What It Does
Oscilloscope, by Zaebects, takes a signal input and renders it as a glowing beam trace that mimics a phosphor CRT or analog oscilloscope display. You can feed it a picture layer, an audio track, an AE path, or a built-in test signal, and it will scan that data into a looping animated trace. The result sits on a transparent layer, so it drops cleanly into title sequences, overlays, or abstract motion pieces.
Key Features
Four signal sources. Choose between a built-in test signal, a picture signal read from a source layer (using edge detection), an audio signal, or a path signal. Each source has its own gain control, and the picture source adds a threshold slider for tuning edge sensitivity.
Trace construction controls. Signal resolution, steps per loop, and beam point density determine how much detail gets sampled into the path and how densely the beam renders it. Cranking density gives you a solid, well-defined trace; pulling it back produces a more sparse, flickering line.
Beam timing. Trace frequency sets the scan speed. Phosphor fade time controls how long the previous trace lingers before it disappears, which is what gives the CRT look its characteristic ghosting.
Beam appearance. Width, brightness, intensity flicker, and curvature gain let you dial in the physical character of the trace. A transparent output mode makes it easy to composite over footage without needing to blend manually.
Who It’s For
Oscilloscope is a good fit for motion designers working on retro or tech-aesthetic projects: oscilloscope-style title cards, signal graphics, waveform visualizers, image contour effects, or abstract looping motion. The picture-to-edges mode is particularly useful for turning a logo or illustration into an animated trace without any manual path work. Audio-reactive mode works well for music visualizers or broadcast motion packages.
It ships with a free trial available on aescripts.com, so you can test it against your specific use case before buying.
Pricing
Oscilloscope is a one-time purchase at $29.99 for a single user license. Floating server and render-only license options are also available at checkout.