How to add a glitch effect to video
Add a glitch effect in Video by Zaweba as an effect on a clip or as a glitch transition between clips, then time it to the music for punch.
Glitch effects come in two forms in Video by Zaweba. The glitch effect sits on a clip and breaks up its picture for as long as you like, while the glitch transition sits on a cut and breaks up the change from one clip to the next. Both are in the Effects tab, which has a search, so typing "glitch" finds them straight away.
A glitch suggests a broken signal: blocks shifting sideways, colours tearing apart, the picture stuttering. In small doses it adds energy to music videos, gaming clips, tech channels and title sequences. Overused, it just looks like a fault.
As a transition
This is the quickest way to use it. Find the glitch transition in the Effects tab and drag it onto the cut between two clips. Set its length; short glitch transitions usually hit harder than long ones. Alignment on a cut can be centre, start at or end at the cut, which decides whether the break-up happens before, across or after the change.
If you want glitch transitions on lots of cuts, set it as the default transition in Edit > Default transition, then select the edits and press Ctrl+D to apply it to all of them.
As an effect
Drop the glitch effect onto a clip to break up its picture. Its settings live in the Inspector, and like every effect setting they can be keyframed. That lets you keep the picture clean most of the time and push the glitch up for a few frames on a beat, then let it settle.
A neat trick is to split a clip at the moment you want the glitch, so the effect only sits on a short piece. Or put the glitch on an adjustment layer, from Graphics > Adjustment layer, and trim that layer to a few frames: everything underneath, titles included, glitches together.
Building a fuller look
Glitch pairs well with other effects in the same group. Chromatic aberration splits the colour channels for that torn RGB look. Scan lines add the texture of a screen. VHS gives a worn tape feel if you want a retro rather than digital break-up.
Titles can glitch too. Put the effect on a title clip, or on an adjustment layer above it, for a heading that breaks up as it appears.
Timing it to music
Glitches feel deliberate when they land on the beat. Add markers with M on the beats you want to hit, then place the glitch or the transition on those markers. Short and sharp, a few frames, tends to read as intentional.
Match the sound as well. Putting the distortion or bitcrusher sound effect on the sound for those same few frames makes the glitch hit much harder.
When glitch goes too far
Don't glitch everything. A handful of glitches in a minute is plenty; dozens wear the viewer out.
Don't hide the important parts. If a face or a product is the point of a shot, don't glitch it at the moment people need to see it.
Mind people who are sensitive to flashing. Rapid, bright flicker can be uncomfortable, so keep it brief.
Video by Zaweba is free software that runs offline on Windows with no account, with glitch and the rest of its effects included.
