slight_smear

Description

Applies a subtle RGB smear effect, gently shifting and bleeding color channels to create a soft distortion.
The look resembles mild chromatic drift, analog smudge, or a barely-there color echo — perfect for adding texture without overwhelming the original image.

Purpose

slight_smear is designed for creators who want:

gentle color separation without strong glitch artifacts,
soft smearing suitable for dreamy or nostalgic aesthetics,
analog-feeling color drift reminiscent of old CRT or lens aberration,
a lightweight effect that enhances motion without heavy distortion,
a minimal, no-argument filter that always behaves consistently.

How It Works

RGB Channel Offset
Red, green, and blue channels are shifted by micro-amounts, producing a soft separation.
Low-Intensity Smear
Instead of fully duplicating edges, the smear gently blooms color outward.
Motion Enhancement
Moving subjects gain soft trails, giving the impression of mild persistence.
Encoding
The final output is encoded using global Videobeaux CRF, codec, and pixel format.

Program Template

videobeaux -P slight_smear \
  -i input.mp4 \
  -o output.mp4

Arguments

(No additional program-specific arguments; uses global videobeaux options only.)

Real World Example

videobeaux -P slight_smear \
  -i myvideo.mp4 \
  -o slight_smear_styled.mp4

Program Output

Technical Notes

Because the smear is subtle, it works well even on footage with delicate details.
High-contrast edges reveal the effect most clearly.
Compression can either soften or exaggerate the smear depending on CRF.
Suitable as a pre-effect before heavier glitch or temporal filters.

Recommended Usage

Music videos needing gentle stylistic color bloom.
Dreamy ambience sequences and soft-focus aesthetics.
Collage art where slight distortion adds cohesion.
Retro or analog-inspired edits without heavy degradation.
As a smoothing layer before applying lsd_feedback, crossmosh, or double_cup.

Quality Tips

Lower CRF gives cleaner, smoother smear edges.
Higher CRF makes the smear grainier and more textured.
Combine with gamma_fix beforehand for more stable channel balancing.
Add blur_pix afterward for a painterly, soft-focus expansion.
Use convert_dims before smearing if resizing footage for a platform-specific format.

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