Digital Anarchy Flicker Free 1.1.6 (for AE).21 [eliasson]

Time lapse is a widely used filmmaking technique. It was first made popular during the video DSLR movement and since then a multitude of accessories and software support to improve the workflow has been developed. One aspect of these is flicker reduction software, smoothing out exposure shifts over a long period of time.

I’ve used a few selections that have been great at this process. Similar problems are present in other genres of filmmaking. As these become more popular, many are encountering new forms of flicker on a regular basis. Slow motion and LED lighting have become repeated offenders, as they become more accessible and cost effective. However these are different forms of flicker to the kind we often find related with time lapse.

LED and monitor screen flicker modulate and band. Slow motion can also, stemming from light sources and can be a lot more prominent than exposure shifts within time lapses. For these reasons, the same flicker reduction tools have not always been effective. Where these time lapse specific flicker reduction tools fall short, is where Flicker Free steps in.

Philip Bloom made a tutorial on a DIY method for slow motion flicker removal. This is only effective with certain types of slow motion flicker, where the conflicting light source is strictly on/off (no modulating). Opacity blending frames can also create a kind of motion blur, so the technique is not always effective.

It doesn’t remove all of it as you can see, but it does a pretty decent job for the most of it. In regards to the last clip, I thought I’d add three examples – original, preset applied and preset tweaked. This just gives you an idea of what it looks like in comparison to applying one of the untouched presets, and after you have adjusted the parameters to suit your clip.

It’s clear that in some cases you have to tweak the settings to get it just right. For reference, 90% of the other clips were just a preset. There was some flicker I wasn’t able to come close to removing in another clip (frame grab below), caused by my Ice Light. However this modulation was more of a band than a flicker, and I anticipated it would be a little too much for the plugin as the luminance values are very similar throughout the whole clip.