Complete glitch art, datamosh, and video distortion effects system. PROACTIVELY activate for: (1) Datamosh/pixel bleeding effects, (2) VHS/analog glitch simulation, (3) Digital corruption effects, (4) Displacement mapping, (5) Wave/ripple distortions, (6) Pixelation and mosaic effects, (7) Chromatic aberration, (8) Scan line effects, (9) Time-based distortions (echo, trails), (10) Lens distortion and barrel effects. Provides: minterpolate for datamosh, displacement filter, geq pixel manipulation, noise and artifacts, rgbashift/chromashift for color separation, lagfun for trails, tmix for frame blending, tblend for frame difference effects.
/plugin marketplace add JosiahSiegel/claude-plugin-marketplace/plugin install ffmpeg-master@claude-plugin-marketplaceThis skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
MANDATORY: Always Use Backslashes on Windows for File Paths
When using Edit or Write tools on Windows, you MUST use backslashes (\) in file paths, NOT forward slashes (/).
| Effect | Command |
|---|---|
| Datamosh | -vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc:me_mode=bidir'" |
| Chromatic aberration | -vf "rgbashift=rh=-5:bh=5" |
| VHS noise | -vf "noise=c0s=20:c0f=t,eq=saturation=1.2" |
| Pixelate | -vf "scale=iw/10:ih/10,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor" |
| Wave distortion | -vf "displace=..." with displacement map |
| Echo/trails | -vf "lagfun=decay=0.95" |
| Scan lines | -vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.5" |
Use for creative distortion effects:
Complete guide to datamosh, glitch art, VHS effects, displacement, and creative video distortion with FFmpeg.
Datamosh creates the "pixel bleeding" effect by manipulating motion compensation.
# Basic datamosh effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc:me_mode=bidir:vsbmc=1'" \
-c:v libx264 -crf 18 datamosh.mp4
# Parameters explained:
# mi_mode=mci: Motion compensated interpolation
# mc_mode=aobmc: Adaptive overlapped block motion compensation
# me_mode=bidir: Bidirectional motion estimation
# vsbmc=1: Variable size block motion compensation
# Heavy datamosh (more chaos)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "minterpolate='fps=60:mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc:me_mode=bidir:me=epzs:vsbmc=1:scd=none'" \
-c:v libx264 -crf 18 heavy_datamosh.mp4
# scd=none: Disable scene change detection (more bleeding across cuts)
# me=epzs: Enhanced predictive zonal search (faster, rougher)
# Datamosh by removing I-frames (requires re-encoding)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc',\
tblend=all_mode=difference:all_opacity=0.5" \
datamosh_blend.mp4
# Combine with echo for trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc',lagfun=decay=0.9" \
datamosh_trails.mp4
# Datamosh only certain section
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc':enable='between(t,5,10)'" \
controlled_datamosh.mp4
Color channel separation for that "broken lens" look.
# Horizontal chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "rgbashift=rh=-5:bh=5" \
chromatic.mp4
# Parameters:
# rh/rv: Red horizontal/vertical shift
# gh/gv: Green horizontal/vertical shift
# bh/bv: Blue horizontal/vertical shift
# ah/av: Alpha horizontal/vertical shift
# Vertical chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "rgbashift=rv=-3:bv=3" \
chromatic_v.mp4
# Both directions
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "rgbashift=rh=-4:rv=-2:bh=4:bv=2" \
chromatic_both.mp4
# Pulsing chromatic aberration
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "rgbashift=rh='5*sin(t*3)':bh='-5*sin(t*3)'" \
pulsing_chromatic.mp4
# Increasing aberration over time
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "rgbashift=rh='-t*2':bh='t*2'" \
increasing_chromatic.mp4
# Shift chroma channels (U/V in YUV)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "chromashift=cbh=5:crh=-5" \
chroma_shift.mp4
# cbh/cbv: Cb (blue-difference) horizontal/vertical
# crh/crv: Cr (red-difference) horizontal/vertical
# Full VHS effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
noise=c0s=15:c0f=t:c1s=10:c1f=t,\
eq=saturation=1.4:contrast=1.1:brightness=-0.02,\
chromashift=cbh=3:crh=-3,\
rgbashift=rh=2:bh=-2,\
unsharp=3:3:-0.5,\
drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.3,\
curves=preset=vintage" \
-c:v libx264 -crf 20 vhs_effect.mp4
# 1. VHS Noise (temporal noise)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "noise=c0s=20:c0f=t:c1s=15:c1f=t" \
vhs_noise.mp4
