DP Video Flicker

Everywhere else in AI video, flicker is the enemy. Upscalers get called out for it at batch boundaries, depth models get praised specifically for not having it, and half the effort that goes into video pipelines is spent keeping frames temporally stable. This node does the opposite on purpose: it adds flicker back into a clip, in exactly the spots you choose, as a deliberate stylistic effect - think scratched-film flashes, a strobing light, a horror-vibe glitch - instead of something you're trying to eliminate.

It's part of the animation set in DesertPixelAi's Desert Pixel pack.

How it works

Feed your clip into Load_video_frames (an IMAGE batch), and frames_to_export controls how many frames of the result actually get output. From there you're setting up "flicker events" - up to three of them, each with the same four knobs: a key_frame (where it happens), a size (3–10, how large or intense the flicker patch is), a speed (1–3, how fast it plays out), and a color (a hex string, default #000000 - black, the classic scratched-film flash look, though nothing stops you from setting it to white for an old-camera-strobe feel or any other color for something more stylized).

Only the first event (Flicker_1_*) is required. Flicker_2_* and Flicker_3_* are optional, so you can stack up to three separate flicker moments in one pass - different key frames, different colors, different intensities - instead of chaining three copies of this node.

Outputs are the flickered IMAGE batch and process_info (STRING), a text summary of what got applied and where - worth reading if the effect doesn't land where you expected.

The inputs and outputs that matter

Flicker_1_key_frame and Flicker_1_color are the two to set first - where it happens and what it looks like. Flicker_1_size and Flicker_1_speed are the fine-tuning once the basic effect is in the right place. Flicker_2_*/Flicker_3_* are only worth touching once you want more than one flicker moment in the same clip.

How to install it

ComfyUI Manager: search Desert Pixel, install, restart. Manual:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/DesertPixelAi/ComfyUI-Desert-Pixel-Nodes

Restart ComfyUI. No downloads. Under the DP category.

Common issues & troubleshooting

I don't see any flicker at all. Check two things: Flicker_1_key_frame actually has to fall within your clip's real frame range (the widget goes up to 10000, but your clip is probably much shorter), and frames_to_export isn't cutting your output off before it reaches that frame.

It only flickers once - I wanted it throughout the clip. This node fires at specific keyframes you set, up to three of them; it's not a continuous randomized flicker generator. For flicker spread across a whole clip, space Flicker_1/2/3 out across your timeline, or chain a second pass.

The color doesn't look like what I expected. Flicker_N_color is a straight hex value applied at that keyframe, not a blend or opacity setting - a bright, saturated hex reads as a hard flash, not a subtle tint. Start with something close to black or a low-saturation color if you want it understated rather than strobe-like.

Wait, I actually want to get rid of flicker, not add it. Wrong node, and worth saying plainly: if you're fighting real temporal instability from an upscaler or interpolation pass, this isn't that tool - it exists to add flicker deliberately. Look at a temporally-aware model or cleaner source frames instead of trying to use this in reverse.