Analog video glitch effects, explained

Every analog video artifact has a physical cause. Each entry here explains what went wrong in the signal, what it looks like, and how to recreate it in After Effects.

SYNC AND TIMING

  • Flagging Flagging is the bending of the top lines of a video picture like a flag in the wind. Learn why tape and sync cause it and how to dial it with STATIC DRIFT.
  • Horizontal tearing Horizontal tearing is the sideways shearing of bands of lines when analog sync fails. See what breaks in the signal and how to build it with STATIC DRIFT.
  • Time base error Time base error is the line to line timing jitter of analog tape that wobbles verticals and drifts color. Learn the cause and how to build it in After Effects.
  • Vertical roll Vertical roll is the picture scrolling up or down when a display loses vertical sync. See how it works and how to recreate it with STATIC DRIFT.

CHROMA AND COLOR

  • Chroma bleed Chroma bleed is the soft color smear on analog video where hue spills past object edges. Learn the cause and how to dial it with PHANTOM CORRUPT.
  • Chroma shift Chroma shift is the sideways offset of color from the black and white image on analog video. See what causes it and how to dial it with PHANTOM CORRUPT.
  • Dot crawl Dot crawl is the line of moving dots along colored edges in composite video. See what causes it and how to dial it in with PHANTOM CORRUPT in After Effects.
  • Rainbow banding Rainbow banding is the swirling color fringes on fine patterns in composite video. Understand the cause and recreate it with PHANTOM CORRUPT.

LUMA AND BRIGHTNESS

  • Luma noise Luma noise is the fine, streaky grain in the brightness channel of analog video. Learn where it comes from and how to dial it in with TERMINAL FADE.

TAPE AND TRANSPORT

  • Tape dropout Tape dropout is the white or black flecks on worn videotape where the signal briefly vanishes. See the cause and how to recreate it with TERMINAL FADE.
  • Generation loss Generation loss is the cumulative damage when analog video is copied from tape to tape. See how each dub degrades the picture and how to build it.
  • Head switching noise Head switching noise is the ragged strip at the bottom of VHS frames. Learn what causes it and how to build it with STATIC DRIFT in After Effects.
  • tape crease A tape crease is a physical fold in videotape that causes a skewed, noisy band across the picture. Learn how it forms and how to simulate it in After Effects.
  • VHS tracking error VHS tracking error explained: why the heads lose the track, what the noise band looks like, and how to recreate it in After Effects.

CRT AND DISPLAY

  • CRT scanlines CRT scanlines are the dark gaps between the lit lines of a tube display. Learn how the beam makes them and how to build them with WIRE WRAITH in After Effects.
  • Ghosting Ghosting is the faint offset duplicate image seen on analog TV. Learn how signal reflections cause it and how to build it with ECHO PARASITE in After Effects.
  • Rescan Rescan is the look of a camera filming a CRT screen: refresh bars, moire and soft glow. Learn what it does to a picture and how to build it with ECHO PARASITE.
  • RF interference RF interference is the diagonal herringbone and moving bars that appear when stray radio signals mix into a TV picture. See how it works and how to recreate it.
  • Signal death Signal death is the staged failure of an analog picture as color, sync and carrier vanish. See how it happens and how to build it with TERMINAL FADE.
  • Video feedback Video feedback is the recursive pattern made when a camera films a screen showing its own output. See how the loop works and how to build it in After Effects.

DIGITAL AND COMPRESSION

  • Interlace combing Interlace combing is the toothed edge on moving objects when interlaced video is shown as full frames. See why it happens and how to approximate it.

FILM

  • Film grain Film grain is the organic texture of silver crystals and dye clouds in the emulsion. See why Super 8 grain is coarse and how to build it with Super8 Film Lab.
  • Gate weave Gate weave is the small shifting of a film frame in the gate, vertically and horizontally. See why it happens and how to build it with Super8 Film Lab.
  • Halation Halation is the red-orange glow around bright highlights on film. Learn why light bounces inside the stock and how to build it with Super8 Film Lab.
  • Light leak Light leak is the warm flash of unwanted light fogging the edge of film. See how leaks happen in Super 8 cameras and how to recreate them with Super8 Film Lab.

ALL GLITCH EFFECTS ALL LOOKS ALL PLUGINS