--- title: "How to add a rotating word headline with Claude (tested prompt and script)" description: "\"Skin that feels\" stays at the top while the yellow word under it rolls up from SMOOTH to BRIGHT to HYDRATED to RADIANT. Install one skill and ask Claude Code, or run the Python script we tested yourself." url: https://www.recharm.com/effects/rotating-word-headline --- # How to add a rotating word headline with Claude "Skin that feels" stays at the top while the yellow word under it rolls up from SMOOTH to BRIGHT to HYDRATED to RADIANT. 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 rotating word headline to input.mp4 Headline: SKIN THAT FEELS Words: SMOOTH, BRIGHT, HYDRATED, RADIANT ``` ## 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 rotating word headline 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 | | ------------ | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | `HEADLINE` | `SKIN THAT FEELS` | The line that stays put. | | `WORDS` | `SMOOTH, BRIGHT, HYDRATED, RADIANT` | The words that take turns under it. | | `START` | `0.4` | Second the headline appears. | | `HOLD` | `1.2` | Seconds each word stays. | | `TURN` | `0.3` | Seconds each roll takes. | | `WORD_COLOR` | `(255, 214, 0)` | Rotating word color. | ## Without the skill Don’t want to install the skill? Paste this prompt into Claude Code and Claude writes the script itself. ``` Add a rotating word headline to input.mp4: from 0.4 seconds, the line "SKIN THAT FEELS" in white bold text with a thin black outline (text height 7.5% of the frame width), centered 9% of the way down, and directly under it one larger yellow (255, 214, 0) word with a black outline (14% of the frame width), centered across. The word cycles SMOOTH, BRIGHT, HYDRATED, RADIANT and back to SMOOTH, changing every 1.2 seconds (at 0.4, 1.6, 2.8, 4.0 and 5.2 seconds); each change takes 0.3 seconds with an ease-out, the old word rolling up and out while the new one rolls up in from below, both clipped to a strip the height of the word so they vanish at its edges like a slot machine. The top line never moves. Use Python with Pillow to draw the text and ffmpeg to put it on the video (don't rely on ffmpeg's drawtext filter), keep the audio, and save it as output.mp4. ``` ## Run it without Claude This is the exact script we tested. Save it as `rotating-word-headline.py` and run: ``` python3 rotating-word-headline.py input.mp4 output.mp4 ``` ``` #!/usr/bin/env python3 """Rotating word headline: a fixed line stays put while the yellow word under it rolls through alternatives. Usage: python3 rotating-word-headline.py input.mp4 output.mp4 Needs ffmpeg and Pillow (pip install pillow). """ import json import math import subprocess import sys from pathlib import Path from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont HEADLINE = "SKIN THAT FEELS" # the line that stays put WORDS = ["SMOOTH", "BRIGHT", "HYDRATED", "RADIANT"] # the words that take turns under it START = 0.4 # second the headline appears HOLD = 1.2 # seconds each word stays TURN = 0.3 # seconds a word takes to roll out and the next to roll in SIZE = 0.075 # headline text height as a share of the frame width WORD_SIZE = 0.14 # rotating word height as a share of the frame width Y = 0.09 # center of the headline line (0 = top, 1 = bottom) WORD_COLOR = (255, 214, 0) # rotating word color FONTS = ["/System/Library/Fonts/Supplemental/Arial Bold.ttf", # macOS "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSans-Bold.ttf", # Linux "C:/Windows/Fonts/arialbd.ttf"] # Windows FONT_FILE = next((f for f in FONTS if Path(f).exists()), None) or sys.exit("No bold font found: add one to FONTS") def ease_out(p): p = min(max(p, 0), 1) return 1 - (1 - p) ** 3 def slot(t): """The word strip: the current word, or the old one rolling up and out while the new one rolls up in.""" img = Image.new("RGBA", (w, slot_h)) draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img) k = int((t - START) // HOLD) p = ease_out((t - START - k * HOLD) / TURN) words = [(WORDS[k % len(WORDS)], (1 - p) * slot_h)] if k > 0: words.append((WORDS[(k - 1) % len(WORDS)], -p * slot_h)) for word, dy in words: draw.text((w / 2, slot_h / 2 + dy), word, font=word_font, anchor="mm", fill=WORD_COLOR, stroke_width=round(w * 0.008), stroke_fill="black") return img def overlay(t): img = Image.new("RGBA", (w, h)) if t >= START: ImageDraw.Draw(img).text((w / 2, h * Y), HEADLINE, font=font, anchor="mm", fill="white", stroke_width=round(w * 0.006), stroke_fill="black") img.alpha_composite(slot(t), (0, round(h * Y + font.size * 0.6))) return img def probe(path): info = json.loads(subprocess.check_output(["ffprobe", "-v", "error", "-select_streams", "v:0", "-show_entries", "stream=width,height,r_frame_rate:format=duration", "-of", "json", path])) s = info["streams"][0] num, den = s["r_frame_rate"].split("/") return s["width"], s["height"], s["r_frame_rate"], float(num) / float(den), float(info["format"]["duration"]) def render(src, out): """Draw overlay(t) on every frame of src and save to out, keeping the audio.""" ff = subprocess.Popen(["ffmpeg", "-y", "-v", "error", "-i", src, "-f", "rawvideo", "-pix_fmt", "rgba", "-s", f"{w}x{h}", "-r", rate, "-i", "-", "-filter_complex", "[0:v][1:v]overlay=shortest=1,format=yuv420p[v]", "-map", "[v]", "-map", "0:a?", "-c:v", "libx264", "-crf", "18", "-c:a", "copy", out], stdin=subprocess.PIPE) for i in range(math.ceil(duration * fps)): ff.stdin.write(overlay(i / fps).tobytes()) ff.stdin.close() if ff.wait(): sys.exit("ffmpeg failed") src, out = sys.argv[1:3] w, h, rate, fps, duration = probe(src) font = ImageFont.truetype(FONT_FILE, round(w * SIZE)) word_font = ImageFont.truetype(FONT_FILE, round(w * WORD_SIZE)) slot_h = round(word_font.size * 1.3) render(src, out) ``` ## More captions and text - [AI chat reply animation **AI chat reply animation**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/ai-chat-typing) - [Animated bar chart **Animated bar chart**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/animated-bar-chart) - [Animated checklist **Animated checklist**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/animated-checklist) - [Animated line graph **Animated line graph**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/animated-line-graph) - [Animated pie chart **Animated pie chart**](https://www.recharm.com/effects/animated-pie-chart) ## 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)