--- title: "How to add a glitch effect with Claude (tested prompt and script)" description: "Twice in the clip, for half a second, the picture jumps off center, slices into bands that slide sideways and splits into red and blue edges. Install one skill and ask Claude Code, or run the Python script we tested yourself." url: https://www.recharm.com/effects/glitch-effect --- # How to add a glitch effect with Claude Twice in the clip, for half a second, the picture jumps off center, slices into bands that slide sideways and splits into red and blue edges. Made by the script 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 glitch effect to input.mp4 Start and end of each glitch burst, in seconds: [(1.0, 1.5), (3.5, 4.0)] Output frame rate: 30 ``` ## 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 glitch effect 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 script. | Setting | Default | What it does | | ------------ | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `BURSTS` | `[(1.0, 1.5), (3.5, 4.0)]` | Start and end of each glitch burst, in seconds. | | `FPS` | `30` | Output frame rate. | | `SPLIT` | `12` | During a burst, how far red moves left and blue moves right, in pixels. | | `TEARS` | `6` | Horizontal bands torn sideways on each glitch frame. | | `TEAR_SHIFT` | `80` | Furthest a torn band slides sideways, in pixels. | | `JUMP` | `14` | Furthest the whole picture jumps, in pixels. | | `SEED` | `3` | Random seed; change it for a different but repeatable pattern of tears. | ## Without the skill Don’t want to install the skill? Paste this prompt into Claude Code and Claude writes the script itself. ``` Add a glitch effect to input.mp4 in two bursts, from 1.0 to 1.5 seconds and from 3.5 to 4.0 seconds. Use Python with numpy and ffmpeg, working frame by frame at 30fps. On every frame inside a burst: shift the whole picture by a random amount up to 14 pixels up or down and up to 14 pixels left or right (wrapping round the edges); then pick 6 horizontal bands, each 8 to 120 pixels tall at a random height, and slide each one sideways by a random amount up to 80 pixels; then shift the red channel 12 pixels left and the blue channel 12 pixels right. Use a fixed random seed so it repeats. Leave every frame outside the bursts untouched. Keep the audio and save it as output.mp4 (H.264, yuv420p). ``` ## Run it without Claude This is the exact script we tested. Save it as `glitch-effect.py` and run: ``` python3 glitch-effect.py input.mp4 output.mp4 ``` ``` #!/usr/bin/env python3 """Glitch effect: in two half-second bursts the picture jumps, tears into sideways bands and splits into red and blue. Usage: python3 glitch-effect.py input.mp4 output.mp4 Needs ffmpeg and numpy (pip install numpy). """ import json import subprocess import sys import numpy as np BURSTS = [(1.0, 1.5), (3.5, 4.0)] # start and end of each glitch burst, in seconds FPS = 30 # output frame rate SPLIT = 12 # during a burst, red moves this many pixels left and blue this many right TEARS = 6 # horizontal bands torn sideways on each glitch frame TEAR_SHIFT = 80 # furthest a torn band slides sideways, in pixels JUMP = 14 # furthest the whole picture jumps, in pixels SEED = 3 # change for a different (but repeatable) pattern of tears def probe(path): info = json.loads(subprocess.check_output(["ffprobe", "-v", "error", "-select_streams", "v:0", "-show_entries", "stream=width,height:format=duration", "-of", "json", path])) return info["streams"][0]["width"], info["streams"][0]["height"], float(info["format"]["duration"]) def frames(path): """Decode a clip as RGB frames at FPS.""" ff = subprocess.Popen(["ffmpeg", "-v", "error", "-i", path, "-vf", f"fps={FPS}", "-f", "rawvideo", "-pix_fmt", "rgb24", "-"], stdout=subprocess.PIPE) while True: data = ff.stdout.read(w * h * 3) if len(data) < w * h * 3: return yield np.frombuffer(data, np.uint8).reshape(h, w, 3) def glitch(frame, rng): """Jump the whole picture, slide random bands sideways, then pull red and blue apart.""" img = np.roll(frame, [rng.integers(-JUMP, JUMP + 1), rng.integers(-JUMP, JUMP + 1)], axis=(0, 1)) for _ in range(TEARS): y = rng.integers(0, h - 8) band = slice(y, y + rng.integers(8, h // 8)) img[band] = np.roll(img[band], rng.integers(-TEAR_SHIFT, TEAR_SHIFT + 1), axis=1) img[:, :, 0] = np.roll(img[:, :, 0], -SPLIT, axis=1) img[:, :, 2] = np.roll(img[:, :, 2], SPLIT, axis=1) return img src, out = sys.argv[1:3] w, h, duration = probe(src) rng = np.random.default_rng(SEED) enc = subprocess.Popen(["ffmpeg", "-y", "-v", "error", "-f", "rawvideo", "-pix_fmt", "rgb24", "-s", f"{w}x{h}", "-r", str(FPS), "-i", "-", "-i", src, "-map", "0:v", "-map", "1:a?", "-c:v", "libx264", "-crf", "18", "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p", "-c:a", "copy", "-shortest", out], stdin=subprocess.PIPE) for i, frame in enumerate(frames(src)): t = i / FPS if any(start <= t < end for start, end in BURSTS): frame = glitch(frame, rng) enc.stdin.write(frame.tobytes()) enc.stdin.close() if enc.wait(): sys.exit("ffmpeg failed") ``` ## More distortion and glitch - [Anaglyph 3D **Anaglyph 3D**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/anaglyph-3d) - [Black hole **Black hole**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/black-hole) - [Bulge and pinch **Bulge and pinch**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/bulge-pinch) - [Datamosh **Datamosh**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/datamosh) - [Disintegration **Disintegration**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/disintegration) ## 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)