Procedural Dissolves

In the Edit Workspace, a cross-dissolve is a simple, linear fade between two clips. In the Compositor Workspace, you can build Procedural Dissolves that break an image apart dynamically, such as burning away like paper, shattering into pixels, or wiping via a custom gradient.

The Matte Control Approach (Luma Fade)

A standard fade lowers the global opacity (Alpha) of the entire image simultaneously. A procedural luma fade lowers the opacity based on the brightness of a secondary image (a matte).

Imagine you want a title to look like it is being "burned" onto the screen, with the dark edges appearing first and the bright center appearing last.

1. Add your text or graphic (Foreground).
2. Add a FastNoise node.
3. Add a MatteControl node.
4. Pipe your Foreground graphic into the Background (Yellow) input of the MatteControl.
5. Pipe the FastNoise into the Foreground (Green) input of the MatteControl.
6. In the MatteControl Inspector, go to the Combine tab and set the operation to multiply the alpha.
7. Animate the Brightness or Contrast of the FastNoise node from -1.0 to 1.0 over time.

Because the noise is a patchy cloud of black and white, the text will selectively dissolve into view exactly matching the fractal pattern of the noise, creating a highly organic transition.

The Grid Warp Approach (Shatter)

If you want an image to shatter or blow away like sand:

1. Add a Grid Warp node after your graphic.
2. Increase the grid resolution in the Inspector (e.g., 20x20).
3. Using an Expression or a modifier, link the displacement of the grid points to a FastNoise map.
4. As the noise intensity increases over time, the grid points will push and pull the pixels of your graphic violently apart.

Saving as a Transition Template

Once you build a complex procedural dissolve in the node graph, you do not want to rebuild it from scratch every time you need it on the timeline.

You can save this exact node graph as a Macro, place it in the specific Oraphim Transitions folder on your hard drive, and it will automatically appear in the Edit Workspace Effects Library under Video Transitions. You can then drag and drop it onto any cut between two video clips, just like a standard cross-dissolve!

Use Dissolve in a production project

1. Open Composition workspace and select the intended text, shape, layer, animation property, or procedural system.
2. Establish the correct input state first—timing, media link, layer/node enable state, project settings, or source selection as relevant.
3. Apply or adjust Dissolve with one clear goal. Change the smallest set of controls needed to reach that goal so the result remains understandable and reversible.
4. Review the complete affected range in context. Scrub difficult frames and also play at normal speed when motion or audio is involved.
5. Save a named milestone before moving into another major operation, especially after graph changes, tracking, AI processing, relinking, simulation, or delivery setup.

Practical guidance

A dissolve needs enough temporal overlap and should support the storytelling rhythm. Check luminance changes and subject motion through the full transition.

A useful test is a short 5–10 second section containing both an easy case and a difficult case for this feature. Tune against the difficult moment without breaking the easy one. If two approaches are plausible, duplicate/version the project state and compare them rather than stacking both together blindly.

Verify the result

• Preview the full animation and compare the rendered output with the interactive viewer.
• Toggle/bypass the operation where possible and make sure the change you intended is actually responsible for the result.
• Check selection, visibility/mute/solo state, node connections, track locks, range, and source identity when the result appears missing.
• Save and reopen before treating a complex setup as reusable.
• If this feature changes final pixels or audio, render a short review and inspect the file outside Oraphim.

Related guides

• Animation and Keyframes
• Fire
• Motion Graphics Overview
• Keyframes