# 2. VHS Color bleeding
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "chromashift=cbh=4:cbv=2:crh=-3:crv=1" \
vhs_color_bleed.mp4
# 3. VHS Scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.4" \
vhs_scanlines.mp4
# 4. VHS Tracking issues (simulated)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "crop=iw:ih-20:0:'20*random(1)',pad=iw:ih+20:0:10" \
vhs_tracking.mp4
# 5. VHS Oversaturated colors
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "eq=saturation=1.5:contrast=1.1,curves=preset=vintage" \
vhs_colors.mp4
# Static overlay blend
ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "nullsrc=s=1920x1080:d=10" \
-vf "noise=c0s=100:c0f=a+t,format=gray" \
-c:v libx264 -t 10 static.mp4
# Blend static with video
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i static.mp4 \
-filter_complex "[0:v][1:v]blend=all_mode=screen:all_opacity=0.1" \
vhs_static.mp4
# Pixelate entire video
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "scale=iw/10:ih/10,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor" \
pixelated.mp4
# Parameters:
# First scale: Reduce resolution (divide by pixelation level)
# Second scale: Scale back up with nearest neighbor (no interpolation)
# Variable pixelation level
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "scale=iw/20:ih/20,scale=iw*20:ih*20:flags=neighbor" \
heavy_pixel.mp4
# Pixelation that increases over time
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "scale='iw/max(1,t*2)':'ih/max(1,t*2)',scale=iw:ih:flags=neighbor" \
animated_pixel.mp4
# Note: This is approximate; true animated requires geq or external scripts
# Mosaic specific region (face blur style)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-filter_complex "\
[0:v]crop=200:200:300:200[face];\
[face]scale=iw/10:ih/10,scale=iw*10:ih*10:flags=neighbor[blurred];\
[0:v][blurred]overlay=300:200" \
mosaic_region.mp4
# Create displacement map (gradient)
ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "gradients=s=1920x1080:c0=black:c1=white:x0=0:y0=540:x1=1920:y1=540" \
-vframes 1 displacement_h.png
# Apply horizontal wave displacement
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i displacement_h.png \
-filter_complex "[0:v][1:v]displace=edge=wrap" \
wave_h.mp4
# Horizontal wave using geq
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "geq=lum='lum(X+10*sin(Y/20+T*5),Y)':cb='cb(X+10*sin(Y/20+T*5),Y)':cr='cr(X+10*sin(Y/20+T*5),Y)'" \
wave_animated.mp4
# Vertical wave
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "geq=lum='lum(X,Y+10*sin(X/20+T*5))':cb='cb(X,Y+10*sin(X/20+T*5))':cr='cr(X,Y+10*sin(X/20+T*5))'" \
wave_v.mp4
# Ripple from center
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "geq=lum='lum(X+5*sin(sqrt(pow(X-W/2,2)+pow(Y-H/2,2))/10-T*5),Y+5*cos(sqrt(pow(X-W/2,2)+pow(Y-H/2,2))/10-T*5))':cb='cb(X,Y)':cr='cr(X,Y)'" \
ripple.mp4
# Barrel distortion (fisheye-like)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lenscorrection=cx=0.5:cy=0.5:k1=0.5:k2=0.5" \
barrel.mp4
# Pincushion distortion (opposite of barrel)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lenscorrection=cx=0.5:cy=0.5:k1=-0.3:k2=-0.3" \
pincushion.mp4
# Parameters:
# cx, cy: Lens center (0-1, 0.5 = center)
# k1, k2: Distortion coefficients (positive = barrel, negative = pincushion)
# Motion trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lagfun=decay=0.95" \
trails.mp4
# Parameters:
# decay: How fast trails fade (0-1, higher = longer trails)
# Heavy trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lagfun=decay=0.98" \
heavy_trails.mp4
# Light trails
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lagfun=decay=0.85" \
light_trails.mp4
# Trails with color shift
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "lagfun=decay=0.95,hue=h=t*10" \
color_trails.mp4
# Inverted trails (bright areas leave dark trails)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "negate,lagfun=decay=0.95,negate" \
inverted_trails.mp4
# Average 5 frames (motion blur effect)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tmix=frames=5:weights='1 1 1 1 1'" \
motion_blur.mp4
# Echo effect (repeat previous frames)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tmix=frames=10:weights='1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1'" \
echo.mp4
# Ghosting
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tmix=frames=3:weights='1 0.5 0.25'" \
ghosting.mp4
# Frame difference (motion highlight)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tblend=all_mode=difference" \
frame_diff.mp4
