Datamosh

データモッシュ / 2005– / Technique / Digital Image Techniques

Deliberately breaking a video's keyframes so that the previous image is dragged along and dissolved by the next motion. The technique turns the inner workings of the compression algorithm into an aesthetic.

Datamosh — Mosh caused by video compression corruption (CC BY-SA 4.0) · © 3dollarsinmybankaccount — Mosh caused by video compression corruption (CC BY-SA 4.0) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · © 3dollarsinmybankaccount

Datamosh — Decoding error in 4K video — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Decoding error in 4K video — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Melting, flowing frames
Macroblock debris
Motion vectors dragging pixels
Compression exposed

Best used for

Music video where the cut itself becomes the spectacle and dissolves
Showing clouded memory or consciousness through how the image breaks

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Dictionary entry

Type: Let type read for a few frames before the melt, then release it
Composition: Shoot both clips with matching motion to control the drag direction
Material: Set compression first and choose keyframe intervals as a creative call
Caution: Melting the whole piece so nothing is ever recognizable, leaving no intact image for the collapse to work against.
Further study: Kanye West, Welcome to Heartbreak / Chairlift, Evident Utensil / staged degradation in the high-resolution era

Related entries

Glitch (グリッチ)Shared effects: Rebellion / Technique.Compare Datamosh and Glitch
VHS Aesthetic (VHS美学)Shared effects: Rebellion.Compare Datamosh and VHS Aesthetic

Often confused with

Glitch (グリッチ)compare

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