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Liquid effect

Dancing Ferrofluid

Dancing Ferrofluid is a liquid video effect in FRCTL, the browser VJ studio. Magnetic dipoles and surface tension pull the image into oily spikes that dance with the field.

Runs live on video, images, a camera or generated art. Stack it with any other effect, and route LFOs, envelopes or any of ten audio bands to its controls so it moves with the music.

Try Dancing Ferrofluid free All effects

The untouched demo art: an eye inside a triangle over wavy teal, blue and peach lines — Source

The eye-in-triangle illustration with its right half blown into pale iridescent ripple rings and speckled noise — Dancing Ferrofluid, default settings

What Dancing Ferrofluid does

Three invisible magnetic poles orbit the centre, and where their field is steep the picture is dragged into ridged, concentric spike rings with rainbow highlights on the tips. Dark oily pools form between them. Field sets pole strength and ripple density, Spike how tall and sharp the ridges get, Dance how fast the poles circle, and Gloss the sheen on the tips.

Using Dancing Ferrofluid

Where it works: A centrepiece moment in a live set, because the poles keep moving without any input and some part of the frame is always erupting. Also good for single stills, since every frame catches the field somewhere new.
With the music: Dance sets the orbit speed, so B2 (sub bass) there makes the poles race when the sub hits. Put an Envelope from the beat on Spike to make the ridges jump up on every kick.
Starting point: Field centre, Spike a quarter, Dance a quarter, Gloss centre, then raise Spike until the rings start to crest.

Controls

Field: Magnetic pole strength and Rosensweig ripple density.
Spike: Spike height along field gradients and ridge sharpness.
Dance: Orbiting poles and field oscillation speed.
Gloss: Oily specular sheen on spike tips.
Speed: Rate of the effect motion. Centre is the authored speed, hard left a tenth of it.

Pairs well with Dancing Ferrofluid