# Available modes:
# addition, addition128, multiply, multiply128
# average, difference, difference128
# divide, exclusion, extremity, freeze
# glow, hardlight, hardmix, heat
# lighten, darken, linearlight, negation
# normal, overlay, phoenix, pinlight
# reflect, screen, softdifference
# softlight, stain, subtract, vividlight, xor
# Neon edges
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tblend=all_mode=difference128,eq=brightness=0.1:contrast=2" \
neon_edges.mp4
# Psychedelic blend
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tblend=all_mode=phoenix" \
psychedelic.mp4
# Burn effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tblend=all_mode=heat" \
burn_effect.mp4
# Digital glitch noise
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
noise=c0s=30:c0f=a+t:c1s=20:c1f=a+t,\
rgbashift=rh='5*random(1)':bh='-5*random(1)'" \
digital_glitch.mp4
# Note: random() generates noise, but isn't truly random between frames
# Heavy compression artifacts
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-c:v libx264 -crf 51 -preset ultrafast \
temp_compressed.mp4
ffmpeg -i temp_compressed.mp4 \
-c:v libx264 -crf 18 \
artifacts.mp4
# Blocky artifacts with multiple re-encodes
for i in {1..5}; do
ffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 40 temp.mp4
mv temp.mp4 input.mp4
done
# Bit-depth reduction (posterization)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "geq=lum='floor(lum(X,Y)/32)*32':cb='floor(cb(X,Y)/32)*32':cr='floor(cr(X,Y)/32)*32'" \
bit_crush.mp4
# XOR pattern
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "geq=lum='bitxor(lum(X,Y),X+Y)':cb='cb(X,Y)':cr='cr(X,Y)'" \
xor_pattern.mp4
# Horizontal scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.5" \
scanlines.mp4
# Heavier scan lines
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "drawgrid=w=iw:h=4:t=2:c=black@0.7" \
heavy_scanlines.mp4
# RGB scan lines (trinitron style)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "drawgrid=w=3:h=ih:t=1:c=black@0.3" \
rgb_scanlines.mp4
# Full CRT effect
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
gblur=sigma=0.5,\
drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.4,\
vignette=PI/4,\
eq=saturation=1.2:contrast=1.1,\
lenscorrection=k1=0.1:k2=0.1,\
noise=c0s=5:c0f=t" \
crt_effect.mp4
# Add interlacing artifacts
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "interlace=scan=tff,fieldorder=bff" \
interlaced.mp4
# Fake interlacing (comb effect)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "tinterlace=merge" \
comb_effect.mp4
# Horizontal mirror (left to right)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "crop=iw/2:ih:0:0,split[a][b];[b]hflip[b];[a][b]hstack" \
mirror_h.mp4
# Vertical mirror (top to bottom)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "crop=iw:ih/2:0:0,split[a][b];[b]vflip[b];[a][b]vstack" \
mirror_v.mp4
# Quad mirror (kaleidoscope-lite)
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
crop=iw/2:ih/2:0:0,split=4[a][b][c][d];\
[b]hflip[b];[c]vflip[c];[d]hflip,vflip[d];\
[a][b]hstack[top];[c][d]hstack[bottom];\
[top][bottom]vstack" \
quad_mirror.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
minterpolate='mi_mode=mci:mc_mode=aobmc':enable='lt(mod(t,2),0.2)',\
rgbashift=rh='3*sin(t*10)':bh='-3*sin(t*10)',\
lagfun=decay=0.9:enable='gt(mod(t,3),2.5)',\
noise=c0s=10:c0f=t:enable='lt(mod(t,5),0.3)'" \
-c:v libx264 -crf 18 music_glitch.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
eq=brightness=-0.1:contrast=1.2:saturation=0.7,\
chromashift=cbh='5*random(1)':crh='-3*random(1)',\
noise=c0s=15:c0f=a+t,\
tblend=all_mode=difference:all_opacity=0.1:enable='lt(mod(t,3),0.1)',\
drawgrid=w=iw:h=2:t=1:c=black@0.5" \
horror_glitch.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
eq=saturation=1.5:contrast=1.3,\
colorbalance=rs=0.2:bs=0.2,\
rgbashift=rh='-3':bh='3',\
drawgrid=w=iw:h=3:t=1:c=black@0.3,\
unsharp=5:5:1.5" \
cyberpunk.mp4
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "\
noise=c0s=50:c0f=t:enable='lt(mod(t,10),0.5)',\
chromashift=cbh='10*random(1)':enable='lt(mod(t,10),0.5)',\
eq=brightness='-0.3*lt(mod(t,10),0.5)'" \
signal_loss.mp4
# Process effects, then encode with hardware
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-vf "your_glitch_filters" \
-c:v rawvideo -f nut - | \
ffmpeg -i - \
-c:v h264_nvenc -preset p4 -cq 20 \
output.mp4
This guide covers FFmpeg glitch and distortion effects. For color grading see ffmpeg-color-grading-chromakey, for transitions see ffmpeg-transitions-effects.
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