---
title: "06 - Core Projections: Schmutz"
url: "https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/html/06-Real-Lens-Flares_core-projections-schmutz.html"
section_path: "VFX > Real Lens Flares > 06 - Core Projections: Schmutz"
description: "Schmutz (rhymes with “puts”) is the most complex Real Lens Flares core projection yet. At its simplest, Schmutz mimics the dust, debris, or smudging on a …"
---

# 06 - Core Projections: Schmutz

Real Lens Flares

## Schmutz

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

Schmutz (rhymes with “puts”) is the most complex Real Lens Flares core projection yet. At its simplest, Schmutz mimics the dust, debris, or smudging on a lens. When light hits such lens gunk, it produces artifacts like sparkling or defocusing. Aperture configuration and lens type will also impact these artifact characteristics.

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

As shown in the above image, Real Lens Flares ships with 14 stock Schmutz textures: Dirty Water, Dust, Dried Rain, Grime, Grit, Smudges, Specks, Streaks, Dirt, Splatter, Splotches, Sand, Dribbles, and Trails. The Custom tile at the end of the library lets you use your own texture instead (see Using Your Own Schmutz Texture at the end of this page). (Taxonomy reminder: These textures should not be confused with presets, which are a broader collection of characteristics. For example, if you pull up the Holodeck preset from within the Dream State lens flare preset collection, you’ll see that its Schmutz core projection incorporates the Smudges texture.) As their names imply, each stock texture aims to emulate a different sort of lens debris effect. To illustrate, the images below all use the same Holodeck preset and control values; only the schmutz textures have changed.

![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-grime.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-grime.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-streaks.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-streaks.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-sand.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-sand.png)

Whichever texture you use, you can change the orientation and appearance of how that texture shows up in flares. Many of the schmutz properties you’ll find in the Inspector Pane and the Effect Controls Panel are identical to those found in other core projections and don’t need repeating here. Rather, we’ll detail the properties unique to the Schmutz core projection.

*Tip: If you’re only going to work with one schmutz texture on a project and would prefer to hide the other textures, click on the small icon showing four squares located below the texture preview thumbnail, close to the Inspector Pane’s top-right corner. Click the four-square icon again to bring the textures menu back into view.*

The **Mirror** control can quickly change the schmutz position so that its displayed orientation changes between scenes. For example, if you take a camera to the beach and capture two clips at two different times, the sand texture on the lens may change. Mirroring the schmutz along the horizontal and/or vertical axes can subtly convey this change.

The **Defocus** control applies a given amount of blurring to schmutz based on combining the aperture and schmutz images in conjunction with a blur percentage. You could say that the blur is seeded by the aperture, because schmutz shape will change based on aperture shape. You’ll see this manifest in reflection ghosts. **Defocus** values can range from 1% to 100 percent.

In the left image below, you can see how the Dirty Water texture appears with almost no defocusing. Note the crispness of the lens debris at 1 percent. You would never see this kind of schmutz clarity from a real lens image, but being able to simulate it in Real Lens Flares might come in handy — when trying to emulate shooting through a dirty glass window, for example.

![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water-no-defocuser.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water-no-defocuser.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water-100-defocuser.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-dirty-water-100-defocuser.png)

The Holodeck preset with the Dirty Water texture set to 1% defocusing (left) and 100% defocusing (right).

The **F-Stop Affects Defocus** checkbox does just what it says. Enabling this option will affect schmutz brightness, depending on the aperture size, but it also impacts defocusing. The more open the f-stop, the blurrier schmutz will appear. Conversely, a smaller f-stop will yield sharper schmutz. Try saying "sharper schmutz" five times fast.

The **Illumination From Light Source/Background** controls (**Size**, **Exposure**, **Chromaticity**, etc.) work just like those controls in other core projections. Keep in mind that these controls affect the schmutz, not the underlying lens flare.

![Image: VFX_RLF_Illumination2.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_RLF_Illumination2.png)

The **Light Source Illumination** and **Background Illumination** check boxes let you decide whether to process illumination from the Real Lens Flares light source, luminous areas of your background image layer, or both to illuminate your schmutz. Just to make sure we avoid confusion, keep in mind that a Schmutz core projection exhibits its own illumination. As you see in the following image, we've turned off every core projection except Schmutz, yet there's still illumination of the schmutz and a center control point for the effect from which that illumination emits.

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

Let's examine the impacts of **Light Source** and **Background Illumination** on Schmutz in the following images. Note that we increased **Exposure** to 4.00 in both parameter groups to make the effect more apparent.

We'll start with the Chainsaw Sunset RLF preset and Dirty Water schmutz added. In the following comparison, we've enabled both illumination options. In the right image, though, we've disabled every core projection except for Schmutz, so you can see how overexposed schmutz appears on its own.

![Image: VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination2.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination2.png)

Now, let's see the impact of only having **Light Source Illumination** (left) or **Background Illumination** (right) selected on its own.

![Image: VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination3.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination3.png)

With only **Background Illumination** selected, we only see the schmutz in close proximity to that lightbulb. If that's too subtle of an effect, here's the same image with settings of Spread: 100% and Exposure: 6.

