Displacement Map & Fractal Noise

[bellemiranda]

Please help. I've been trying to get this work for 5 hours.

I'm fairly new to After Effects, so I feel like the solution to this problem may be simple, but I cannot see it.

I am trying to create a glitch effect on a moving cloud image.

Here are my steps,

1. Created a white solid and added Fractal Noise.

(1)

2. Settings: (See screenshot 1)

- Fractal Type: Dynamic

- Noise Type: Block

- Scale Width: 1200

- Evolution: Keyframed from start to finish & 10+0.0

3. Placed underneath cloud file, hidden.

(2)

4. Precomposed the white solid (See Screenshot 2)

5. Displacement Map on the cloud image

(3)

6. Settings: (See Screenshot 3)

- Displacement Map Layer: The precomposed white solid

- Use for Vertical Displacement: Luminance

- Use for Horizontal Displacement: Luminance

Final Product: Cloud is exactly the same, no changes whatsoever.

[Rick Gerard]

Those cropped screenshots are very hard to follow. When troubleshooting the first step is to select all layers that are giving you problems and press the U key twice to reveal all modified properties. If I were setting up your project with your posted settings it would look like this:

I've increased the displacement to 100 because 5 pixels was not moving much. I don't know what you expect the fractal noise layer to do to the cloud but it's not going to make it move, it's going to change the shape of the cloud. I've added an additional comp viewer for the nested comp and shown you all modified properties of all layers.

If your setup is similar then you either did not move everything into the new comp when you pre-composed your fractal noise layer or you have applied the Displacement Map to the wrong layer. If you are using the latest version of AE then you don't have to pre-compose, you just have to select Masks and Effects in the Sorce settings for Displacement Map.

Have you read the help files on Displacement Map? You can find them and tutorials on how to use the effect by typing "displacement map" in the Search Help field in the top right corner of AE.

If you still can't figure it out select all layers press U twice then PrintScreen and Paste to the forum or drag a screenshot to the reply field and we can probably sort it out for you.

[bellemiranda]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried what you said: I did not pre-compose this time and just made the source "effects and mask."

I also changed the Max Horizontal and Vertical Displacement to 100.

Image of the fractal noise layer:

The cloud did not change.

For troubleshooting, I attempted putting a displacement map on a star shape layer instead of the cloud. It worked immediately.

Star shape with displacement map:

There is something wrong with my cloud image then. Do you have any guesses at what?

Cloud with displacement map:

Thank you. I hope these screenshots are a bit easier to follow.

[Rick Gerard]

Does your cloud layer have transparency?. What happens if you select the cloud.png in the Project panel, then select the working shape layer in the comp, then hold down the Alt/Option key and drag the colud.png from the project panel to the comp to replace the shape layer?

[Kevin-Monahan]

Solve this issue yet, bellemiranda? Please let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin