FFmpeg Glitch & Distortion Effects (2025)

CRITICAL GUIDELINES

Windows File Path Requirements

MANDATORY: Always Use Backslashes on Windows for File Paths

When using Edit or Write tools on Windows, you MUST use backslashes (\) in file paths, NOT forward slashes (/).

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Quick Reference

When to Use This Skill

Use for creative distortion effects:

• Music video glitch aesthetics
• Datamosh/​pixel bleeding art
• VHS/​analog video simulation
• Digital corruption and artifacts
• Psychedelic and experimental video
• Horror/​unsettling visual effects

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FFmpeg Glitch & Distortion Effects (2025)

Complete guide to datamosh, glitch art, VHS effects, displacement, and creative video distortion with FFmpeg.

Datamosh Effects

Datamosh creates the "pixel bleeding" effect by manipulating motion compensation.

Basic Datamosh with minterpolate

# Basic datamosh effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc:me_mode=bidir:vsbmc=1'" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 datamosh.mp4

# Parameters explained:
# mi_mode=mci: Motion compensated interpolation
# mc_mode=aobmc: Adaptive overlapped block motion compensation
# me_mode=bidir: Bidirectional motion estimation
# vsbmc=1: Variable size block motion compensation

Intense Datamosh

# Heavy datamosh (more chaos)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "minterpolate='fps=60:mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc:me_mode=bidir:me=epzs:vsbmc=1:scd=none'" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 heavy_datamosh.mp4

# scd=none: Disable scene change detection (more bleeding across cuts)
# me=epzs: Enhanced predictive zonal search (faster, rougher)

Datamosh with Frame Manipulation

# Datamosh by removing I-frames (requires re-encoding)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc',\
       tblend=all_mode=difference:all_opacity=0.5" \
  datamosh_blend.mp4

# Combine with echo for trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc',lagfun=decay=0.9" \
  datamosh_trails.mp4

Controlled Datamosh (Specific Sections)

# Datamosh only certain section
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc':enable='between(t,5,10)'" \
  controlled_datamosh.mp4

Chromatic Aberration

Color channel separation for that "broken lens" look.

rgbashift Filter

# Horizontal chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "rgbashift=rh=-5:bh=5" \
  chromatic.mp4

# Parameters:
# rh/​rv: Red horizontal/​vertical shift
# gh/​gv: Green horizontal/​vertical shift
# bh/​bv: Blue horizontal/​vertical shift
# ah/​av: Alpha horizontal/​vertical shift

# Vertical chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "rgbashift=rv=-3:bv=3" \
  chromatic_v.mp4

# Both directions
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "rgbashift=rh=-4:rv=-2:bh=4:bv=2" \
  chromatic_both.mp4

Animated Chromatic Aberration

# Pulsing chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "rgbashift=rh='5*sin(t*3)':bh='-5*sin(t*3)'" \
  pulsing_chromatic.mp4

# Increasing aberration over time
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "rgbashift=rh='-t*2':bh='t*2'" \
  increasing_chromatic.mp4

chromashift Filter (Chroma Only)

# Shift chroma channels (U/​V in YUV)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "chromashift=cbh=5:crh=-5" \
  chroma_shift.mp4

# cbh/​cbv: Cb (blue-difference) horizontal/​vertical
# crh/​crv: Cr (red-difference) horizontal/​vertical

VHS/​Analog Effects

Complete VHS Simulation

# Full VHS effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    noise=c0s=15:c0f=t:c1s=10:c1f=t,\
    eq=saturation=1.4:contrast=1.1:brightness=-0.02,\
    chromashift=cbh=3:crh=-3,\
    rgbashift=rh=2:bh=-2,\
    unsharp=3:3:-0.5,\
    drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:[email protected],\
    curves=preset=vintage" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 20 vhs_effect.mp4

VHS Components Breakdown

# 1. VHS Noise (temporal noise)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "noise=c0s=20:c0f=t:c1s=15:c1f=t" \
  vhs_noise.mp4

# 2. VHS Color bleeding
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "chromashift=cbh=4:cbv=2:crh=-3:crv=1" \
  vhs_color_bleed.mp4

# 3. VHS Scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:[email protected]" \
  vhs_scanlines.mp4

# 4. VHS Tracking issues (simulated)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "crop=iw:ih-20:0:'20*random(1)',pad=iw:ih+20:0:10" \
  vhs_tracking.mp4

# 5. VHS Oversaturated colors
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "eq=saturation=1.5:contrast=1.1,curves=preset=vintage" \
  vhs_colors.mp4

VHS Static/​Snow

# Static overlay blend
ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "nullsrc=s=1920x1080:d=10" \
  -vf "noise=c0s=100:c0f=a+t,format=gray" \
  -c:v libx264 -t 10 static.mp4

# Blend static with video
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i static.mp4 \
  -filter_complex "[0:v][1:v]blend=all_mode=screen:all_opacity=0.1" \
  vhs_static.mp4

