Use Create BFX within Batch or Batch FX to create a BFX clip that can be useful for disk caching and give you flexibility for re-use or versioning of complex pipelines.
A BFX clip is a nested group or container that has benefits over Group nodes in Batch or Batch FX.
To create a BFX clip, right-click a node in the schematic, and select Create BFX. A new clip node is created that included the node you selected, and all downstream inputs to the node (that is, everything connected to the left of the node). At this point, you can delete the old nodes, and connect the new BFX clip into your pipeline.
You can switch to the Batch or Batch FX Timing view, select your BFX clip in the timeline, and click Render. Working in Batch or Batch FX is now faster, since all the nodes that make up the BFX clip are now rendered. Once you are ready to render your complete Batch or Batch FX pipeline, the BFX clip does not need to be re-rendered if you haven't modified it.
Another benefit of using a BFX clip is the flexibility it offers for versioning or re-using the clip. You can use the offset feature in the Timing view to offset the start time of the BFX clip, or even slide or trim the media and animation keyframes contained within the clip. When you create a BFX clip, it resides in the Batch or BFX Sources folder in the Workspace Media panel. You can copy this clip into another folder in the Media Library, and re-use it in another timeline segment, or even another project.
To return a BFX clip to its original separate nodes, right-click the clip, and select Explode BFX. This action is non-destructive, but it does delete the rendered frames (if you had rendered the BFX clip).
Since you can nest a BFX clip inside another BFX clip, the explode operation only explodes to one level. In the Basic menu for the BFX clip, you have an option to Explode All levels of the clip back to its original nodes.
