---
title: "03 - Overview"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/html/03-Parametric-Curve-overview.html"
section_path: "Color > Parametric Curve > 03 - Overview"
description: "Apply Curve To lets you select the channel(s) to which your curve changes apply. This control defaults to RGB, but you can also isolate individual Red …"
---

# 03 - Overview

Magic Bullet Parametric Curve

### **Tool Controls**

**Apply Curve To** lets you select the channel(s) to which your curve changes apply. This control defaults to **RGB**, but you can also isolate individual **Red**, **Green**, or **Blue** channels as well as address alpha singly or in tandem with **RGB** (as **RGBA**). Below, we show the same curve used in our "hero" image atop this guide's cover page. However, whereas that first image applied our curve to **RGB**, this version specifically isolates **Red**. Note that some curve changes affect the channel's opposite color, which, in this case, is green. Hence, we see more green dominance in the shadows.

![Image: MB_ParaCurve_ApplyCurve-Red.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_ApplyCurve-Red.png)

You might also notice how the curve line on our overlay graph turns red when we select the **Red** channel. To make the UI that much more intuitive, **Green** turns the line green and **Blue** turns the line, well, lavender that self-identifies as blue.

The **Apply Inverse Curve** checkbox applies the mirror opposite of your current curve to the selected channel. Below, we show a curve applied to the Green channel (left) and then its inverse (right).

![Image: MB_ParaCurve_InverseCurve-Green.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_InverseCurve-Green.png)

### Overlay

- **Show Overlay** toggles a copy of the Parametric Curve graph from the Effect Controls Panel (ECP) and places it on your comp for greater convenience and precision. You can grab onto the overlay to move it by placing your mouse in the top-left corner, then click-dragging the graph. You can also change the overlay's size by click-dragging the bottom-right corner.
- **Show Control Points** toggles your points and Bezier controls off and on, allowing you to have a cleaner view of your curve and, if enabled, its inverse.\
  ![Image: MB_ParaCurve_ShowControlPoints.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_ShowControlPoints.png)
- **Show Inverse** places a thin line in your graph(s) that mirrors your main parametric curve. You must select **Apply Inverse Curve** to have an inverse line to show. Note that you can't control the inverse line directly. Rather, it can only be controlled by manipulating the points and curves on the primary line.\
  ![Image: MB_ParaCurve_ShowInverse.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_ShowInverse.png)
- **Overlay Left** and **Overlay Top** give you numeric control over the overlay graph's x and y position on the comp, respectively.
- **Overlay Scale** sets the size of the overlay on your comp.
- **Overlay Background** controls the overlay graph's opacity. Below, we show values of 50 (left) and 100 (right).\
  ![Image: MB_ParaCurve_OverlayBackground.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_OverlayBackground.png)

### Control Points

>**Enable 1/2/3/4/5**. The default is three, but Parametric Curve allows you to employ up to five points in your line for exceptional color control.\
![Image: MB_ParaCurve_ControlPoints.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_ControlPoints.png)

**Position X/Y** sets the location of your point along the given axis. Note that the position 0, 0 is in the bottom-left corner and 100, 100 is in the top-right. Negative values extending off the overlay are allowed.

**Angle** sets the angle of your point's tangent line. A 0 or 180 value yields a perfectly vertical tangent line.

**Tangent A/B** governs the distance between your control point and its endpoints. Below, you see the difference between values of 10 (left) and 80 (right) in just one of our **Tangent A** parameters.\
![Image: MB_ParaCurve_Tangent.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/MB_ParaCurve_Tangent.png)