Old Tape Analog Effect

Feeling a little blue about the good old times, that passed so rapidly, leaving the taste of bittersweet flashbacks in odds & ends, associated with a previous epoch. Why not follow that memory lane together, resurrecting joyous, sparkling visions of the days, when food was cheaper, hairstyles crazier, and all digital technologies were centered around music and video tapes. How would modern photography look in the waves of static hissing, followed by a slight color distortion, provided by Old Tape Effect?

 

Covering the needs of any kind, it was agreed on crafting 12 PSD files, all different in nature. All the experienced Photoshop users will be glad to experiment with 3 displacement maps, created to deliver the analog screen effect. But no judging for those, who prefer to give up to an easy and smooth workflow with 9 PSD files with filters. All of them are delivered in 3 sizes and 3 styles each.

 

A brooding weekly news setting with some suited men with serious eyes, gazing at you from the screen — is that what you remember from childhood TV evenings? This kind of picture is gloomy enough to be forgotten once and for all, so we offer you to reshape memories like that into something more inspiring. This VHS tape style has preserved the outlines of any original image, but added some melted, wavy monitor hissing.

 

Despite the eyes-irritating color distortion and shapes deformity, who didn’t continue watching the broadcasted TV show or cartoon? In fact, you're getting used to it after time, and the scratchy screen becomes an inherent part of visual experience, and not an eyesore at all. Digging a bit deeper, these mismatches give a compositional emphasis to many aspects of an image, highlighting what’s been less obvious all this time.

 

Even a couple of generous monitor smacks won’t fix the picture quality, as it might have worked back then. This screen damage is the best ones could get with their dusty old TV, outlived many generations of devoted viewers. There won’t be any interest in watching a crooked, distorted show on purpose, but posting an edited, old-school style photo on Instagram — that’s the stuff!