Create displacement warp
create_displacement_warpCreate a displacement-warp stage that warps a source using noise, audio, or a custom map for VJ heat-haze and liquid effects.
Instructions
Build a displacement-warp stage over a source — the 'heat-haze, liquid, audio-pushed pixels' tool for VJ sets. A Displace TOP warps the source image using a second image as a displacement map; the map is driven by one of three modulators: 'noise' (animated Perlin noise — smooth, continuous warp), 'second_top' (your own displacement map via a Select TOP), or 'audio' (audio FFT spectrum converted to a texture via CHOP-to-TOP, so the warp reacts to the music). Without a source the chain builds over a Ramp TOP test gradient and previews standalone. The Displace TOP's weight (displaceweight1) maps to the amount parameter; the Noise TOP translate speed maps to speed. Amount and Speed are exposed as live knobs. Output is a Null TOP. Returns a summary plus JSON with the container path, created node paths, controls, errors, warnings, and an inline preview image. Pairs with extract_audio_features for reactive warp and apply_post_processing to chain with other effects.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| name | No | Name of the container COMP created under parent_path. | displacement_warp |
| parent_path | No | Parent COMP path the self-contained displacement warp container is created inside. | /project1 |
| source | No | Absolute path of a TOP to warp (pulled in via a Select TOP so it can live anywhere in the network). Omit to use a built-in Ramp TOP test source so the chain builds and previews standalone. | |
| modulator | No | What drives the displacement map. 'noise' (default): an animated Noise TOP whose translate and period are driven by time — produces smooth heat-haze / liquid warp. 'second_top': a Select TOP pointing at `modulator_top` (your own displacement map). 'audio': a CHOP-to-TOP conversion of audio FFT energy — pixels push in proportion to the audio spectrum. The audio modulator requires an audio device or audio file to be active in the project; without one it runs silently at zero energy. | noise |
| modulator_top | No | (second_top mode only) Absolute path of a TOP to use as the displacement map. Required when modulator is 'second_top'; ignored otherwise. | |
| amount | No | Displacement strength — maps to the Displace TOP's `displaceweight1` parameter. 0 = no warp; 1 = full-range warp (can tear); 0.05–0.3 are typical VJ values. | |
| speed | No | (noise mode) Animation speed of the noise modulator. Scales the time-driven translate on the Noise TOP — higher values produce faster, more turbulent warp. | |
| resolution | No | Output resolution [width, height] in pixels. |