What effects are available in Harmony Essentials?

This article will detail the different types of effects found in Harmony Essentials, where to find them, and what they do. If you want to know more about using effects, see How do I work with effects in Harmony Essentials? and How do I animate effect values?

Where can I find the effects?

The effects list can be found in the following places:

• In the + dropdown menu in the Layers section of the Timeline view.
• In the top menu, under Insert > Effects.

Timeline view	Top menu

About effect mattes

Mattes are integral for certain types of effects, and it’s important to know how to identify which ones use them.

Effects that do not have a matte input

These effects will be applied immediately to the selected layer and only need setting adjustments to change the appearance.

When an effect like this is applied, it will not show a matte input field when expanding its parameters in the layers.

Effects that allow for a matte input

These include effects that require a matte input, and ones that have an optional matte input.

When added to the Timeline, an effect like this will show a Matte field that says <Drop Layer Here> when you expand its parameters. You can drag and drop a layer into this field to act as a matte for the effect.

Effects overview

The following is a list of effects that you can find in Harmony Essentials, what they look like, and whether they require a matte or not. Click on the effect’s name to see its documentation.

Effect	Matte input?	Image
Blur Applies a simple blur.	Optional
Brightness-Contrast Adjust the brightness and contrast of the artwork on the layer.	Optional
Colour-Scale Adjust the colour balance of the artwork.	Optional
Cutter Hide or show parts of the artwork based on the shape of the matte.	Required
Glow Apply a glow to the layer.	No
Shadow Turn the layer into a shadow.	No
Transparency Apply transparency.	No