talking-head-eq

Talking-Head EQ

Apply a saved EQ chain to dialogue audio inside a video, then re-mux the corrected audio back into a copy of the video. Useful for podcasts, interviews, monologues — any "talking head" content where the same voice EQ is applied repeatedly.

The preset is per-user, registered via the onboard skill. This plugin ships no defaults — it works only after the user has provided a preset.

Procedure

1. Resolve preset

DATA_DIR="${CLAUDE_USER_DATA:-${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/claude-plugins}/video-editing"
PREFS_FILE="$DATA_DIR/preferences.json"
test -f "$PREFS_FILE" || { echo "No preferences. Run onboard first."; exit 1; }

PRESET_PATH=$(jq -r '.talking_head_eq.path // empty' "$PREFS_FILE")
PRESET_FORMAT=$(jq -r '.talking_head_eq.format // empty' "$PREFS_FILE")
test -n "$PRESET_PATH" || { echo "No talking-head EQ preset registered. Run onboard."; exit 1; }
test -f "$PRESET_PATH" || { echo "Registered preset path missing: $PRESET_PATH"; exit 1; }

2. Build the ffmpeg filter chain by format

a) ffmpeg-string

The preset file is a single-line ffmpeg -af string (no leading -af).

FILTER=$(cat "$PRESET_PATH")

Example file contents:

highpass=f=80,equalizer=f=200:t=q:w=1.0:g=-3,equalizer=f=3500:t=q:w=1.2:g=2,acompressor=threshold=-18dB:ratio=2.5:attack=10:release=120

b) easyeffects-json

EasyEffects exports a JSON tree. The output (or input) section carries an equalizer plugin with N bands, each having frequency, q, gain. Translate to ffmpeg equalizer=f=<freq>:t=q:w=<q>:g=<gain> and chain with commas.

FILTER=$(jq -r '
  (.output // .input)
  | (.. | objects | select(has("bands"))) as $eq
  | $eq.bands
  | to_entries
  | map(
      "equalizer=f=\(.value.frequency):t=q:w=\(.value.q):g=\(.value.gain)"
    )
  | join(",")
' "$PRESET_PATH")

If the preset also has a highpass / lowpass / compressor plugin upstream, prepend the corresponding ffmpeg filters (highpass=f=<f>, lowpass=f=<f>, acompressor=...).

c) band-list-json

A simple plugin-native format the onboard skill writes when the user types in bands manually:

{
  "highpass": 80,
  "bands": [
    { "f": 200,  "q": 1.0, "g": -3 },
    { "f": 3500, "q": 1.2, "g":  2 }
  ],
  "compressor": { "threshold_db": -18, "ratio": 2.5, "attack_ms": 10, "release_ms": 120 }
}

Translate the same way: optional highpass=, then equalizer=... per band, then optional acompressor=....

3. Inputs

• Source — video or audio path (required).
• Output dir — default: sibling eq/ folder; or project's renders/ inside an index project.

4. Apply

For a video, re-encode the audio (we're modifying it) and stream-copy the video:

mkdir -p "$OUT_DIR"
OUT="$OUT_DIR/$(basename "${SRC%.*}").eq.${SRC##*.}"
ffmpeg -hide_banner -y -i "$SRC" \
  -map 0 \
  -c:v copy \
  -af "$FILTER" \
  -c:a aac -b:a 192k \
  -movflags +faststart \
  "$OUT"

For a standalone audio file:

ffmpeg -hide_banner -y -i "$SRC" -af "$FILTER" -c:a flac "$OUT_DIR/$(basename "${SRC%.*}").eq.flac"

Show the resolved filter chain to the user before running so the EQ is auditable.

5. Report

Print output path and size. Suggest:

• A/B test: open original and EQ'd files in a player, compare.
• Run audio-analysis on the output to verify loudness landed where expected (EQ shifts loudness slightly).
• Adjust the preset via onboard if the result is too bright/dark/honky.