05 compose

Compose

Compose turns hearted seeds into a timed composition: sources, mix or layers, camera motion, parameter animation, preview, then Save composition. Saved compositions appear here for reload and on Render for final output.

Compose: library, sources, composition timing, and camera workspace.

Layout

Three columns:

1. Library sidebar (collapse with the < strip — tooltip Hide seed library).
2. Source editor: creative guidance, selected sources, blend/key, preview storyboard.
3. Animation workspaces (camera / parameters / visuals) plus the timeline.

On a narrow/portrait window the motion editor stacks under the source list.

Library

Heading Library. Click a row to toggle it as a source. Additional sources normally start as overlay layers; use their mode control to choose Formula mix explicitly when it is available. The list auto-refreshes when you heart on Explore. Saved compositions retain their authored routing.

Saved compositions

A toggle row shows or hides the saved-composition list. Click a composition to load it. Rename in the Composition box before saving to create a new version.

Each saved row shows name, duration (Ns) and fps. x deletes the saved composition (rendered videos stay in Videos/output).

Seeds

Heading Seeds. Hearted Explore seeds. Click to toggle as a source (amber border when selected). Small preview thumb, title, formula summary. X removes the seed from the Compose library (does not delete Explore history by itself).

If the list is empty, go back to Explore and heart something, or use Guided starter renders → Start in Compose.

Compose layers: source routing, blend, opacity, and key controls.

Composition header

Control	What it does
Composition	Name text box. Type a new name to create a composition when you save. Dropdown on the right loads an existing saved composition.
Duration (s)	Total length. Shift+arrows change by 5s.
fps	Frames per second. Tooltip: 24 cinematic, 30 standard, 60 smooth, 120/240/480 for slow-mo and Clip Studio source.
mix mode	Affects formula-mix slots only. Disabled/no-op when extras are composite layers.
Frame count	N frames total (duration × fps).
Save composition	Writes the composition to the library (also repeated on the footer).

Save composition stores name, duration, fps, sources, camera keyframes, mix mode, blend/key settings, visual component data, and parameter tracks. LUT files are captured under data\composition-assets so later edits to the original LUT file do not change the saved look. Keep that folder with the portable library when moving the app.

Unreadable saved source or animation data stops loading with an error instead of silently dropping a layer. Snapshots are also written beside render output so older compositions remain understandable if source seeds were later deleted.

See the Compose: library, sources, composition timing, and camera workspace screenshot.

Creative guidance

A banner above the source list summarizes the current recipe: title, badges, summary, then Motion:, Watch:, and Next:. Use it as a live checklist (risk notes, suggested next edit).

Clear sources deselects all layers but keeps seeds in Library.

Formula mix vs composite layers

Compose has two combination paths.

Formula mix (hybrid inside the shader)

Compatible extra sources fuse inside the HLSL mixer. This is the true hybrid-fractal path.

The base occupies slot A; at most two additional compatible sources can use B/C. Supported 3D-DE, KIFS, and quaternion formulas can mix across those groups; they do not have to share the same family label. Both the base and mixed source must use Main camera. A separate layer camera disables that source's mixer route. Sources beyond the available mixer slots remain independent overlays; they do not force every existing mixer slot to become an overlay.

Compatible formula IDs:

• 3D-DE core: 200–223, 229
• KIFS: 300–310
• Quaternion: 400–404

Formula mix does not include dedicated 3D shaders such as 224–228, path-traced 230–234, tier-2 3D/KIFS 235–237 or 311–316, 2D escape-time, flames, attractors, L-systems, CA, Buddhabrot, IFS, or procedural families. Those become the base source or composite layers.

The top mix mode selector only affects formula-mix slots. If extras are composite layers, mix mode will not change their pixels — use each layer’s blend, opacity, and key.

Composite layers (blend after render)

Layers render as separate images and composite over the base.

