Wave 3D Mode
A 3D field of spheres that drops, bounces and ripples in waves, with a steel clank on every landing. Every control in Wave 3D Settings, and how to make the wave build across your clip. (Pro)
What Wave 3D Does
Wave 3D is a 3D mode. A field of spheres sits on a platform. In the classic formations the spheres drop from a height, bounce, and settle, but not all at once: they go in an order (rings outward, a sweep, a spiral and so on), so a wave travels across the field. Each group that lands plays one impact sound, so the wave is also a rhythm.
The key idea is that the wave should change over the clip. By default Wave Over Time is set to Build Up: the wave starts small and grows over the Build Time you set, so the last seconds of the clip look bigger than the first.
Wave 3D settings live in two places. The mode's own panel, Wave 3D Settings, is on the Engine tab. Camera, lighting, materials, background, platform, grade and preview performance are on the shared 3D tab, which every 3D mode uses.
Plans, Panels and Basics
Wave 3D Settings needs Pro. The sections of the 3D tab need Pro. Anyone can open Wave 3D, watch it and export it.
Basics, the first item on the Studio rail, shows a short list of the settings that change the video the most, under Mode settings. Engine on the rail shows every control the mode has, in its own collapsible sections, and the mode's own sounds are in the Audio section. Both edit the same settings, so a change in one shows up in the other.
| Control in Basics | Same as (Engine) | Range / options |
|---|---|---|
| Motion pattern | Formation | A short list of the formations that look best with no other changes: drops, rises, vortex, ripple pond, ocean, cymatics plate, pendulum wave, the long-form Story formations and more. |
| Grid shape | Layout | Sunflower disc, Concentric rings, Square grid, Honeycomb, Diamond, Ring, Star, Heart, Triangle, Spiral arms and more. |
| How the wave changes over the clip | Wave Over Time | Build up: small wave, then bigger. Plus: Stay one size, Ease into the formation, Spread out then come together, Breathe in and out, Trade places part way, Sweep across. |
| Seconds for the wave to build | Build Time (seconds) | 2 to 90 |
| Reverse the order (outward becomes inward) | Invert Order | On/off |
| Number of spheres | Ball Count | 200 to 7000 |
| Field size | Field Radius | 80 to 600 |
| Speed | Speed | 0 to 4 |
| Play backwards (rise instead of drop) | Reverse (Play Backwards) | On/off |
| Grey out settled spheres | Tint Settled Spheres | On/off |
Technical parameters
- The Engine section lists only Build Up and Breathe under Wave Over Time. The other styles are still offered in Basics and still play exactly as before in saved projects.
Formation
The formation is the choreography: which spheres move first and how. You pick it from a browsable catalogue of more than 1,000 formations. Each thumbnail shades the spheres by when they move (bright goes first, dark goes last), so you can see the order without playing it. The hint under the picker describes the selected formation and, for looping ones, how long one cycle takes.
Formations are grouped on shelves. Only Drop and Rise formations make a wave, so the wave controls (The Wave, most of Motion, Landing Groups, Outer Layer Sound) work only with those. On the other shelves those controls stay in place but are greyed out with a one-line reason.
| Shelf | What the formations do | Wave controls |
|---|---|---|
| Drop: falls, bounces, settles | Spheres fall from Drop Height and bounce lower and lower until they rest. | Yes |
| Rise: winds up and launches | Spheres start at rest and bounce higher and higher, then launch. | Yes |
| No wave: standing surfaces | The field forms a moving surface, such as ripples, cymatics or terraces. | No. Uses Amplitude, Frequency, Funnel / Dome Depth, Spiral Swirl and Audio Reactivity instead |
| No wave: orbits, springs, curtains | Motion patterns such as a pendulum wave, lava lamp or aurora. | No |
| No wave: long-form (30-90s) | Story formations that play out over a long clip. | No |
The Wave
How big the wave is, and how that size changes over the clip. Under the Build Up controls the panel shows how long one run lasts, for example "this run lasts about 40s". If the wave finishes growing before the run ends, it also warns you, for example "wave stops growing at 18s, then holds for the last 22s".