Pixelation & Mosaic

Basic Pixelation

# Pixelate entire video
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "scale=iw/​10:ih/​10,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor" \
  pixelated.mp4

# Parameters:
# First scale: Reduce resolution (divide by pixelation level)
# Second scale: Scale back up with nearest neighbor (no interpolation)

# Variable pixelation level
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "scale=iw/​20:ih/​20,scale=iw*20:ih*20:flags=neighbor" \
  heavy_pixel.mp4

Animated Pixelation

# Pixelation that increases over time
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "scale='iw/​max(1,t*2)':'ih/​max(1,t*2)',scale=iw:ih:flags=neighbor" \
  animated_pixel.mp4

# Note: This is approximate; true animated requires geq or external scripts

Mosaic/​Censoring Effect

# Mosaic specific region (face blur style)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -filter_complex "\
    [0:v]crop=200:200:300:200[face];\
    [face]scale=iw/​10:ih/​10,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor[blurred];\
    [0:v][blurred]overlay=300:200" \
  mosaic_region.mp4

Wave & Ripple Distortion

Displacement Map

# Create displacement map (gradient)
ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "gradients=s=1920x1080:c0=black:c1=white:x0=0:y0=540:x1=1920:y1=540" \
  -vframes 1 displacement_h.png

# Apply horizontal wave displacement
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i displacement_h.png \
  -filter_complex "[0:v][1:v]displace=edge=wrap" \
  wave_h.mp4

Animated Wave with geq

# Horizontal wave using geq
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "geq=lum='lum(X+10*sin(Y/​20+T*5),Y)':cb='cb(X+10*sin(Y/​20+T*5),Y)':cr='cr(X+10*sin(Y/​20+T*5),Y)'" \
  wave_animated.mp4

# Vertical wave
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "geq=lum='lum(X,Y+10*sin(X/​20+T*5))':cb='cb(X,Y+10*sin(X/​20+T*5))':cr='cr(X,Y+10*sin(X/​20+T*5))'" \
  wave_v.mp4

# Ripple from center
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "geq=lum='lum(X+5*sin(sqrt(pow(X-W/​2,2)+pow(Y-H/​2,2))/​10-T*5),Y+5*cos(sqrt(pow(X-W/​2,2)+pow(Y-H/​2,2))/​10-T*5))':cb='cb(X,Y)':cr='cr(X,Y)'" \
  ripple.mp4

lenscorrection (Barrel/​Pincushion)

# Barrel distortion (fisheye-like)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lenscorrection=cx=0.5:cy=0.5:k1=0.5:k2=0.5" \
  barrel.mp4

# Pincushion distortion (opposite of barrel)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lenscorrection=cx=0.5:cy=0.5:k1=-0.3:k2=-0.3" \
  pincushion.mp4

# Parameters:
# cx, cy: Lens center (0-1, 0.5 = center)
# k1, k2: Distortion coefficients (positive = barrel, negative = pincushion)

Echo & Trails (lagfun)

Basic Trails

# Motion trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lagfun=decay=0.95" \
  trails.mp4

# Parameters:
# decay: How fast trails fade (0-1, higher = longer trails)

# Heavy trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lagfun=decay=0.98" \
  heavy_trails.mp4

# Light trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lagfun=decay=0.85" \
  light_trails.mp4

Trails with Color

# Trails with color shift
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "lagfun=decay=0.95,hue=h=t*10" \
  color_trails.mp4

# Inverted trails (bright areas leave dark trails)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "negate,lagfun=decay=0.95,negate" \
  inverted_trails.mp4

Frame Blending (tmix, tblend)

tmix (Temporal Mix)

# Average 5 frames (motion blur effect)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tmix=frames=5:weights='1 1 1 1 1'" \
  motion_blur.mp4

# Echo effect (repeat previous frames)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tmix=frames=10:weights='1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1'" \
  echo.mp4

# Ghosting
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tmix=frames=3:weights='1 0.5 0.25'" \
  ghosting.mp4

tblend (Frame Difference)

# Frame difference (motion highlight)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tblend=all_mode=difference" \
  frame_diff.mp4

# Available modes:
# addition, addition128, multiply, multiply128
# average, difference, difference128
# divide, exclusion, extremity, freeze
# glow, hardlight, hardmix, heat
# lighten, darken, linearlight, negation
# normal, overlay, phoenix, pinlight
# reflect, screen, softdifference
# softlight, stain, subtract, vividlight, xor

Creative tblend Effects

# Neon edges
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tblend=all_mode=difference128,eq=brightness=0.1:contrast=2" \
  neon_edges.mp4

# Psychedelic blend
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tblend=all_mode=phoenix" \
  psychedelic.mp4

# Burn effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tblend=all_mode=heat" \
  burn_effect.mp4

Digital Corruption

Random Artifacts

# Digital glitch noise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    noise=c0s=30:c0f=a+t:c1s=20:c1f=a+t,\
    rgbashift=rh='5*random(1)':bh='-5*random(1)'" \
  digital_glitch.mp4