![Image: VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination4.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_RLF_SchmutzIllumination4.png)

Note that low-contrast background scenes can make it harder to spot schmutz effects from only **Background Illumination**. That's why we chose a lit bulb in a dark room for our example.

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

The **Highlights Only** control sets a threshold value for the level of luminosity in the background scene that will affect the schmutz. Consider the above pair of images. On the left, we set **Highlights Only** to 10%, meaning the bottom 10% of the scene's luminosity will *not* interact with the schmutz — and thus 90% will. That's why you see more schmutz in the left image than the right. In the right image, we increased **Highlights Only** to 90%, so only the 10% most luminous areas of the background (basically, just the brightest areas of the background scene) will illuminate the schmutz. Our red arrows highlight one of the more obvious differences, even with **Exposure** cranked to 4.40. This is a particularly subtle effect, but you can still see how lower **Highlights Only** values can reveal more schmutz from your source clip.

The **Influence** section also offers several controls.

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

- **Visible Schmutz**indicates whether schmutz is visible. As we’ll see below, this is not the same as disabling the Schmutz core projection. Schmutz and the artifacts created by schmutz are two different things.

  **Affects Starburst** allows schmutz to impact Starburst core projections. This is subtle and hard to spot in still images. You’ll see it more in the randomization added to spikes as starbursts pass behind schmutz.

  **Affects Reflections** allows schmutz artifacts to appear within lens reflections. This is illustrated below.

  **Schmutz Zoom** scales the schmutz texture. Values span from 100% to 200 percent. Higher values may diminish the schmutz effect in reflections.

  **Schmutz Offset**shifts schmutz position relative to the lens’ center. Values span from 0% to 100 percent.

**Schmutz Zoom** and **Schmutz Offset** only apply to schmutz’s impact on reflections, not directly to the schmutz.

![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-visible.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-visible.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-none.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-none.png)\
![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-not visible.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-not%20visible.png)

In the image trio above, the top image shows the Schmutz core projection turned on and all Influence controls enabled. (We blew out the settings to make things more obvious.) In the center image, we disabled the Schmutz core projection, so you can compare the lens flare with and without schmutz. However, in the bottom image, we enabled the core projection but disabled **Visible Schmutz**. It’s almost impossible to see the difference at a small size, so here it is zoomed in and brightened by 50 percent:

![Image: VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-influence close-up.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/VFX_LensFlare_Schmutz-influence%20close-up.png)

Notice the speckling in the brighter, small heptagon (left arrow) and the darker choppiness in the area indicated by the right arrow. Even though schmutz isn’t visible, the effects of the schmutz are visible in lens reflections.

### Using Your Own Schmutz Texture

You can use your own image, video, or a solid with an effect applied as a Schmutz texture. Because the texture comes from a layer, it can be animated. Custom Schmutz textures work in After Effects, in DaVinci Resolve on the Fusion page, and in Autograph. As of this writing, custom Schmutz textures aren’t available in Premiere Pro.

In After Effects, you choose the texture layer in the Effect Controls Panel, not in the Designer. The Designer’s texture library has a **Custom** tile, but there’s no way to pick a layer. Until you choose a layer in the Effect Controls Panel, the Designer preview shows the word “Custom” as the texture. Once you’ve selected a proper texture, the Designer preview shows that.

In After Effects:

1. Make sure your flare includes a Schmutz core projection (added in the Designer).

2. Add the layer you want to use to your composition. The texture layer doesn’t need to be on top, so you can move it to the bottom of the layer stack.

3. Select the layer that has Real Lens Flares applied and open the Schmutz group in the Effect Controls Panel.

4. Set **Texture** to **Custom**.

5. In the **Custom Texture** layer menu, choose your texture layer.

6. In the menu to its right, choose **Source** (the default) to use the layer’s own pixels, **Masks** to use the layer with its masks applied, or **Effects & Masks** to use the layer with its effects and masks applied. If an effect creates your texture, choose **Effects & Masks**. With **Source**, a solid with an effect is just a flat color.

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

   The texture layer, with the Real Lens Flares layer hidden (left), and the same texture showing up as Schmutz in the flare (right)

7. If your texture’s size or aspect ratio doesn’t match the composition, choose how it fits from **Custom Texture Scaling**: **Fit** (the default), **Fill**, or **Stretch**. **Custom Texture Scaling** is available once you’ve chosen a layer.

In Autograph and in DaVinci Resolve’s Fusion page, the texture connects to Real Lens Flares the same way an Obscuration source does.

- **Autograph:** In the Real Lens Flares properties, near the top, the Schmutz row reads “Connect a source here.” Connect your texture there.

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

- **DaVinci Resolve, Fusion page:** The Real Lens Flares node has a Schmutz input. Connect your texture node to it.

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

Once the texture is in place, you can keep adjusting the texture layer and see the result through Real Lens Flares as you go. For a texture that moves, try Maxon Noise on a solid. Maxon Noise animates by default, so the Schmutz moves too. See [Maxon Noise](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/html/Generators-maxon-noise.html.md).

Note: What is “schmutz”? Our Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition does not contain the word, but online dictionaries (e.g., [Collins](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/schmutz) and [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/schmutz)) trace the word to Yiddish and Germanic origins. It’s likely related to “smudge” and “smut,” but it commonly means dirt, grime, or garbage.