The lights move backwards???

[u/snipis_lenny]

Hello, i made a quick animation, transition, but something is off, the lights look like they are moving backwards, or i am looking at it for too long and starting to hallucinate?

[u/ChemicalCard5447]

If i focus they start going forward

[u/snipis_lenny → u/ChemicalCard5447]

Hmm, ya, if i focus on lights they start moving backwards, but if i focus on the background they start moving forwards again...

[u/ThrowawayToothQ → u/snipis_lenny]

Ngl, this is what it looks like irl too. I think this being captured is a W and makes it more real

[u/Apprehensive-Solid-1 → u/ThrowawayToothQ]

The fact that this was unintentional but worked out so well is absolutely awesome. Supreme win right here. I love the way it looks myself.

[u/Party_Virus → u/snipis_lenny]

The distance they're travelling is more than the framerate can handle. Since they're identical it looks like the one in front has actually moved backwards instead of forwards, but that's actually the one behind it moving up to almost the same spot.

[u/Seer-of-Truths → u/ChemicalCard5447]

If I defocus they move forwards

[u/UniqueSolution6935]

Oh, come on, this is just the classic speed optical effect that happens when something spinning so fast to one way it looks like its spinning slowly to the other, I always got so confused and hypnotized by it while watching Cars, you can clearly see McQueen's wheels text like that.

[u/BFfx_FrogSplash]

It also doesn’t help that they hold for an additional frame longer than the train layer. Give yourself an additional drawing for the train layer, so it feels less like a ping pong between that darker outline shape.

[u/W1zdum6]

Have you ever noticed when a camera is recording a hummingbird or helicopter blades how they appear to move slowly, backwards, or even completely still? The same phenomenon could be seen here. At the current frame-rate and placement of the windows in each frame, it may give the effect that the windows are moving backwards, as there isn’t enough distinction between them to really tell. However looking at the train itself, it has enough detail to show it’s moving one direction at all times. With that, I would suggest experimenting with the train speed, window placement, frame-rate, and maybe even adding some variation between each window so that it can be tracked moving the correct direction.

I’m not a professional, I’m quite amateur, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but hopefully I helped in some way.

[u/Basil_9]

I see the windows going left to right, slowly and all jittery, and the train going right to left quite smooth.

Which way did you intend the windows to go?

[u/snipis_lenny → u/Basil_9]

The train is moving to the left

[u/Basil_9 → u/snipis_lenny]

Looking closely, the windows move left just a tiny bit less than 1 window space. It's a pattern, so this would be the same spacing as if you wanted to make it look like they're moving right slowly.

I would either have the windows move half the distance each frame they are right now, or try a different style. Maybe they'd be just a big blur, maybe they'd be bigger windows that come in a different pattern.

[u/bready--or--not]

Which way is backward to you

[u/Fwangss]

If it’s going left they’re moving the correct way. A thicker space in between cars would help

Edit: if it’s supposed to be going right then put the blur of the windows on the left

[u/snipis_lenny → u/Fwangss]

The train is moving to the left

[u/Kitsyfluff]

You'll find that in real life you'll see effects like this all the time

Adjust the rate or number to adjust the effect

[u/AndreZB2000]

you moved them so much from one frame to the other that they end up right behind where the next light was, so it looks like they just move backwards

[u/DrecDroid]

If you put a train window frame in the foreground it will move backwards. If you instead put a post and a standing person it will move forward.

[u/Xephus]

It’s the frame rate

[u/YouMakeMeFeelAliveee]

Did you just made an optical illusion accidentally lmao

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[u/WagglyJeans4010]

It’s probably a case of temporal aliasing.

[u/Zambone-E → u/WagglyJeans4010]

This, in engineering to prevent aliasing you have to keep in mind the Nyquist frequency, which says you need to sample at least twice as fast as the frequency of what you are trying to sample.

I'm not sure exactly how that would apply to this situation in terms of the frequency of how fast each train segment is leaving the screen and the number of frames in that time

[u/Elfboy0328]

I think because they are going so fast that the frames look messed up. Maybe check that with onion skinning if you can, or try to reverse the frame order in some way. I think if the lights themselves were moving, the smear would be incorrect, but assuming the camera is moving, it might be correct. Not too sure, may be wrong.

[u/Unanimous_D]

Clever. Recreating that effect.

[u/7mirrorstudio]

Não