Installation

1. Download the Film Grain plugin
2. Unzip the downloaded zip file
3. Drag the Film Grain.zip file onto the Cavalry interface
4. Find Film Grain in the Add Layers window

Tips & Techniques

Viewport Zoom

Important! Set your viewport zoom to 100% for an accurate preview. Viewport scale affects how the grain appears in the viewport (the effect works in canvas pixel space, which changes with zoom), but not how it renders to the final output.

Getting a Filmic Look

• Keep Amount low (2–8) for subtle, realistic texture.
• Leave Response on Midtones so grain fades out of pure blacks and whites like real film.
• Add a little Softness (10–30) so the grain reads as photographic emulsion rather than sharp digital noise.
• For color film stock, turn Monochrome off and pull Saturation down to around 0.2–0.4 — full color grain often looks too digital.

Controls Reference

Amount

Type: Float
Default: 10
Range: 0 to 100

Overall strength of the grain. 0 = no grain, 100 = maximum. Because Softness lowers the grain's contrast as it spreads, you may need to raise Amount when using high Softness values.

Grain Size

Type: Float
Default: 1
Range: 0.1 to 50

Size of the grain cells in pixels. Low values (≈1) produce fine, per-pixel grain; higher values produce chunkier, larger grain. Values below 1 pixel will produce finer grain but may produce unwanted artifacts. Be sure to preview at 100% zoom.

Softness

Type: Float
Default: 0
Range: 0 to 100

Softens the grain with a separable Gaussian blur, turning sharp grain into a soft, photographic emulsion. 0 = the crispest grain; higher values spread it wider and softer.

Note: Grain naturally loses contrast as it softens (a blur averages it out). If soft grain looks too faint, raise Amount to compensate.

Response

Type: Enum
Options: Uniform | Midtones | Shadows | Highlights
Default: Midtones

Controls where grain is most visible based on image luminance:

• Uniform: Grain applied evenly across the whole image.
• Midtones: Strongest in the midtones, fading toward pure black and white (the classic film look).
• Shadows: Strongest in the darker areas.
• Highlights: Strongest in the brighter areas.

Grain Blend

Type: Enum
Options: Overlay | Add | Screen
Default: Overlay

How the grain composites over the image:

• Overlay: Classic film grain feel; preserves midtone contrast.
• Add: Linear addition; brightens overall.
• Screen: Lifts the shadows.

Color

Monochrome

Type: Toggle (On/Off)
Default: On

When on, grain is a single luminance value applied to all channels. When off, each color channel gets independent grain (color grain), and the Saturation control becomes active.

Saturation

Type: Float
Default: 0.5
Range: 0 to 1

Color intensity of the grain when Monochrome is off. 0 = gray (desaturated) grain, 1 = full per-channel color. Dimmed when Monochrome is on.

Animation

Animate

Type: Toggle (On/Off)
Default: On

Animates the grain over time so it shifts every frame. When off, the grain pattern is static (frozen). When off, Time and Time Step are dimmed.

Time

Type: Float
Default: 0

Drives the animated grain. Connected to the scene frame automatically, so the grain advances with the playhead. Dimmed when Animate is off.

Time Step

Type: Int
Default: 1
Range: 1 to 12

Controls animation speed by holding each grain field for several frames. 1 = a fresh grain field every frame (regular speed), 2 = half speed (each field held for 2 frames), 3 = third speed, and so on. Use this for the classic lower-frame-rate "grain stutter" look. Dimmed when Animate is off.