Per-source row (drag :: to reorder):

Control	Role
Slot label	Mix slot or layer index.
mode	Mix vs layer routing.
motion	How this source uses camera motion.
visual	Visual-animation scope.
seed motion	Two combos plus speed / phase: how this source uses the seed’s saved animation (mode), then how that motion is timed (see below).
speed / phase	Source timing.
blend	normal, multiply, screen, overlay, add, subtract, soft light, and related modes.
opacity	Final layer alpha.
key	Background-removal matte: luma, color/chroma, auto background, ultra-style keying.
invert	Invert the matte.
soft / spill	Matte softness and spill suppression.
color / auto edges	Key color and edge options.

Overlay post effects and LUTs apply before layer keying and blending. The base source’s effects remain the final composite effect stack.

See the Compose layers: source routing, blend, opacity, and key controls screenshot.

Source seed timing (seed motion)

When a selected seed has a saved animation profile, the source row shows a seed motion group: a status badge, a mode combo, a timing combo, then speed and phase. The timing combo is enabled only while seed animation is active.

Mode combo

This sibling combo decides whether the seed’s saved animation is used at all, and how it mixes with composition-local parameter tracks:

Mode	What it does
Use seed animation	Use the animation saved directly on this seed.
Override seed animation	Use only this composition’s parameter animation tracks for this source.
Add to seed animation	Use the seed animation plus composition-local parameter animation tracks; local tracks replace matching seed tracks.
No source animation	Disable saved seed animation and local parameter animation for this source.

Timing combo

When the mode keeps seed animation active, this combo chooses how that seed-owned motion is placed on the composition timeline:

Timing	What it does
Loop seed animation	Repeats the saved short cycle until the composition ends.
Sync to composition	Stretches one pass of the saved cycle across the full duration. Does not generate more seed content.
Play once, then hold	Plays the saved cycle length, then holds the final animated state.
Evolve through composition	Long-form seed motion across the full composition instead of repeating one short cycle.

Long-form seed profiles default to Evolve through composition when they are added to Compose. Saved compositions store the resolved parameter tracks so preview, reload, API/CLI render, and final render sample the same data.

Compose: saved seed motion, timing mode, speed, and phase.

Animation workspaces

Right-hand heading Animation workspaces. Three radio buttons:

Radio	Editor
Camera	Camera motion segments and per-layer camera scope.
Parameters	Formula, material, lighting, and layer parameter keyframes.
Visuals	Color, material, and visual-motion controls (legacy Advanced visual components path).

Camera

Heading Camera motion segments. Timeline from 0s to duration.

Useful buttons:

• + Segment / + Motion segment at scrub
• Edit global / Duplicate global as layer-only
• Clear active / Clear all motion
• Motion kind checkboxes including pan X Y Z
• Hold segments: “Hold - no camera motion during this segment…”

Camera motion is the view path: orbit, roll, pan, zoom, dolly, fly-forward/back, deep zoom, FOV pulse, hold.

• 3D formulas respond to spatial moves.
• 2D formulas respond to planar pan, zoom, roll, FOV-style breathing.
• Grid-fit / simulation formulas may look static under camera moves — animate their parameters instead.
• Per-layer motion can follow global motion, add to it, or use its own timeline.

Right-click the timeline for Add motion segment here.

Select a segment marker to edit that segment. Drag the marker to change its start time; the following marker marks the next segment boundary. Drag the playhead to inspect a time without moving a segment. Commit a typed time before previewing. A Hold segment freezes camera movement during that interval; it does not disable seed parameter animation or independently scoped layer motion.

Edit global selects the shared camera track. Duplicate global as layer-only creates an independently editable copy for the selected layer. Later changes to the global track do not rewrite that copy. The source's motion choice determines whether it follows, adds to, or replaces global motion; selecting an editor target by itself does not change the route.

Parameters

This is the primary visual-animation workflow.

Control	Role
Parameter animation	Heading. Subtitle: “Formula, material, lighting, and layer controls”.
Add parameter track...	Add a track.
Clear tracks	Remove tracks.
Parameter preset / Choose parameter preset...	Track presets.
Formula pack / Choose formula pack...	Family animation packs.
+ key	Keyframe on a track.

Use parameter tracks for formula parameters, palette/material/post-FX, family-specific controls, and layer opacity/keying. Tracks are saved with the composition and sampled on the same path for Compose previews and final renders.

