Adjustment Source

Reads the composite of all layers below this layer's stack position. Pair with effects to create adjustment layers.

Category: Source Menu path: Source > Adjustment Source

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
out	imageRgba16f	output	Composite of layers below this layer at the current frame

Parameters

None.

Expose Channels

Not applicable — AdjustmentSource has no parameters to override.

How It Works

A layer becomes an "adjustment layer" simply by containing an AdjustmentSource node reachable from Output. There is no separate flag — the engine detects the node and treats the layer specially:

1. Phase 0 (eval plan): the engine notes that this layer needs the running comp-below accumulator and adds an implicit dependency on every visible layer below it in the stack.
2. Phase 3 (compositing): the engine evaluates the layer's graph inline during the bottom-to-top compositing walk, with the current accumulator (composite of all already-composited layers below) injected as the AdjustmentSource.out texture.
3. The graph processes that accumulator however it likes (blur, color correct, etc.) and the result is composited back over the same below-stack with the Output node's blend mode + opacity.

Because the accumulator is content-and-compositing-aware, the adjustment layer's cache is stable across frames when nothing below it changes — adding an animated effect on top of static content does not invalidate the comp below.

Usage Examples

Basic: Blur the comp

Create an adjustment layer (top shelf "A" button, or insert AdjustmentSource from the context menu). Add a Blur node between AdjustmentSource and Output. Everything underneath the layer is blurred; turn off the layer to compare.

Hybrid: blur + color tint

You can combine the comp-below input with your own content. For example: AdjustmentSource → Blur → Mix → Output where Mix.b is a SolidColor set to a tint. Adjustments do not have to fill the comp — mask the result to apply to a region.

Toggling via the Output panel

Select an existing layer's Output node. In the Properties panel, the Adjustment section has an "Adjustment Layer" checkbox. Toggling it adds or removes an AdjustmentSource node automatically, replacing whatever was previously feeding Output.in.

Tips

• The "A" badge in the timeline LayerList marks adjustment layers.
• For a straight "replace below" feel, leave the Output blend mode at Normal/100% so the modified comp simply overwrites the unmodified below.
• Stacked adjustments compose naturally — each adjustment reads the accumulator including any lower adjustment's effect. Order matters.
• LayerSource can point at an adjustment layer from another layer above it, but creating a cycle (e.g. a layer below LayerSources the adjustment) errors at render time.
• Mattes: an adjustment layer can be the target of a track matte (apply a shape mask to the blurred comp below). It cannot currently be the source of a track matte for another layer — that combination is rejected with a warning.
• Motion blur is not applied to adjustment layers in v1 (the comp-below accumulator isn't shutter-time-aware). Toggling motion blur on an adjustment layer logs a warning and falls back to a single sample.

Related Nodes

• Layer Source — references one specific layer's output (rather than the running composite below).
• Output — the layer's compositing interface; its blend mode + opacity determine how the adjustment's result merges back onto the comp.