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Tunnels effect

Droste Twist

Droste Twist is a tunnel and feedback effect in FRCTL, the browser VJ studio. Recursive Droste nesting with a per-level rotation so the infinite loop spirals inward.

Runs live on video, images, a camera or generated art. Stack it with any other effect, and route LFOs, envelopes or any of ten audio bands to its controls so it moves with the music.

Try Droste Twist free All effects

The untouched demo art: an eye inside a triangle over wavy teal, blue and peach lines — Source

Teal and peach wavy lines nested in shrinking squares that recede to a point, triangle corners at the edges — Droste Twist, default settings

What Droste Twist does

Nests the frame inside itself like Droste Loop, but each level is turned further than the one outside it, so the recursion corkscrews toward the centre. A counter-spin undoes the accumulated turn over each loop, so the fall still closes on itself. Twist sets the turn per level (it replaces Droste Loop's Gain), Nest the inner copy's size, and Shape the cut-out.

Using Droste Twist

Where it works: A build section or a slow hypnotic loop, where the spiral adds motion a straight zoom lacks. Square nesting with twist reads as a turning corridor, which suits a logo sting that should pull the eye inward.
With the music: Driven by the loop length rather than the track. Send B3 (bass body) to Twist so the corkscrew tightens under the bassline, and let a free-running LFO on Nest change how many levels fit on screen.
Starting point: Nest centre, Blend centre, Twist three-quarters, Shape just past centre for circle, Speed centre, Background hard left.

Controls

Nest: Inner rectangle size (recursion depth feel).
Blend: Final mix toward the recursive sample.
Twist: Per-level spiral twist (respects reduce motion).
Background: Key out near-black pixels as transparent (0 = off, 1 = strong).
Shape: Slider bands: square, triangle, circle, hexagon.
Speed: Zoom cycles per loop (seamless when the rate is a whole number).

Pairs well with Droste Twist