Trapcode Tao

Visibility

The Visibility group controls how close or far the Tao Path is from the camera before it is cropped. There are also fog controls to add atmosphere and depth.

Near determines how close to the camera polygons are drawn. This value (measured in pixels) defines where planes become visible in relation to the camera. Higher numbers move the near plane of visibility away from the camera, while lower numbers draw it closer. Polygons don't fade, they just disappear.

NOTE: The closer the near plane is set, the lower the z-depth resolution will be. If the z-depth seems to be suffering from banding, try increasing the Near value.

Far determines how far from the cameras polygons are drawn. This value (measured in pixels) defines where the planes become invisible in relation to the camera. Higher numbers move the far plane of visibility away from the camera, while lower numbers draw it closer. Polygons don't fade, they just disappear.

Fog Start determines the distance from the camera (in pixels) where fog starts. Fog can create the illusion of objects fading in the distance or other effects on the mesh as it moves closer or further away from the camera.

Fog End determines the distance from the camera (in pixels) where fog reaches its full intensity. Higher numbers move the Fog End plane of visibility away from the camera while lower numbers draw it closer.

Fog Color lets you set the color of the fog. Click the color swatch to launch the color picker and choose the fog's color, or click the eyedropper to choose a color from your scene. This control is great for doing color and material experimentation since the fog color will override any Material colors and Texture Layer colors. Note that Fog Color is not affected by AE lights.