GLAZE controls and presets

GLAZE builds a look from two connected ideas: damage to a video signal, and the appearance of that signal on a filmed screen. Start with a preset, adjust one group at a time, then check the result in motion and in a short export.

This reference covers the released Mac Standalone app and the Adobe and DaVinci plugins. Some control names differ between their interfaces. The tables give the Standalone name first and the native plugin name where different. Numerical ranges describe the released Standalone controls unless an exception is stated. They are available adjustment ranges, not the starting values of every preset.

Find your controls

The nine effect groups are COLOR SIGNAL, CIRCUIT BEND, DAMAGE, NOISE, WAVES, SCREEN, CAPTURE, CONVERGENCE, and GLASS & OPTICS. GLOBAL contains whole-effect controls in the native plugins. SIGNAL and SCREEN headings in the visual interfaces organize modules; they are not additional effects.

Presets, custom looks and resets

The 18 factory looks

The Standalone browser organizes its factory bank as follows. The plugins contain the same named factory looks, but their native Preset menu need not display these category headings.

Select a factory preset to load its authored settings. Preset recall replaces a look rather than adding another layer of settings to it. Save a variation before selecting another preset if you want to keep it. A browser count above 18 can include personal presets; it does not necessarily indicate extra factory content.

In Adobe, CUSTOM / HANDICAM, for example, means the effect has been edited from HANDICAM. It is not a new saved preset. Save the look if you want to recall that variation later. A disagreement between the panel and native effect is not expected behavior: reselect the intended layer or clip, check its native controls, and report a persistent mismatch. Do not repeatedly recall presets over an unsaved custom look to diagnose it.

Save a personal preset in Standalone

1. Adjust the look you want to keep.
2. Choose NEW PRESET in EASY, or the Save preset disk button in ADVANCED.
3. Enter a distinctive name in the naming popover and choose SAVE.
4. Look for PRESET SAVED. Recall the look by selecting it in the preset browser. Personal looks are grouped under MY PRESETS.

Using an existing name can update an existing preset. Use a new name when you want a separate variation. Saving a preset stores control settings, not the source media, an editor project, or a performance recording.

Save a personal preset in the Adobe panel

Choose SAVE, name the look, optionally enter a category, and save. The panel reads the selected effect's current host values. Saving the same name updates that personal preset. A thumbnail is optional. This is separate from saving the AE or Premiere project. Do not assume that Standalone personal presets automatically appear in the Adobe bank or Resolve.

Reset versus recall

In Standalone, the overall reset returns to the cleanest control state and clears the current preset selection. A module reset affects only that module. Neither is the same as reloading a factory preset. The Adobe panel's reset controls and the host's own effect Reset are separate controls; do not assume every host Reset means the same thing as Standalone's clean reset.

Whole-effect controls and quality

Quality is not an output-size selector. A source-resolution export can still use SD signal processing. Changing quality can change the texture and appearance, not just render speed. Host preview resolution, viewer zoom, and GLAZE quality are also different settings.

The visual interfaces' module masters and Quick Shape knobs change several underlying detail controls together, using a preset-aware relationship. They are not simply separate opacity sliders. After moving a master, the detail values can change. For a precise correction, open the module and adjust a detail control instead.

COLOR SIGNAL

Use this group for color transmission, edge separation and signal-level character before adding strong screen distortion.

CIRCUIT BEND

Circuit Bend reshapes the signal through a resonant stage. It can become extreme quickly. Start with Amount, then adjust Frequency and Q; use Boost and thresholds to change how hard it is driven.

DAMAGE

Use small amounts for aged footage or larger amounts for faults and breaks. All Standalone amounts below run from 0–1. Native Signal Echo additionally allows −1–1.

NOISE

WAVES

Raise Amount to engage the wave pattern, then shape it with the remaining controls.

SCREEN

SCREEN controls the mask and emitted screen image. Its refresh-related controls also interact with CAPTURE.

In Standalone, the refresh choices are 50, 59.94, 60, 75, 85, 100 and 120 Hz. Refresh, Persistence, Sync and Supply Ripple require the screen-pulse portion of CAPTURE to be engaged. You can set them beforehand, but an inactive capture stage will not show their effect.

