Switch the picture on and off at very short intervals, or alternate between two scenes, to create a nervous, flickering tension like club lights.
The build-up just before the climax of a movie trailer. The drop section of a hip-hop or K-pop music video. The 1 to 2 seconds in a Short when the beat hits hard.
It is easier to match the beat if you make the flicker in the edit. Cut the clip at intervals of 2 to 4 frames and put a black or inverted frame in between. If you alternate clips A and B every 2 to 3 frames, the two scenes look layered over each other. In ffmpeg, turn on an inversion every 2 frames with negate=enable='lt(mod(n,4),2)', and make a brightness flicker with eq=brightness=0.6:enable='lt(mod(n,4),2)'. The web accessibility standard WCAG 2.3.1 says to avoid anything that flashes more than 3 times per second. A strobe cut can easily cross that line, so reduce the brightness difference, finish within 1 to 2 seconds, and add a flashing-lights warning to videos you publish.
Three-shot sequence, hard cuts only, locked camera in a dark corridor lit by one flickering bulb: Shot 1, a pale figure stands far away at the end of the corridor; Shot 2, the figure stands halfway, closer; Shot 3, the figure fills the frame inches from the camera. Trim each to 0.3 seconds, stay under three flashes per second, and add a viewer warning.
All of the Lights music video (2011) — It shows a performance under strobe lights and carried a warning about photosensitive seizures
Austin Newman — How To Strobe Effect (Music Video Effect) | Premiere CC Tutorial
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