This is my interpretation of @Photics's idea except that I am using a gradient for the "smear" in place of a "bunch" of translucent~transparent circles as he described. The principle is the same - a "reveal" using a group as a mask. There also is the use of a blur filter for the gradient & the ellipse elements. The ellipse's width is elongated by about 15% after the third frame and then back to its original width.
Live Demo here.
Project file: Smear_JHSv1.hype.zip (16.0 KB)
A motion path "echo" - or "strobing" - (not shown here) would be easy to replicate as well with a timeline & opacity settings