Tool NodesThe nodes in the Tools menu enable you to control specific functions and processes and to prepare other node data for further processing. These nodes are general utility tools that you can use in the construction of a Chalice network. The Exec node is essential to any grail network; it controls the processing of image data for final output. After the Exec, two of the most commonly used tool nodes are the Channel Swap and Sequence nodes. Channel Swap , which takes one or two inputs, enables you to add, delete, and swap channel data, even between two different inputs. For example, you can use Channel Swap to add an alpha channel to an RGB image. Sequence is a multi-input node: for every input you connect to the Sequence node, another input connector is created. Sequence allows you to specify frames for use in a network. It can be used to reconcile disparate frames ranges in source imagery before compositing, to hold or skip frames in a sequence, etc. The Track and Pixel Meter nodes each take a single input, from which they generate data that can then be accessed by other nodes in the network. Track creates tracking ( x,y position) data which can be used to match move, stabilize, or corner pin. The Pixel Meter node meters and averages the RGBA values of selected pixel areas. The Text node has been placed in the Tools menu because it is often used as a diagnostic tool. By using simple expressions, the Text node can display any current parameter value over an image. Of course, this node could just as easily have been placed in the Composite or the Effects menu, as it can be used to generate text effects over other imagery for output. The other utility nodes include Switch, Time Stretch, UNIX, and Comment, all of which are described in this chapter. The Tools node menu includes, in alphabetical order:
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