---
title: "How to add a faded matte look with Claude (tested prompt and ffmpeg command)"
description: "The black dropper cap and the shadows under the bottle lift to a soft charcoal gray, the bright backdrop dulls slightly, and the holographic colors flatten into a quiet, washed-out print with no warm tint. Install one skill and ask Claude Code, or run the ffmpeg command we tested yourself."
url: https://www.recharm.com/effects/faded-matte-look
---

# How to add a faded matte look with Claude

The black dropper cap and the shadows under the bottle lift to a soft charcoal gray, the bright backdrop dulls slightly, and the holographic colors flatten into a quiet, washed-out print with no warm tint.

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 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.

```
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.mp4
```

```
#!/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"
```

## 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)