Motionboard
Original · Claude Fable 5.1 · 1:14–1:19YouTube ↗
Motionboard recreation

Iris Window Montage

A fixed circular window cuts rapidly between images, or revisits the same image, while its size jumps with the rhythm.

Seen in

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Full recipe

Why it works

Dozens of images from completely different sources are unified into one series by the same circular frame, so the circle is what the viewer watches. During the fast cuts the eye remembers only the circle and the change of content. The scan-line version looks at the same network graph again through an oscilloscope view.

Spec

Timing
Film 11s. Fast cut 0-3.5s: 22 images at 6 frames (images 1-3), 5 frames (4-14), then 4 frames (15-22), i.e. 0.2s down to 0.133s; final image 3.5-3.7s; window opens 3.7-4.15s; push-in transition 4.15-4.65s. Scan window: expands 4.65-5.65s, hard jumps at 5.7, 6.1, 6.48s, green spread 6.58-8.33s with a jump at 7.43s, window closes to the mark at 8.38s, wordmark 8.74s, hold to 11s
Easing
Window size and image change are hard sets with no easing; per-image push ease: "none"; final window open expo.out 0.45s; push-in power3.in 0.5s, window fade power2.in 0.42s; scan window expands expo.out 1.0s; green nuclei pop scale 0.35 to 1 with expo.out 0.25s; window close expo.inOut 0.5s; wordmark expo.out 0.6s
Camera
Fixed. Inside the window each image starts at scale 0.6-1.0, random rotation up to +/-8 degrees and offset up to +/-40px, then drifts scale 1.02-1.05x and up to +/-1.5 degrees over its 4-6 frames. In the scan window the plate drifts linearly 1.0 to 1.04, then 1.8 to 1.85, 3.1 to 3.18, 1.3 to 1.37 and 2.0 to 2.14 between jumps
Subject
A centered circular window with hard-set diameters from 52% to 110% of frame height (560-1188px), one preset size per image, showing 16 kinds of micrographs, then a cultured-cell image. Scan-window scene: window 70px growing to 0.7H, jumps to 1.0H, 0.84H, 0.96H and 0.8H at 1.8x, 3.1x, 1.3x and 2.0x zoom, about 38% of 300 nuclei light green over 1.75s while a counter climbs to 312
Style
Background #0d0d0e; dark window with a 3px #030303 edge, a 70px soft shadow and an inset vignette; HUD captions in Inter and JetBrains Mono. Scan window is paper-colored (#ebe2cc to #d6caae gradient) with horizontal scan lines, 1.5px at 20% opacity every 4px, scrolling 48px over the scene; green #3fd35c accent; wordmark Inter 600 116px, letter-spacing -0.035em

Prompt

Build a closing fast-cut called Iris Window Montage, 11s. Near-black background #0d0d0e with a circular viewing window fixed at the center, with a 3px #030303 edge, a soft 70px shadow and an inset vignette. Hard-cut inside the window through 22 images from one category: 6 frames each for the first 3, 5 frames each for the next 11, then 4 frames each (0.2s down to 0.133s). The circle diameter is hard-set per image between 52% and 110% of frame height (560-1188px) with no easing, and each image starts at a random rotation of up to 8 degrees and offset of up to 40px, then pushes 2-5% with ease: "none". After the last cut, hold the final image for 6 frames at 0.8H, open the window to 2320px over 0.45s with expo.out, then push the image to 3.6x over 0.5s with power3.in while the window fades. Cut to a paper-colored scan window (scan lines 1.5px every 4px at 20% opacity, scrolling) that grows from 70px to 0.7H over 1s with expo.out, then hard-jumps at 5.7s, 6.1s and 6.48s to 1.0H, 0.84H and 0.96H with new zoom levels, and lights about 38% of the nuclei green over 1.75s from 6.58s (scale 0.35 to 1, expo.out 0.25s) with a counter climbing to 312 and one more jump at 7.43s. At 8.38s close the window to a 96px mark with expo.inOut 0.5s, bring in the wordmark (expo.out 0.6s) and subline, and hold to 11s.

People describe it as

  • A circular window flashing past lots of images
  • The circle size jumps in beats
  • Like looking at the same image through a microscope or radar screen

Often confused with

  • Branching GrowthBranching Growth is one structure growing; Iris Window Montage replaces content inside a fixed frame.
  • Glass LensGlass Lens is a moving lens refracting content; the window in Iris Window Montage stays in place while the content cuts quickly.
Recipe file (.md)

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