Vertigo Video Filter

Creates a temporal zoom feedback effect by reusing and scaling previous frames.
The result resembles a visual echo where the image appears to zoom in or out continuously, producing a disorienting or hypnotic motion.

Vertigo is a temporal effect. Its appearance depends on motion over time; evaluating it on a single frame is misleading.

Parameters

Speed (0.00 - 100.00%)

Controls how quickly the feedback zoom evolves over time.

• Low values
  Slow, subtle zoom drift. The effect builds gradually and is less distracting.

• Mid values
  Clearly visible motion. The zoom progression becomes noticeable and rhythmic.

• High values
  Fast zoom progression. The image rapidly expands or collapses, producing strong visual instability.

Behavior notes:

• Speed affects temporal progression, not zoom amount.
• Higher values increase how quickly the effect changes from frame to frame.
• Visual intensity depends on both Speed and Zoom together.

Zoom (0.00 - 100.00%)

Controls the strength of the zoom applied to the feedback image.

• Low values
  Minimal scaling. The effect is subtle and may be hard to notice without motion.

• Mid values
  Moderate scaling. The zoom feedback becomes clearly visible.

• High values
  Strong scaling. The image rapidly grows or shrinks within itself, often revealing borders or heavy repetition.

Behavior notes:

• Zoom defines how much scaling is applied, not how fast.
• Extreme values can cause strong image repetition or cropping artifacts.

Keyframes

Both Speed and Zoom can be keyframed.

This enables:

• Gradual buildup or release of the vertigo effect
• Pulsing or oscillating zoom feedback
• Time-based transitions between stable and unstable visuals

Parameter interaction

• Zoom sets the magnitude of scaling applied to previous frames.
• Speed controls how quickly that scaling evolves over time.
• High Zoom with low Speed produces slow, dramatic distortion.
• High Speed with low Zoom produces fast but subtle motion.
• High values on both produce aggressive, disorienting results.

Visual characteristics

• Repeated zooming of the image into itself
• Infinity mirror–like effect caused by recursive frame feedback
• Motion trails caused by temporal feedback
• Progressive scaling artifacts
• Disorienting or hypnotic visual motion

Recommended use cases

• Stylized or experimental visuals
• Dream, hallucination, or disorientation effects
• Abstract motion backgrounds
• Emphasizing instability or psychological tension
• Transitional effects between scenes

Usage notes and tips

• Always evaluate the effect during playback, not on a still frame.
• Start with low Zoom values and increase gradually.
• Keyframing Speed often produces smoother results than abrupt changes.
• The effect is sensitive to frame rate and clip length.

Limitations

• Can become visually overwhelming at high values
• No control over direction (inward vs outward is implicit)
• Accumulates compression artifacts over time
• Not suitable for subtle correction tasks