smudge

Description

Applies a gentle smudge effect to the video, softening edges and pulling colors slightly across motion paths.
The result resembles a faint manual smear, as if the image were lightly dragged or brushed while still wet.

Purpose

smudge is designed for creators who want:

• soft, organic distortion without heavy abstraction,
• a mild “wet paint” or “finger drag” aesthetic,
• subtle deformation suitable for dreamy or analog-inspired edits,
• smoothing of harsh edges or digital sharpness,
• a simple, no-argument effect that can be stacked or used as a finishing texture.

How It Works

1. Edge Softening
   The filter diffuses detail and blends micro-edges, reducing digital crispness.
2. Directional Blur/Smear
   Motion or tonal boundaries smear slightly, giving the impression of a softly dragged image surface.
3. Color Bleed
   Neighboring pixels influence one another to create subtle spreading of hue.
4. Encoding
   Output is then encoded using Videobeaux global CRF, codec, and pixel-format settings.

Program Template

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

Arguments

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

Real World Example

videobeaux -P smudge \
  -i myvideo.mp4 \
  -o smudge_styled.mp4

Program Output

Technical Notes

• Ideal for footage with strong lines or shapes — smudging softens them into painterly contours.
• Repeated smudging (e.g., applied twice in a chain) can create a watercolor-like wash.
• Compression artifacts become smoother and less blocky after the smudge effect.
• Works especially well before color-grading to produce a gentle base texture.

Recommended Usage

• Dream sequences, surreal atmospheres, or emotional montage.
• Soft, analog-inspired grading setups.
• Background layers in collage or Lagkage layouts.
• Visual art workflows that benefit from painterly distortion.
• Preprocessing footage before heavy glitch effects to create contrast.

Quality Tips

• Lower CRF yields smoother, more elegant smudges.
• Higher CRF adds grit, making the smudge feel more raw or textural.
• Combine with slight_smear for layered organic softness.
• Use repainting afterward for a “hand-redrawn” effect.
• Upscale with resize before smudging if you want especially smooth, flowing distortion.