The Nervous filter creates a jittery, unstable motion effect by randomly replacing the current frame with frames from nearby points in time. This produces a nervous, erratic visual appearance often associated with analog glitches, damaged recordings, or psychological tension effects.
This filter operates temporally and does not modify color or geometry.
Parameter
Amount (2–30 frames)
Controls the temporal range, in frames, from which replacement frames may be selected.
-
Lower values
Subtle jitter using nearby frames
Motion appears slightly unstable -
Higher values
Stronger, more chaotic jitter
Frames may jump noticeably forward or backward in time
This parameter defines how far from the current frame the filter is allowed to sample.
How it works
For each output frame, the filter may:
- Keep the current frame, or
- Substitute it with a frame randomly chosen from within the specified frame range
The randomness creates:
- Temporal discontinuity
- Repeated or skipped frames
- A “nervous” visual rhythm
Visual characteristics
Typical effects include:
- Jittery or trembling motion
- Irregular frame repetition
- Perceived instability even in static shots
- Increased intensity as the frame range increases
The effect is independent of image content.
Example: static camera with moving subjects
When applied to footage shot with a static camera where people or objects are moving, the Nervous filter causes:
- The background to appear stable
- Moving subjects to jitter, stutter, or briefly jump backward and forward
- Moving elements appear fragmented or unstable, while the camera and background remain static.
This effect occurs because the filter substitutes frames at different moments in time, disrupting motion continuity while leaving static elements largely unchanged.
Recommended use cases
- Stylized glitch or distortion effects
- Psychological or tension-driven visuals
- Simulating damaged or unstable recordings
- Music videos or experimental edits
- Only moving elements are affected and appear to jitter; a moving background is affected as well.
Limitations
- Does not preserve motion continuity
- Not suitable for natural or smooth motion
- Effect strength depends on frame rate
- Parameter cannot be keyframed