Editing a parameter curve

1. Choose Parameter target first: the source/layer you intend to animate.
2. Use Add parameter track..., a Parameter preset, or a Formula pack. These choices are capability-filtered; an unsupported parameter can be absent.
3. Add a key with + key, set its time in seconds, and enter its value. Color/vector tracks expose their component fields; RGB colors have three editable channels.
4. Choose the interpolation on the key that starts the interval. linear changes at a constant rate; smooth eases into and out of the interval; hold keeps the starting value until the next key; perceptual is intended for color interpolation. Boolean and enum channels switch discretely rather than blending into invalid choices.
5. Preview before, between, and after the keys. Remove the unwanted key or track with its own remove control, then save again.

Two keys at 0s and 4s with values 0 and 1 illustrate the difference: linear reaches 0.5 at 2s; hold stays at 0 until the 4s key. Values before the first key and after the last key retain the boundary state. Repeating seed tracks are sampled in their authored motif clock, so their key times can be shorter than the complete composition.

Applying a preset updates matching tracks while retaining unrelated ones. On Add to seed animation, a local track replaces a matching seed channel; “Add” is not arithmetic addition of two values. Editing under Use seed animation enables the local edit through the appropriate source mode. Older saved compositions can retain explicit effective curves; the first deliberate parameter edit exposes them as Override seed animation tracks so unrelated channels stay intact. Changing source timing/speed/phase or composition duration deliberately rebuilds the affected seed animation.

Visuals

Heading Visual motion. Older segment/component editor for existing saved compositions and advanced manual edits. Normal new work should use Parameters, track presets, and formula packs.

• + visual keyframe / Clear visual / + visual control
• Empty waypoint: “An empty waypoint stops the preceding visual effects at this time.”

Visual waypoints also have outgoing interpolation. Keep an empty stop waypoint when an effect must end mid-composition; deleting it extends the preceding effect. Camera, parameter, and legacy visual timelines are separate controls, so stop the channel that actually owns the motion/effect.

Parameter animation with four tracks and keyframe interpolation.

Preview

Expander Preview storyboard and rendered animation.

Control	Role
Full flight	Preview the whole composition.
At scrub	Window around the scrubber.
Around scrub	Similar local window.
Keyframe segment	Window on the selected segment.
Render animation	Short motion preview from the current composition state.
Cancel	Stop preview render.
Preview storyboard	Sampled preview frames.
Preview start (s) / Length (s), max 12	Inspection window. Playback is real time; the preview samples about eight images per second and keeps full composition timing.
Selected segment	Positions the window on the selected segment.
Stop	Stop playback.

The scrub bar samples the active camera and animation state. Compose previews use the CPU/GPU renderer selected on Render and preserve the saved aspect ratio. Clear Render’s width/height overrides to keep that framing in the exported video.

The main preview fits the complete frame. In a smaller window, scroll the expanded timeline/preview pane to reach rendering and playback controls.

Any camera, source, layer, blend, key, or parameter-track change invalidates the old preview and asks for a fresh one.

Preview size is Compose preview size on Resources.

Compose storyboard and rendered animation preview.

Save / load recap

Saving under the same name replaces that saved composition; change the name first to keep a version. Loading reconstructs snapshots, layer order/routing, mixer weights, source timing, camera/visual keys, and parameter tracks. Newly saved LUT snapshots are integrity-checked on load. A missing or damaged source/asset raises an error instead of rendering an incomplete layer stack.

Formula-mixer slots share their primary shader clock. Use separate composite layers when independent source clocks are required. Overlay lighting controls are restricted where the backend has no corresponding implementation.

1. Heart seeds on Explore (or start a guided recipe).
2. Select sources. Keep overlays for independent images; explicitly choose Formula mix for up to two supported extras sharing the base camera. Check which row is the Base layer before adjusting blends or final effects.
3. Set Duration (s) and fps.
4. Author Camera and Parameters.
5. Render animation to sanity-check motion.
6. Save composition.
7. Go to Render.

Continue: Render.

Additional control views

Compose Visuals workspace.