| Setting | What it does | Range / default | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waves Across The Field | How many complete waves cross the field at once. | 0 to 12, step 0.1, default 5 | Low values: the field moves almost together. High values: many ripples at once. |
| Wave Over Time | Build Up: the wave grows from a start size to an end size over a time you set. Breathe: the wave opens out and closes back in, over and over. | Default Build Up | |
| Wave At The Start (%) | Build Up only. Wave size at the start. | 0 to 1, default 0.08 | Set it above Wave At The End for a wave that comes together instead of spreading. |
| Wave At The End (%) | Build Up only. Wave size at the end of the build. | 0 to 1, default 1.0 | Start equal to End gives one fixed wave size. |
| Build Time (seconds) | Build Up only. Seconds of finished video the growth takes. | 2 to 90, default 18 | Match it to your clip length. |
| Build Shape | Build Up only. Accelerating: barely moves, then opens up hard at the end. Steady: grows the same every second. Ease In & Out: soft at both ends. | Default Accelerating | |
| Invert Order | Whatever went first goes last (outward becomes inward). | On/off, default off |
Motion
The trajectory itself. Some controls are for Drop and Rise formations, others only for the no-wave shelves. All of them stay on screen, and the ones that do not apply are greyed out with a reason.
| Setting | What it does | Range / default | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse (Play Backwards) | Inverts what the formation does. A drop played backwards starts at rest, bounces higher and higher, and launches. A Rise formation with Reverse on plays as a drop. The line under the switch tells you what the field is doing now. | On/off, default off | All formations. No effect while Continuous Bouncing is on |
| Continuous Bouncing (Never Settle) | Spheres bounce at full height forever. | On/off, default off | Drop and Rise. Bounciness 1.0 also turns this on |
| Drop Height | How high the spheres start (or launch to). | 80 to 600, step 10, default 300 | Drop and Rise |
| Wind-Up Bounces | How many bounces a winding-up run climbs through before it launches. | 2 to 24, default 10 | Rise formations, or any drop with Reverse on |
| Bounciness | How much height each bounce keeps. | 0.1 to 1, step 0.01, default 0.94 | Drop and Rise |
| Speed | Playback speed of the whole field. | 0 to 4, step 0.05, default 0.8 | All formations |
| Amplitude (height) | Height of the moving surface. | 5 to 200, default 60 | No-wave formations only |
| Frequency | How tight the pattern on the surface is. | 0.2 to 4, step 0.05, default 1.0 | No-wave formations only |
| Funnel / Dome Depth | Depth of the funnel or dome shape. | 0 to 3, step 0.05, default 1.0 | No-wave formations only |
| Spiral Swirl | Adds a twist to the surface. | 0 to 6, step 0.1, default 0 | No-wave formations only |
Grid
How the spheres are arranged. Layout is a browsable catalogue of more than 1,100 shapes, grouped as Basic, Geometric, Curves & organic, Symbols, Scattered fields, Polygons & stars, Curve families, Tilings & lattices, and Spirals & weaves. The platform can reshape to match (see the 3D tab below). The live sphere count is shown under the group, for example "1,822 balls".
| Setting | What it does | Range / default | Shown for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | The arrangement of the spheres. | Default Sunflower disc (PHYLLO) | All |
| Ring Count (density) | How many rings. | 6 to 100, default 10 | Concentric rings layout |
| Resolution (cells/side) | Grid size per side. | 12 to 140, step 2, default 24 | Square grid layout |
| Ball Count | How many spheres. | 200 to 7000, default 1822 | Every other layout |
| Field Radius | Size of the field. | 80 to 600, step 10, default 280 | All |
| Sphere Size | Size of each sphere. | 0.3 to 4, step 0.05, default 1.0 | All |
| Spacing | Gap between rings. | 0.6 to 2.5, step 0.05, default 1.4 | Concentric rings layout |
Audio Reactivity and Impact Sound
Drop and Rise formations make sound from their landings: each group of spheres touching down is exactly one sound. The no-wave formations do not land, so instead they can breathe with the energy of your music.
| Setting | What it does | Range / default | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Reactive | Music energy makes the field breathe. No-wave formations only. | On/off, default on | |
| Sensitivity | How strongly the field reacts to the music. | 0.1 to 4, default 1.0 | |
| Landing Groups (one sound each) | How many groups the field is split into as the wave crosses it, and so how many sounds one pass plays. It also sets the colour banding. | 1 to 64, default 12 | Raise it for a long, finely stepped run of notes. 1 lands the whole field as a single hit. |
| Steel Impact Sound | A steel clank on every landing instead of a musical note. Off falls back to the Scene Audio settings on the 3D tab. | On/off, default on | |
| Impact Sound Effect | The landing sound. Shown while Steel Impact Sound is on. Built-in effects plus your uploads. Picking one plays a preview. | Default Metal | |
| Impact Volume | Landing sound volume. | 0 to 2, default 1.0 | |
| Outer Layer Sound | An extra accent each time the last landing group (the outer rim on ring-order formations) lands. | None or any sound, default None | |
| Outer Sound Volume | Accent volume. Shown when an Outer Layer Sound is picked. | 0 to 2, default 1.0 |
Color and Settled Color
Per-sphere colour. Some formations have their own signature palette (the wavefront glows, the group that just landed flashes). For those, a Formation Colors switch appears, and while it is on it overrides Color Mode.
