Create depth displacement
create_depth_displacementConvert a 2D depth/luminance map into a 3D relief landscape by displacing a subdivided grid along the Z-axis, with controls for depth, zoom, and inversion.
Instructions
Push a flat plane into real 3D relief by a depth/luminance map: a subdivided grid whose vertices are offset along Z by a GLSL displacement material sampling the source's brightness, rendered with a camera + light so it reads as depth that shifts with the view. Unlike create_depth_silhouette (a flat 2D mask), this is true geometry — a 2.5D landscape. Source can be the live camera (may prompt for macOS permission), a movie file, an animated synthetic pattern (testable without a camera), or an existing TOP (e.g. a real depth map). subdivisions sets the relief resolution, depth the push amount, invert flips bright↔near. Creates a new baseCOMP under parent_path holding the source, height map, Geometry COMP + GLSL displacement MAT, Camera, Light, Render TOP, and a Null output. Exposes Depth and Zoom knobs — bind Depth to a tempo ramp or an audio feature to make the surface heave. Returns a summary plus a JSON block with the container path, created node paths, the output path, exposed controls, any node errors, warnings, and an inline preview image.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| depth | No | Displacement amount along Z: how far bright (or dark, if inverted) pixels push the surface out of the plane. 0 = flat. | |
| invert | No | Flip the height mapping. false = bright pixels push toward the camera (bright = near); true = dark pixels push toward the camera (dark = near). | |
| source | No | Depth/luminance source that drives the relief. 'camera' = live webcam/capture device (creating it may pop a one-time macOS camera-permission dialog — click Allow). 'file' = a movie file. 'synthetic' = an animated noise pattern, so the relief moves and the chain is testable without any device permission (the default). 'existing_top' = displace by a TOP you already have (e.g. a real depth map). | synthetic |
| parent_path | No | Parent network where the displacement container is created (default '/project1'). | /project1 |
| subdivisions | No | Grid resolution (rows = cols). Higher = finer relief and smoother displacement, but more vertices to push. 100 gives a 100×100 plane. | |
| expose_controls | No | When true (default), expose live Depth (displacement amount) and Zoom (camera distance) knobs. | |
| movie_file_path | No | Path to a movie file to play as the source; used only when source='file'. | |
| existing_top_path | No | Path of an existing TOP to sample as the height map; used only when source='existing_top'. |