# Note: random() generates noise, but isn't truly random between frames

Compression Artifact Simulation

# Heavy compression artifacts
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 51 -preset ultrafast \
  temp_compressed.mp4

ffmpeg -i temp_compressed.mp4 \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 \
  artifacts.mp4

# Blocky artifacts with multiple re-encodes
for i in {1..5}; do
  ffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 40 temp.mp4
  mv temp.mp4 input.mp4
done

Bit Manipulation (geq)

# Bit-depth reduction (posterization)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "geq=lum='floor(lum(X,Y)/​32)*32':cb='floor(cb(X,Y)/​32)*32':cr='floor(cr(X,Y)/​32)*32'" \
  bit_crush.mp4

# XOR pattern
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "geq=lum='bitxor(lum(X,Y),X+Y)':cb='cb(X,Y)':cr='cr(X,Y)'" \
  xor_pattern.mp4

Scan Lines & CRT Effects

Scan Lines

# Horizontal scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:[email protected]" \
  scanlines.mp4

# Heavier scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=4:t=2:[email protected]" \
  heavy_scanlines.mp4

# RGB scan lines (trinitron style)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "drawgrid=w=3:h=ih:t=1:[email protected]" \
  rgb_scanlines.mp4

CRT Simulation

# Full CRT effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    gblur=sigma=0.5,\
    drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:[email protected],\
    vignette=PI/​4,\
    eq=saturation=1.2:contrast=1.1,\
    lenscorrection=k1=0.1:k2=0.1,\
    noise=c0s=5:c0f=t" \
  crt_effect.mp4

Interlacing Effects

# Add interlacing artifacts
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "interlace=scan=tff,fieldorder=bff" \
  interlaced.mp4

# Fake interlacing (comb effect)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "tinterlace=merge" \
  comb_effect.mp4

Mirror & Kaleidoscope

Mirror Effects

# Horizontal mirror (left to right)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "crop=iw/​2:ih:0:0,split[a][b];[b]hflip[b];[a][b]hstack" \
  mirror_h.mp4

# Vertical mirror (top to bottom)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "crop=iw:ih/​2:0:0,split[a][b];[b]vflip[b];[a][b]vstack" \
  mirror_v.mp4

# Quad mirror (kaleidoscope-lite)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    crop=iw/​2:ih/​2:0:0,split=4[a][b][c][d];\
    [b]hflip[b];[c]vflip[c];[d]hflip,vflip[d];\
    [a][b]hstack[top];[c][d]hstack[bottom];\
    [top][bottom]vstack" \
  quad_mirror.mp4

Combined Glitch Presets

Music Video Glitch

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc':enable='lt(mod(t,2),0.2)',\
    rgbashift=rh='3*sin(t*10)':bh='-3*sin(t*10)',\
    lagfun=decay=0.9:enable='gt(mod(t,3),2.5)',\
    noise=c0s=10:c0f=t:enable='lt(mod(t,5),0.3)'" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 music_glitch.mp4

Horror Glitch

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    eq=brightness=-0.1:contrast=1.2:saturation=0.7,\
    chromashift=cbh='5*random(1)':crh='-3*random(1)',\
    noise=c0s=15:c0f=a+t,\
    tblend=all_mode=difference:all_opacity=0.1:enable='lt(mod(t,3),0.1)',\
    drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:[email protected]" \
  horror_glitch.mp4

Cyberpunk Glitch

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    eq=saturation=1.5:contrast=1.3,\
    colorbalance=rs=0.2:bs=0.2,\
    rgbashift=rh='-3':bh='3',\
    drawgrid=w=iw:h=3:t=1:[email protected],\
    unsharp=5:5:1.5" \
  cyberpunk.mp4

Analog TV Signal Loss

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "\
    noise=c0s=50:c0f=t:enable='lt(mod(t,10),0.5)',\
    chromashift=cbh='10*random(1)':enable='lt(mod(t,10),0.5)',\
    eq=brightness='-0.3*lt(mod(t,10),0.5)'" \
  signal_loss.mp4

Performance Tips

1. geq is CPU-intensive - Use sparingly or on short clips
2. minterpolate is slow - Consider reducing resolution first
3. lagfun accumulates - May need periodic "reset" cuts
4. Test on short clips before processing full videos
5. Hardware encoding - Use NVENC/​QSV for final encode after effects

# Process effects, then encode with hardware
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "your_glitch_filters" \
  -c:v rawvideo -f nut - | \
ffmpeg -i - \
  -c:v h264_nvenc -preset p4 -cq 20 \
  output.mp4

This guide covers FFmpeg glitch and distortion effects. For color grading see ffmpeg-color-grading-chromakey, for transitions see ffmpeg-transitions-effects.