Today we will explore some TouchDesigner operators that are worth knowing and are maybe not as common in our projects. Let’s go!
Whether we are long-standing aficionados or have just started our journey, effectively managing TouchDesigner operators can be tricky. There are so many operators and so many opportunities out there that it is almost impossible to master everything.
That’s why it’s great to find hidden gems that can make the difference in our interactive and immersive projects. Ready for the journey to begin?
HOG CHOP
Performance is the key in creating a successful project. That’s why the last thing we want to face – most of all during a live performance or installation – is poor system performance.
Fortunately for us, one operator can help us in understanding what is going wrong in our patch: the HOG CHOP. This operator literally eats CPU cycles, simulating a system slowdown. It is extremely useful to understand if our patch is encountering CPU-related problems, thus allowing us to apply useful changes to our patch.
PROBE component
Let’s assume we need to have a broader overview about our patch performance. How can we do it? With the PROBE component.
It is available inside the palette and it visually shows the most GPU and CPU consuming nodes. We can analyze what is going on in terms of time and memory, understand the bottlenecks and intervene in a proper way.
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Cache TOP
The Cache TOP offers a nice mix between efficiency and creativity. As the name suggests, this operator stores a sequence of images in the GPU memory. This process results in higher reading speed compared to the traditional main memory procedure, thus increasing the overall efficiency.
But the Cache TOP can be used for creative purposes as well, for example by freezing images or creating delay lines. Combining it with other operators paves the way for extensive manipulation and processing.
Function CHOP
I must admit that during my school years I was quite hopeless about math. That was a shame, because math turned to be pivotal for my career. It is not about winning the Nobel prize, rather it is about getting the most from using math in creative ways.
The Function CHOP is an essential Swiss army knife for math operations in TouchDesigner. It has several advanced features such as trigonometry, logarithmic, exponential functions and much more. This operator is extremely helpful for integrating complex formulas into our patches.
Lookup TOP
Sometimes we need to procedurally process image colours. How can we achieve it? With the Lookup TOP. This operator allows us to replace the color values of an image, connected in the first input of the operator, to a lookup table connected in the second input.
We can use ramps or table operators to creatively apply textures to our images and get some nice and unexpected results. In this example I used a Ramp TOP, turned it into a CHOP, applied some noise and trail to create a psychedelic banana.
Lag CHOP
If we need to apply complex timing processes to our patch for creative purposes, there are several ways to achieve it: using the Lag CHOP is one of these.
This operator adds lag to incoming signals and it can overshoot them as well. Several parameters are available – lag value, amplitude, magnitude etc – so the outcome can be quite funny and unpredictable. Mixing multiple Lag CHOPS can pave the way for even more complex timing chains.
Spring CHOP
Finally, here is the Spring operator. As the name suggests, the Spring CHOP creates vibrations that are controlled (or influenced) by the input channels, just like a mass attached to a spring. We can apply position or force parameters on input channels and simulate basic physics functions.
Of course, things can get increasingly interesting as soon as we mix several Spring operators with different behaviours and/or a combination of forces and position data.
Wrap Up
TouchDesigner is such a complete and complex ecosystem and each of us has our own favourite operators. So, sometimes, it’s a good idea to add lesser-known operators in our patches and see the results: the magic can happen when we least expect it!
