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Slit Scan

Slit Scan · screenshot coming soon

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What this node does

Slit Scan rebuilds each output frame from different points in time across the video: one band of the image reads “the past,” another reads “the future,” so motion drips and stretches through the frame. It runs on ▶ Run and writes a new COMFYTV_VIDEO snapshot. The offset can sweep horizontally, vertically, or follow a grayscale map image you supply (dark = one time, bright = another). Wiring an image into retime_image automatically switches the node into map mode. In and out are COMFYTV_VIDEO; the optional map is COMFYTV_IMAGE. To feed native ComfyUI nodes, insert a Bridge — see the bridge guide.

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When to use it

  • Get the signature “time slice” / smear effect on a moving subject.
  • Make a waterfall of motion where the top and bottom of the frame are seconds apart.
  • Drive a custom retime pattern from a grayscale map (e.g. a gradient or shape).

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Parameters

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mode

How the per-pixel time offset is laid out. Options: horizontal, vertical, map. Default horizontal. If a retime_image is wired, the node forces map mode; if you pick map with no image wired, Run errors and asks for a map.

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gain

Time-spread strength, -120–120 (step 1), default 24.0. Larger magnitude pulls the frame’s rows/columns further apart in time; negative flips which end is “past.”

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offset

Baseline time shift, -60–60 (step 0.5), default 0.0. Slides the whole slit window earlier or later.

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filter_mode

How in-between times are sampled. Options: nearest (snap to the closest frame — sharper, blockier) or linear (blend between frames — smoother). Default linear.

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invert

Flips the direction of the time gradient (swaps past/future ends, or inverts the map reading). Default off.

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retime_image (optional, COMFYTV_IMAGE)

A grayscale map that assigns a time offset per pixel. Wiring it switches the node to map mode automatically. Required if mode is map.

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Outputs

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Tips

  • The effect only shows where there’s motion — a static shot barely changes.
  • Use linear filter_mode for smooth smears, nearest for a crisper, stepped time-slice.
  • For map mode, feed a clean grayscale image; its brightness picks the time per pixel, so gradients give sweeping smears and shapes give localized ones.
  • Feedback FX — recursive echo/vertigo trails, another temporal look.
  • Strobe — hold or flash frames on an interval.