Rasterizing my map layer makes it flicker when I animate it, how do I avoid this???

Question

When I rasterize my map, the map seems to flicker (especially in the Norway area of the map) as my 3D camera moves over it. I discovered that the only way to avoid this issue is by turning off the "Continuously Rasterize/Collapse Transformation" button (" * "). But then my map loses resolution and becomes pixelated when I zoom in on it. Please see these two videos showing no flicker with the non-rasterized map and flicker with the rasterized map.

Is there another solution? Thank you in advance.

RASTERIZED MAP WITH FLICKER ISSUE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk39xtWx-9s

NON-RASTERIZED MAP WITH NO FLICKER ISSUE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB-5XU2ATaw

The rasterized map even when zoomed in all the way (as seen here over Denmark) looks clean and tack sharp as it should be, since it's a vector file. The problem is that if you look at Norway, you'll see the pixels flicker in that area of the map as the camera dollies into the map.

Turning off the Rasterize button avoids the flicker issue but causes the map to get very pixelated as you zoom in.

Rick Gerard · Answer

The thin black outlines for the countries will flicker when they are not perfectly aligned with the pixel grid. They flicker because a black one-pixel-wide row of pixels halfway between the pixel grid will change to about a 50% gray line as the colors are averaged between two pixels. If the vector line is smaller than one pixel because of scaling or camera position, it can almost completely disappear. This happens with all one-pixel-wide high-contrast lines.

The easiest fix is to make all those high-contrast outlines thicker so that the pixel averaging (anti-aliasing) is less noticeable. Another solution is to make sure that the movement of all of those lines is an exact multiple of a whole pixel per frame. That is easy to do with a 2D layer and an expression that moves the layer a whole number of pixels per frame. It's almost impossible to do with a moving 3D layer that is changing distance and angle to the camera.

Another solution would be to make the comp size of your nested map layers twice as big, scale all layers up by 200%, and then reduce the scale of the nested comp in your main comp to 50%. This may help with the flickering.

Personally, I have never designed any graphics for video using 1-pixel-wide lines. They are always at least 2 pixels wide, so there is some chance for the line luminance to maintain approximately the same value as they move across the screen.

That's how video and even motion picture film projection work. If you don't move a layer a whole number of pixels per frame, the edges will flicker. If the speed of the motion causes the problem, the only solution to the flicker problem is motion blur or softening the edge contrast until the flicker is hidden.

You even have this problem when panning a camera. Critical panning speed tables published for focal length and frame rates in cinematographers' handbooks are essential to follow so that a panning shot is watchable on the big screen. Maybe I should publish a critical motion speed table for visual effects editors. Oh, wait, I already did: Avoiding Judder in Motion Graphics - by Rick Gerard

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