Get this effect
Switch to Code in your Claude Desktop App
Install the skill (once)
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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/skillsAsk for the effect
Add a faded matte look to input.mp4 Where pure black ends up (0-1): 0.18 Where middle gray ends up (0-1): 0.55
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 faded matte look 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 |
|---|---|---|
BLACK | 0.18 | Where pure black ends up (0-1). 0.18 is a dark gray; higher looks more faded. |
MID | 0.55 | Where middle gray ends up (0-1). A little above 0.5 keeps the fade airy. |
WHITE | 0.90 | Where pure white ends up (0-1). Below 1 takes the sparkle out of highlights. |
SATURATION | 0.65 | Color left after the fade. 1 keeps it all, 0 is black and white. |
Without the skill
Don’t want to install the skill? Paste this prompt into Claude Code and Claude writes the command itself.
Show the prompt
Give input.mp4 a faded matte look for the whole clip. Using ffmpeg, apply one tone curve to all three channels that maps black (0) to 0.18, middle gray (0.5) to 0.55 and white (1) to 0.90 (curves=all='0/0.18 0.5/0.55 1/0.90'), then lower the saturation to 0.65 (eq=saturation=0.65). Nothing in the frame should be darker than a dark gray (about 45 out of 255), highlights should sit a little below the original, and the colors should be muted but not black and white, with no warm or cool tint added. Keep the size (540x960), 30fps, 6 seconds and the audio. Encode H.264 yuv420p and save it as output.mp4.Run it without Claude
This is the exact command we tested. Save it as faded-matte-look.sh and run:
sh faded-matte-look.sh input.mp4 output.mp4Show the command
#!/bin/sh
# Faded matte look: blacks lifted to dark gray, whites eased down and colors muted, for a flat, washed print.
# Usage: sh faded-matte-look.sh input.mp4 output.mp4
# Needs ffmpeg.
set -e
IN="$1"; OUT="$2"
BLACK=0.18 # where pure black ends up (0-1); 0.18 is a dark gray, higher looks more faded
MID=0.55 # where middle gray ends up (0-1); a little above 0.5 keeps the fade airy
WHITE=0.90 # where pure white ends up (0-1); below 1 takes the sparkle out of highlights
SATURATION=0.65 # color left after the fade (1 keeps it all, 0 is black and white)
# one tone curve on all three channels flattens the contrast without tinting it
ffmpeg -y -v error -i "$IN" -vf "curves=all='0/$BLACK 0.5/$MID 1/$WHITE',\
eq=saturation=$SATURATION,fps=30,format=yuv420p" \
-c:v libx264 -crf 18 -c:a copy "$OUT"
