Pixel-bending with Datamoshing

Datamoshing is a video editing technique that manipulates the frames of a video to create surreal, glitchy effects. It works by intentionally corrupting the data in video files. Here's a quick overview of what datamoshing is and how to do it yourself using the Datamosh 2 plugin for After Effects.

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What is Datamoshing?

Datamoshing involves manipulating the intraframe compression of digital video. Videos are made up of a sequence of frames. Within each frame, areas of similar pixels are compressed together as blocks. Datamoshing purposefully messes with these blocks from one frame to the next so that the pixels get misaligned and create distortions and artifacts in the image.

When done right, datamoshing can create trippy effects where objects warp, stretch, and smear across the screen. The visuals end up looking warped and separated from reality. It's a way to make video glitch art and give your footage a surreal, psychedelic look.

How Does Datamoshing Work?

Most digital videos use temporal compression, meaning they only store the pixel changes between frames, not entire frames. For example, if a person moves position slightly across a static background in two frames, the video file will just store the movement of the person rather than two full frames.

Datamoshing works by removing keyframes called I-frames from the video file. I-frames contain full image data and act like reset points, keeping the video coherent. Without I-frames, the frames begin to blend together into abstract shapes and textures as the pixel data gets misaligned frame to frame.

This technique only works on videos encoded with temporal compression like H.264 or MPEG-4. Trying it on an uncompressed or image sequence video won't have any effect.

Using Datamosh 2 in After Effects

One of the easiest ways to datamosh your own videos is with the Datamosh 2 plugin for After Effects. Here are the basic steps:

1. Import your clip into a new After Effects project.
2. Apply the Datamosh 2 effect to your clip.
3. Under the effect controls, check the "Remove I-Frames" box.
4. Adjust the Amount slider to control the intensity of the effect. Higher values remove more I-frames and create more glitching.
5. Play around with the other settings like Spread to adjust the look.
6. Render out your datamoshed video. The plugin will force the removal of I-frames even when you export to compressed formats like H.264.

And that's it! With just a few clicks you can start datamoshing your own footage to create mind-bending glitch art effects. Have fun playing around with the settings and seeing how far you can push the distortion. Just be careful not to overdo it, unless that warped look is exactly what you want.