In The Wild
Natural pixel sorting often occurs due to buffer errors or corrupted data streams. In video compression (datamoshing), if a keyframe is missing, the motion vectors from subsequent frames drag the old pixels across the screen, creating a "melting" look. It essentially signifies the computer losing track of where one object ends and another begins.
How We Recreate It
We iterate through the image's pixel array. Instead of sorting the whole image, we only target "spans" of pixels that fall within your Targeting Thresholds (Black/White Limits).
Once a span is isolated, we use an algorithm to rearrange those specific pixels based on their values (Brightness, Red, etc.), creating the artificial drift.
// Java Logic Concept
while(x < width) {
if(luma(x) > threshold) {
int start = x;
// Find end of bright span
while(luma(x) > threshold) x++;
// Sort just this section
sortPixels(start, x);
}
x++;
}