Trapcode Form is known for audio visualizations, which is why today we will take a look at how I created the RAZOR soundwaves I mentioned earlier this week. We will cover some of the parameters in the Audio React tab within Form and tweak them to create an organic soundwave transition throughout the strings of particles.

Initially, I was stumped on how to achieve this effect nicely with the organic flow. Displacing Form with audio was the easy part, but I didn’t know how I could displace Form from one side and make it flow to the other side. Changing the Flow in X and Displacement effected the whole body of particles instead of one side like I wanted. With the help of Peder Norrby, founder of Trapcode, I was able to achieve this effect using Delay Direction and Delay Max, a section of Audio React I never quite used before.

The Trapcode Form documentation included in the installation of Form gives a really great explanation of what these two parameters do:

Delay Direction
Lets you select the direction in which the audio reactor delay travels or ripples through the form. This is used together with the Delay Max control to allow the system to generate a traveling animation that is offset in the chosen direction over the period set by Delay Max.

Delay Max
Defines the length of the delay buffer, which is the maximum time a sound stays ‘visible’ as ripples in the Delay Direction option chosen above.

By using Delay Direction and Delay Max, we can control the delay of the fractal displacement controlled by the audio, giving us a organic ‘flow’ effect as done in the original promo. Don’t forget that this isn’t limited to Displacement, you can do the same for other reactors as well such as Disperse or Twist. The possibilities are endless so don’t hesitate to tweak around! Many thanks to Peder for the guidance in the right direction, if you guys have any questions, please leave them down below in the comments! I love hearing your feedback.