New Features

Trapcode Starglow version 1.5 has updates to the render engine and new support for a variety of host applications.

Broad Application Support

Trapcode Shine has been modified to run properly on a variey of host applications, including the latest version of Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Avid Xpress Pro and Media Composer.

AE Icon Premiere Icon
Motion Icon FCP icon  

Updated Render Engine

Starglow now supports full 32-bit floating-point rendering for creating the most realistic glows. Starglow always renders floating-point quality and returns the highest bit depth possible for that host application and the sequence or project settings.

The output in 32-bit mode can differ greatly, particularly if there are bright or overbright colors in the image caused by increasing the Boost Light value. Here is an example of Starglow output in 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit rendering mode. Notice how the floating-point version on the right delivers an optically brighter-looking image. The 8- and 16-bit output modes produce visually similar results, but the 16-bit output will look smoother and show little or no banding.

8 Bit per channel Output Floating-Point Output
 

16 Bit per channel Output

 

Changes to Boost Light

The Boost Light sliders can cause values to increase beyond 1.0 and become whiter than white. These extra highlight values make the base image or text appear to glow as the Boost Light value increases. The following images show the difference in output in 16-bit versus 32-bit in After Effects 7.0 and later. Note how the 32-bit image has more pronounced colors and greater detail in the rays.


After Effects 16-Bit Output Boost Light =2.0 After Effects 16-Bit Output Boost Light =10.0

After Effects 32-Bit Output Boost Light =2.0

After Effects 32-Bit Output Boost Light =10.0

TIP: When you have a high Boost Light value (above 7 or so), you can use the Starglow Opacity control with value between 40 and 70 percent to create nice glows around the input text or image in 32-bit mode. This same tweak will NOT work in 8-bit or 16-bit mode because the values are clamped in the lower bit depths, resulting areas of flat color.