AI Video Effect · Short form
Visual Essay
A documentary, persuasive edit. The speaker is cut out of their background and placed on a near-black field with a warm glow behind the head. Evidence (screenshots, headlines, numbers, quotes) appears above the head, and short headlines with a serif italic accent word sit over the chest. You give Claude Code your video; it plans the edit, renders it on your computer and exports a finished 1080×1920 MP4.
# Visual Essay — video style
A documentary, persuasive edit. The speaker is cut out of their background and placed on a near-black field with a warm glow behind the head. Evidence (screenshots, headlines, numbers, quotes) appears above the head, and short headlines with a serif italic accent word sit over the chest.Every paid plan opens all 18 styles.
How it works.
- 01
Add your video
Put
my_video.mp4in a folder, with the extras next to it, and open that folder in Claude Code. - 02
Edit my_video.mp4 in the Visual Essay style. Evidence screenshots are in evidence/.Type the prompt
Paste it into Claude Code and press Enter. Claude writes a short plan first.
- 03
Get your edit
Claude edits it, checks it frame by frame and saves the finished MP4 in the Export folder.
First time? Unzip the skill into .claude/skills/ and type “Set up the Visual Essay skill.” once.
Questions
What do I need to use Visual Essay?
Claude Code (the desktop app's Code tab or the terminal), a Mac or Linux computer with Python 3.9+ and ffmpeg, and about 3 GB of free disk space for the speech and vision models, which download once. Then: your talking-head video. Vertical 9:16 is ideal; a horizontal recording also works.
What does Visual Essay export?
1080×1920 (9:16), 30 fps, H.264 + AAC, ready for Reels, TikTok and Shorts.
Can I change the colours and fonts?
Yes. They live in the skill's brand settings. Tell Claude your colours and font, for example "Use my brand: #0E1A2B background, #F4EFE6 text, Gilroy font", and it updates them. The default fonts are free (SIL Open Font License).
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything runs on your computer, and your video and voice are never uploaded. The only downloads happen during setup: Python packages, two MediaPipe models from Google, the Whisper speech model and the free fonts.
Can I use a horizontal recording?
Yes. Vertical 9:16 is ideal, but a horizontal recording also works: the skill has a fallback layout for it.
What happens when I correct something?
Claude adds your correction to the skill as a rule, so the same thing does not happen in your next edit.
What should I prepare?
Your talking-head video. Vertical 9:16 is ideal; a horizontal recording also works. Optional: screenshots, photos, logos and B-roll that support what you say. Evidence for each claim: screenshots, articles, stats or quotes. Strongly recommended.
What does Visual Essay not do?
It does not research the evidence for you: the screenshots, articles, stats and quotes come from you. It runs on macOS or Linux with Python 3.9+ and ffmpeg, not on Windows. Sound effects are not included. Add your own licensed samples, or it uses clean built-in sounds.
More like this.
- Business ReelsFull screen, split screen and full-screen animation, switching on every cut.
- Explainer PanelYou in a panel at the bottom, animated explanations on top.
- B-roll and Stacked TextTight cut, B-roll, captions with stacked key phrases.
- Fitted CaptionsOne big accent word with the rest fitted around it.
- Cut-out BackdropYou cut out over full-screen images that change with every idea.
- Cut-out GridYou in the centre of four images that change together.
- Depth UIYou full frame, real interfaces and screens behind your head.