Live data from Hacker News

FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

ffglitch.org

21–30 of 47 posts

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#21
post #4

This page doesn't explain what FFglitch does, or how it's different to ffmpeg. For instance, what's Glitch? I'm guessing it's an architecture, but the post doesn't explain what it is or contextualize the term "architecture."

From what i understand "glitch art" is using compression artifacts and encoding errors as art. Presumably ffglitch is ffmpeg with code to fudge the file checksums so that encoding errors are allowed to accumulate instead of triggering an error.

>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch

>Television glitch --> In broadcasting, a corrupted signal may glitch in the form of jagged lines on the screen, misplaced squares, static looking effects, freezing problems, or inverted colors. The glitches may affect the video and/or audio (usually audio dropout) or the transmission. These glitches may be caused by a variety of issues, interference from portable electronics or microwaves, damaged cables at the broadcasting center, or weather.

On computers, those happens when some of the data (video, audio, image) is corrupted or lost.

Glitch art: some of those glitches create cool effects that you can see a sort of photoshop filter ; ffglitch helps you corrupt files/create those effect for artistic purpose.

You can see cool examples of glitch video art there: https://ffglitch.org/gallery/ ; they show the original clip, and then the glitched version

---

You can also have corrupted sounds, you can check 'The Glitch Mob' which is an group creating music, with samples that sounds corrupted.

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#22
post #8

You know, i was all ready to be dismissive of this, using encoder errors for art sounds silly. But i watched the video and it really was cool and artistic.

It can sound cool with music too:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(music)

- group: the glitch mob http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frfs4tkN-AY

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#24

I love how we try to recreate things that are errors to add realism to something too clean. I've spent many hours in front of tape machines from analog to digital, and each format has its peculiarities when glitching. The analog formats had drop outs and other noise from the analog nature as well as things like head switching. There were also the various methods of drop out compensation like BCSP that would repeat th…

"Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them." -Brian Eno

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#25

I love how we try to recreate things that are errors to add realism to something too clean. I've spent many hours in front of tape machines from analog to digital, and each format has its peculiarities when glitching. The analog formats had drop outs and other noise from the analog nature as well as things like head switching. There were also the various methods of drop out compensation like BCSP that would repeat th…

Composer William Basinski’s deteriorating analog tape loops: disintegration loops

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnAE5go9dI

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#28
post #24

I love how we try to recreate things that are errors to add realism to something too clean. I've spent many hours in front of tape machines from analog to digital, and each format has its peculiarities when glitching. The analog formats had drop outs and other noise from the analog nature as well as things like head switching. There were also the various methods of drop out compensation like BCSP that would repeat th…

"Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distort…

> Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature

Exactly how I feel about AI art today, and doesn't make me super hopeful for the future. Hopefully there been cases where that hasn't been true?

But then I remember seeing datamoshing as weird the first times I saw it used as a transition in the "Off the Air" TV series/anthology, nowadays I think it makes me fuzzy and almost nostalgic instead?

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#29
post #4

This page doesn't explain what FFglitch does, or how it's different to ffmpeg. For instance, what's Glitch? I'm guessing it's an architecture, but the post doesn't explain what it is or contextualize the term "architecture."

From what i understand "glitch art" is using compression artifacts and encoding errors as art. Presumably ffglitch is ffmpeg with code to fudge the file checksums so that encoding errors are allowed to accumulate instead of triggering an error.

It's ffmpeg but takes a script as an argument which gives you access to the low level structures of the encoded video stream.

For example you can change the values of the motion vector in each frame.

That way it always generates valid video files.

Re: FFglitch, FFmpeg fork for glitch art

#30
post #24

I love how we try to recreate things that are errors to add realism to something too clean. I've spent many hours in front of tape machines from analog to digital, and each format has its peculiarities when glitching. The analog formats had drop outs and other noise from the analog nature as well as things like head switching. There were also the various methods of drop out compensation like BCSP that would repeat th…

"Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distort…

Looking forward to cherishing “You are absolutely correct, let me fix that…”
Post reply on HN