| Setting | What it does | Range / default | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formation Colors | Lets the formation paint itself. Only shown for formations with a signature palette. | On/off, default on | Turn it off to use Color Mode. |
| Color Mode | Radial Ramp: centre colour in the middle, edge colour at the rim. By Height: colour changes as each sphere falls. Rainbow Cycle: full hue wheel that turns over time. Solid: one colour. | Default Radial Ramp | Rainbow Cycle ignores both colour swatches. |
| Center Color / Edge Color | Radial Ramp colours. | Defaults orange (#FFA03A) and deep orange (#F2801C) | |
| Colour At The Bottom / Colour At The Top | By Height colours (the same two swatches). | Same defaults | |
| Sphere Color | Solid colour. | Default deep orange (#F2801C) | |
| Rainbow Speed | Rainbow Cycle only. How fast the hues turn. | 0 to 4, default 1.0 | |
| Tint Settled Spheres | Spheres that stop moving fade to a rest colour, so you can see what has finished. | On/off, default on | Works for every formation. |
| Rest Color | The rest colour. | Default grey (#9AA0A6) | |
| Tint Strength | How far settled spheres fade to the rest colour. | 0 to 1, default 1.0 | |
| Settle Sensitivity | How still a sphere must be to count as settled. | 0.2 to 4, default 1.0 |
The 3D Tab for Wave 3D
The 3D tab holds everything about how the scene is filmed and lit: Camera, Build-Up, Scene Audio, Performance, the Objects sections (color, material, coatings, texture), Background, Platform, Platform Material, Mirror, the three Lighting sections, Shadows, Rendering & Grade and Cinematic FX. These are shared by every 3D mode. Wave 3D adds one section of its own, Sphere Field Surface.
| Setting | What it does | Range / default |
|---|---|---|
| Match Platform To Layout (Sphere Field Surface) | The slab under the spheres takes the layout's own shape. | On/off, default off |
| Steel Floor Under Base (Sphere Field Surface) | A reflective ground the platform stands on. | On/off, default on |
| Floor Color (Sphere Field Surface) | Floor colour. Shown while the floor is on. | Default near-black (#171B21) |
| Antialiasing (Performance) | Smoother edges, slightly heavier. | On/off, default on |
| Preview Sharpness (Performance) | Auto: sharpen when there is headroom. Standard: fastest preview. Sharp: 1.5x pixels. Maximum: full screen resolution. | Default Auto |
| Object Limit (Performance) | A ceiling on how many objects a 3D mode may place. | 2000 to 80000, default 20000 |
Tip
- Performance settings only change the live preview. Exports always render at full quality.
Recommended Setups
The strongest Wave 3D clips have an arc: the wave is visibly bigger at the end than at the start.
| Goal | Settings to use |
|---|---|
| A 30 second clip that builds | Wave Over Time: Build Up, Wave At The Start 0.05 to 0.1, Wave At The End 1.0, Build Time 28 to 30, Build Shape: Accelerating. |
| A clean ring drop | Formation from the Drop shelf with rings outward, Layout: Concentric rings, Landing Groups 12, Steel Impact Sound on. |
| A slow, calm loop | Wave Over Time: Breathe, Speed 0.5, Bounciness 0.96, Tint Settled Spheres on. |
| Wind-up and launch | Reverse on (or a Rise formation), Wind-Up Bounces 8 to 12, Drop Height 400. |
| Music-led surface | A No wave: standing surfaces formation, Audio Reactive on, Sensitivity 1.5, a song loaded. |
Common Problems
The most common report is "the wave looks the same the whole clip". The panel now tells you when that will happen.
| Problem | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The wave stops growing partway and repeats | Build Time is shorter than the run. The panel shows "wave stops growing at ..., then holds". | Raise Build Time to your clip length. |
| The wave never changes size | Wave At The Start equals Wave At The End, or Continuous Bouncing is on with a short build. | Lower Wave At The Start, raise Build Time. |
| Wave controls are greyed out | The formation is on a No wave shelf. | Pick a Drop or Rise formation. |
| Reverse does nothing | Continuous Bouncing is on, or Bounciness is 1.0. | Turn Continuous Bouncing off and lower Bounciness below 1. |
| Too many or too few impact sounds | Landing Groups sets exactly one sound per group. | Change Landing Groups. |
| Color Mode is greyed out | The formation paints itself. | Turn Formation Colors off. |
| The preview is slow or stutters | High Ball Count, Shadows or Mirror (each costs an extra render pass), or Preview Sharpness set high. | Lower Ball Count, set Preview Sharpness to Standard, turn off Shadows or Mirror while you edit. Exports still render at full quality. |
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