, or TINT for one chosen color. SMOKE is the neutral treatment. Compare them with a moving subject: old puffs remain after the source has changed pose, which is where the color choice becomes clear.
The FX Rack guide covers other picture effects you can stack with this recipe. Record a short test before a full take so you can judge how much of the face survives the accumulated trail.
Try smoke on the built-in hand video.