CAPTURE

CAPTURE creates camera-versus-screen interactions rather than changing the source camera's actual metadata. In Standalone, raise the CAPTURE master above zero to engage the screen-pulse behavior. In a host, a captured-screen preset is a useful starting point before adjusting its native detail controls.

Shutter, Pulse Contrast, Band Angle and Sensor Readout depend on the screen-pulse stage. Moire and Rainbow are separate controls. Use playback to judge moving bands; a single paused frame does not show their timing.

CONVERGENCE

For a clear check, use a high-contrast edge away from the center, raise Beam Convergence moderately, then turn the angle. This is separate from RGB Split and CAPTURE's Band Angle.

GLASS & OPTICS

Geometry can expose edges or crop the picture. Check important titles and faces after combining Glass Curve, Fisheye and Overscan. Use the host's actual composition background and intended export settings to check transparency.

Standalone preview, files and export

BROWSE or drop a video or image to load one source. Supported decoding depends on macOS and the media's codec; a .mov or .mp4 extension alone does not guarantee compatibility. GLAZE is not an editing timeline or batch-conversion interface.

SOURCE / PROCESS compares unprocessed and processed preview. VIEW > FIT fits the image to the window; 100% displays image pixels at their natural scale. Zooming or panning the viewer is not an export crop. Play and Pause control video preview; Stop returns to the first frame. Space toggles playback when the playback shortcut has focus.

Choose a format before exporting:

For video, export uses the source's displayed orientation and dimensions, not the preview window's size. Source audio is handled by the video-export path; check synchronization in your result. An image can become an animated effect video: enter its duration in seconds and choose EXPORT VIDEO. Image exports do not add audio. A still-duration setting is not a trim for an imported movie.

Build 11 limitation: some odd-sized still images fail to export in H.264 or HEVC. Use PR422 to export a ProRes .mov, then convert in your editor if you need MP4. This does not mean all H.264 exports fail. Do not choose PR4444 solely on the assumption that this version guarantees an alpha-channel export.

Performance recording is experimental

Record captures changing controls during video playback for an exported performance take. It is not required for a normal static-look export and is not a camera/screen recorder.

1. Load a short video and choose a starting look.
2. Press Record. ARMED means it is waiting for a played video frame.
3. Play and change controls. The status becomes RECORDING.
4. Stop recording to hold the take, shown as TAKE READY. Export also finishes an active take.
5. Export and review the resulting movement before using this workflow for important work.

Pressing Record again while TAKE READY clears the take. Do not use that button as a save command. A personal preset stores settings, not the recorded performance. There is no promise here that a take survives quitting the app.

Animation and saving in the plugins

The host owns the timeline, project file and final export. Save your AE, Premiere or Resolve project to preserve the applied effect, values and keyframes. The Adobe panel's SAVE is a reusable look, not a replacement for project Save. Standalone's export buttons are not part of the plugins.

Animate the native detail parameter you want to change using the host's keyframe controls. For example, keyframe Dry / Wet to fade GLAZE in, or Beam Convergence and its angle to animate separation. The native Preset selector and visual group masters are edit-time controls, not preset-morphing animation lanes. Choose a preset first, then animate its real detail values.

Before a long render, save, reopen a copy of the project, inspect two or more keyed times and export a short section. Keep the original working project while testing an update. Loading another preset can replace the look you were editing, so do it before building detailed animation whenever possible.

Three useful starting adjustments

• Make a factory look subtler: reduce Dry / Wet for an overall blend. If you want the screen but less damage, reduce the DAMAGE master or its individual faults instead.
• Make a mask visible: choose a Screen Type, raise Phosphor, then inspect Mask Scale at 100%. Recheck the intended output size; fine patterns look different when the viewer scales them.
• Find why a knob seems inactive: confirm PROCESS rather than SOURCE, nonzero Dry / Wet, the correct selected host effect, and the relevant stage amount. Convergence Angle needs Beam Convergence; wave details need Amount; scan controls need the capture stage.

If an effect is still inconsistent, use the troubleshooting guide and include the exact host/app version, preset, parameter and short reproduction steps. Do not reset licensing or reinstall repeatedly to troubleshoot a visual control.