auto-editor-effects

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---
name: auto-editor-effects
description: Apply actions and animations to sections of a video/audio with auto-editor — change speed, duck or fade volume, de-ess, zoom/Ken Burns, rotate/spin, draw boxes, overlay logos or picture-in-picture, and animate any of these with ramps and easing. Use when someone wants creative effects or per-section behavior rather than plain silence-cutting.
---

# Actions & animations

Instead of just cutting, give each section an **action** with `--when-active`
(`-w:1`, loud) and `--when-inactive` (`-w:0`, silent). Defaults: `-w:1 nil`
(keep), `-w:0 cut`. Chain actions with commas; they apply in order.

```bash
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 speed:8            # fast-forward through silence (pitch preserved)
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 speed:3,volume:0.5 # speed up AND halve volume of silent parts
```

`-w:0`/`-w:1` are the silent (label 0) and active (label 1) classes. You can
define more classes with `--edit:N`/`-e:N` and act on them with `--when:N`/`-w:N`
(N = 2–255) — see the **auto-editor** skill's "Labels" section. Every action
below works as the value of any `-w:N`.

## Actions

| Action | What it does | Form / range |
|---|---|---|
| `nil` | keep unchanged | — |
| `cut` | remove section | — |
| `speed` | time-stretch, **pitch preserved** | `speed:8`, `speed:0.5` |
| `varispeed` | speed via pitch shift (tape/vinyl) | `varispeed:2` (0.2–100) |
| `pitch` | shift pitch only, **duration preserved** | `pitch:12` (octave up), `pitch:-7` (−24–24 semitones) |
| `volume` | scale volume (1=normal, 0.5=−6dB) | `volume:0.2` |
| `deesser` | reduce sibilance | `deesser:intensity[:max[:freq]]` (each 0–1) |
| `tone` | wave from a MIDI note (`add:` generator) | `add:tone:69`, `add:tone:36:saw` |
| `invert` | invert pixels | — |
| `zoom` | zoom factor (1=none) | `zoom:2`, `zoom:0.5` (>0–100) |
| `rotate` | fixed clockwise rotation, expands so nothing clips | `rotate:90` (pair with `--resolution`) |
| `spin` | continuous spin `deg/rate` (deg per sec) | `spin:0/120`, `spin:90/-45` |
| `drawbox` | filled rectangle | `drawbox:x:y:w:h:color` |
| `pos` | place an overlay clip `x:y[:scale]` | mainly used inside `add` / v3 |
| `add` | overlay a layer: every stream the file holds | `add:path[:x:y:scale]` |

```bash
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 deesser:0.8:0.7:0.4
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 rotate:90 --resolution 1080,1920   # landscape → portrait
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 drawbox:0:0:1920:200:#000000       # redact a strip
```

### Overlays — `add`

`add` is **virtual**: it adds an overlay layer rather than a per-frame effect.
Still images hold for the whole section; PNG alpha is preserved. Omit placement
to scale-to-fit and center. Actions chained **after** an `add` apply to that new
overlay, not the base. `add` brings **every stream** the file holds: a video with
sound gets a video layer plus its audio layers (mixed in, not a second stream),
an audio-only file adds sound with no picture, an image adds picture with no
sound. In place of a file it takes a **generator** action: `confetti`/`drawbox`
paint a video layer, `tone` synthesizes an audio one (so `add:tone` layers stack
into a chord).

```bash
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./logo.png             # centered, fit to canvas
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./pip.mp4:900:60:0.25  # PiP in the corner, audio included
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./pip.mp4:900:60:0.25,volume:0.3  # ...tucked under the base
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./music.mp3,volume:0.4 # background music, no picture added
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:./logo.png,spin:0/-30  # the logo spins, not the base video
auto-editor song.mp3 -bg white -w:1 add:./cover.png   # audio + image → video
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:69                # 440 Hz tone over the audio
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:0 nil,add:tone:81            # beep the silence, don't cut it
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:60,volume:1..0:ease=out  # a plucked, decaying note
auto-editor video.mp4 -w:1 add:tone:36:saw            # buz