Effects are timeline layers. They process the image produced by your scene and by effects below them.
TL;DR
- Order matters. Lower tracks are processed first. Higher tracks process the result.
- Move effects up/down when the result feels wrong.
- Depth effects run before color effects.
- Object effects are composed before global effects.
- New projects use the layered effects engine since Banger.Show
5.0.16.
How effects are applied
Banger.Show renders in this order:
- Scene objects, images, videos, text, lights, and backgrounds.
- Object effects and depth effects.
- Global effects from lower tracks to higher tracks.
That means an effect higher on the timeline sees everything below it as input.
Common order examples
Bloom → Brightness
Bloom reacts to the original bright pixels. Brightness changes the bloomed result.
Brightness → Bloom
Brightness changes the image first. Bloom reacts to that adjusted image. Darkening before Bloom can reduce the glow; brightening before Bloom can create more glow.
Pixelation → Noise
Pixelation makes blocky pixels. Noise is added on top as fine grain.
Noise → Pixelation
Noise is pixelated too, creating larger noisy blocks.
Effect types
Global effects affect the full frame: Bloom, Brightness/Contrast, Color Grading, VHS, Noise, Pixelation, Vignette, and similar effects.
Object effects belong to scene objects. For example, object glow is created before later global effects, so Color Grading or Bloom can still change it.
Depth effects use 3D scene depth. SSAO is the main example. These run before global color effects.
Effect reference
| Effect | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Bloom | Glow around bright parts of the image. |
| Unreal Bloom | Wider, smoother glow with Radius and Levels controls. |
| Brightness & Contrast | Brighter/darker image and stronger/softer contrast. |
| Color Grading | Temperature, tint, exposure, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, midtones, and vibrance. |
| Hue & Saturation | Hue shifts and stronger/weaker colors. |
| Tone Mapping | Compressing very bright HDR values for display. |
| Vignette | Darker edges around the frame. |
| Noise | Film grain. |
| Scanline | CRT-style horizontal lines. |
| Pixelation | Large square pixels. |
| Strobe | Rhythmic flashing. |
| VHS | Tape distortion, glitches, scan lines, and date styling. |
| Black & White | Grayscale looks. |
| Inversion | Inverted colors, optionally blinking. |
| Chromatic Aberration | Color-channel fringing and lens distortion. |
| Fisheye | Wide-angle lens warping. |
| Filter | Preset color looks. |
| SSAO | Contact shadows in 3D scenes. |
| Autofocus | Legacy depth-of-field blur for older projects. |
Layered effects engine
Since Banger.Show 5.0.16, new projects use the layered effects engine. It follows timeline order more predictably, especially when multiple effects overlap.
Older projects keep the legacy renderer so existing visuals do not unexpectedly change. If you manually migrate an older project to layered effects, some looks may differ slightly.