---
title: "How to add a dutch angle with Claude (tested prompt and ffmpeg command)"
description: "At 1 second the level shot leans 12 degrees clockwise, so every horizontal line slopes down to the right, and it stays tilted to the end. Install one skill and ask Claude Code, or run the ffmpeg command we tested yourself."
url: https://www.recharm.com/effects/dutch-angle
---

# How to add a dutch angle with Claude

At 1 second the level shot leans 12 degrees clockwise, so every horizontal line slopes down to the right, and it stays tilted to the end.

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 dutch angle to input.mp4
   Tilt in degrees, clockwise: 12
   Second at which the tilt begins: 1.0
   ```

## 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 dutch angle 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                                                       |
| ------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `ANGLE` | `12`    | Tilt in degrees, clockwise. A negative number leans the other way. |
| `START` | `1.0`   | Second at which the tilt begins.                                   |
| `RAMP`  | `0.5`   | Seconds to ease from level into the full tilt.                     |

## Without the skill

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

```
Give input.mp4 a Dutch angle: keep it level and unzoomed for the first 1 second, then rotate the whole frame clockwise about its center, easing smoothly (an S-curve) from 0 to 12 degrees between 1.0 and 1.5 seconds, and hold 12 degrees to the end. At every moment scale up from the center just enough that no black corners show: zoom = cos(angle) + (960/540) * sin(angle), which is about 1.35x at 12 degrees. Keep the size (540x960), 30fps and the audio. Use ffmpeg and save it as output.mp4.
```

## Run it without Claude

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

```
sh dutch-angle.sh input.mp4 output.mp4
```

```
#!/bin/sh
# Dutch angle: at 1s the level shot eases into a 12-degree tilt over 0.5s and holds it to the end.
# Usage: sh dutch-angle.sh input.mp4 output.mp4
set -e
IN="$1"; OUT="$2"
ANGLE=12    # tilt in degrees, clockwise (use a negative number to lean the other way)
START=1.0   # second at which the tilt begins
RAMP=0.5    # seconds to ease from level into the full tilt

SIZE=$(ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=width,height -of csv=s=x:p=0 "$IN")
W=${SIZE%x*}; H=${SIZE#*x}
# eased angle in radians at the time given (t or it): 0 before START, ANGLE after START+RAMP, a smooth S-curve between
tilt() { echo "$ANGLE*PI/180*(3*pow(clip(($1-$START)/$RAMP,0,1),2)-2*pow(clip(($1-$START)/$RAMP,0,1),3))"; }
# rotate the frame, then zoom in just enough at every moment that the black corners stay out of the picture
ZOOM="cos(abs($(tilt it)))+max($W,$H)/min($W,$H)*sin(abs($(tilt it)))"
ffmpeg -y -i "$IN" -vf "rotate=a='$(tilt t)':ow=iw:oh=ih:c=black,\
zoompan=z='$ZOOM':d=1:x='iw/2-iw/zoom/2':y='ih/2-ih/zoom/2':s=$SIZE:fps=30" \
  -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a copy "$OUT"
```

## More motion and camera

- [2.5D parallax photo **2.5D parallax photo**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/2-5d-parallax-photo)
- [Back-and-forth loop **Back-and-forth loop**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/back-and-forth-loop)
- [Background blur **Background blur**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/background-blur)
- [Bullet time **Bullet time**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/bullet-time)
- [Cinemagraph **Cinemagraph**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/cinemagraph)

## 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)