---
title: "How to add a color pop with Claude (tested prompt and ffmpeg command)"
description: "The holographic backdrop and acrylic block show only in gray from start to finish while the bottle's purple stays rich and saturated, so the product is the only color on screen. Install one skill and ask Claude Code, or run the ffmpeg command we tested yourself."
url: https://www.recharm.com/effects/color-pop
---

# How to add a color pop with Claude

The holographic backdrop and acrylic block show only in gray from start to finish while the bottle's purple stays rich and saturated, so the product is the only color on screen.

Made by the command on this page, from our own test clip.

## Get this effect

1. ### Switch to Code in your [Claude Desktop App](https://claude.com/download)

2. ### Install the skill (once)

   ```
   Install the Recharm video effects skill: download https://recharm-growth-staging.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/website/downloads/recharm-video-effects.zip and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills
   ```

3. ### Ask for the effect

   ```
   Add a color pop to input.mp4
   The color to keep, as hex RGB: 0x8966A9
   How close a pixel must be to KEEP to stay in color: 0.16
   ```

## Several videos, several effects, one ask

Put your clips in the folder, mention them with @, and ask for everything at once. Claude runs one tested script after another on each clip, then joins them.

Add a color pop to **@clip1.mp4**, put a sale badge on **@clip2.mp4**, give **@clip3.mp4** a VHS look, then join all three with crossfades.

## Settings you can change

Ask Claude to change any of these, or edit them at the top of the command.

| Setting      | Default    | What it does                                                                                                           |
| ------------ | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `KEEP`       | `0x8966A9` | The color to keep, as hex RGB. 0x8966A9 is the bottle's purple; sample your own product's color.                       |
| `SIMILARITY` | `0.16`     | How close a pixel must be to KEEP to stay in color. Higher keeps more shades, but nearby tints start creeping back in. |
| `BLEND`      | `0.05`     | Softens the edge between the kept color and gray. 0 is a hard cutoff.                                                  |
| `BOOST`      | `1.4`      | Saturation boost on what stays in color, so it pops against the gray. 1 leaves it as shot.                             |

## Without the skill

Don’t want to install the skill? Paste this prompt into Claude Code and Claude writes the command itself.

```
Make a color pop in input.mp4: turn everything gray except the purple of the bottle, #8966A9. Use ffmpeg's colorhold filter with color=0x8966A9, similarity=0.16 and blend=0.05, then boost the saturation of what stays in color to 1.4 (eq=saturation=1.4). Apply it to every frame from start to end. Keep the size, frame rate, length and audio the same, and save it as output.mp4.
```

## Run it without Claude

This is the exact command we tested. Save it as `color-pop.sh` and run:

```
sh color-pop.sh input.mp4 output.mp4
```

```
#!/bin/sh
# Color pop: turn the whole clip gray except one color (the purple of the bottle), which stays vivid.
# Usage: sh color-pop.sh input.mp4 output.mp4
set -e
IN="$1"; OUT="$2"
KEEP=0x8966A9    # the color to keep, as hex RGB (here the bottle's purple)
SIMILARITY=0.16  # how close a pixel must be to KEEP to keep its color; higher keeps more shades
BLEND=0.05       # softens the edge between kept color and gray; 0 is a hard cutoff
BOOST=1.4        # saturation boost on what's left in color, so it pops against the gray

ffmpeg -y -i "$IN" -vf "colorhold=color=$KEEP:similarity=$SIMILARITY:blend=$BLEND,eq=saturation=$BOOST" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a copy "$OUT"
```

## More color looks

- [Apply a LUT **Apply a LUT**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/apply-a-lut)
- [Black and white **Black and white**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/black-and-white)
- [Bleach bypass **Bleach bypass**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/bleach-bypass)
- [Cinematic color grade **Cinematic color grade**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/cinematic-color-grade)
- [Color match **Color match**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/color-match)

## Find 3x _winning ads_

Recharm cuts your ad footage into tagged, searchable clips: hooks, testimonials, product shots. Find the shots that win, add the effect with Claude, and ship 3x more ad edits.

[Start 14-day free trial](https://www.recharm.com/get-started)