Free Video Effect
Chart Grow Effect: A Neon Line Chart That Rises Behind You
A glowing neon line chart draws itself behind you, point by point, and ends on a label at its peak.
Claude Code · Opus 5.59:16Medium
- Run the setup once
- Paste the prompt, fill in the [brackets]
- Approve the preview, get your MP4
New to Claude Code? Start with the beginner guide →
Want all 17 at once? Get the full pack →
The prompt
effects/chart_grow.py: add a "Chart Grow" effect between [START S] and [END S].
- Darken the image by 25% and pull it toward a slightly cool tone (so the chart stands out).
- BEHIND the person mask, place a line chart that covers the top half of the screen:
- X-axis labels at the top: [M T W T F S S] (thin, white at 70%)
- Data points: [10, 12, 11, 18, 26, 45, 80] (a sharp rise in the last days)
- Line: 4 px, neon [ACCENT COLOR, e.g. #E8FF4D], with an outer glow
- Under it, a semi-transparent fill in the same color that fades out downward
- The line draws from left to right in 1.5 s (easeInOutCubic); a small white dot
appears on every data point.
- When the line reaches the last point, the point glows, a vertical dashed line drops from it,
and above it a neon pill label with black text appears: "[LABEL, e.g. SCALE ↗]".
- If the line passes behind my hand, my hand stays in front (with the mask).Fill in the brackets
| Placeholder | What to put there | Example |
|---|---|---|
[START S] / [END S] | Where the effect starts and ends, in seconds from the start of input.mp4. | 8.0 / 13.5 |
[M T W T F S S] | The X-axis labels, one per data point. Days of the week by default; use weeks, months or dates to match what your data covers. | W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 |
[10, 12, 11, 18, 26, 45, 80] | The data points, one per label, oldest first. These values are only an example; replace them with your real figures. | Your own seven figures, in order |
[ACCENT COLOR, e.g. #E8FF4D] | Neon colour for the line, its glow, the fill and the pill label, as a hex code. | #E8FF4D |
[LABEL, e.g. SCALE ↗] | The text inside the pill label at the last point. Keep it to a word or two so it reads at a glance. | SCALE ↗ |
About Chart Grow
Chart Grow is a talking-head video effect that darkens your shot and draws a glowing neon line chart behind you, left to right over 1.5 seconds, with a fading fill underneath and a pill label at the final point. Run the one-time setup, paste the prompt below into Claude Code with Opus 5.5 and replace the example data with your own numbers.
Use it when: You talk about growth, a result or a statistic.
What the Chart Grow effect does
Chart Grow draws a line chart in the space behind you while you talk about a result. First the frame dims by 25% and cools slightly, so the chart has something dark to glow against. Across the top half, a row of thin day labels appears, and a 4 px neon line draws itself from left to right over 1.5 seconds, dropping a small white dot on each data point and leaving a translucent fill that fades downward.
When the line reaches the last point, that dot flares, a dashed line drops from it, and a pill-shaped label in the same neon colour, with black text, appears above. Your head, body and hands stay in front the whole time, because the chart is drawn behind your mask.
When it works and when it hurts
It works when a single trend is the story: sign-ups after a launch, views across a series, sales over a week. The line rises as you describe the rise, so the picture and the sentence say the same thing at the same moment.
It hurts when the numbers are invented, unlabelled or picked to flatter. A rising line looks like proof, which is exactly why it needs real data and a clear statement of what it measures. It also struggles with detail. There is no value axis and the labels are small, so if the exact figure matters, say it out loud rather than expecting viewers to read it.
How Claude builds it
The chart is drawn in code, not filmed. Claude maps your data points into the top half of the frame, then works out, for each frame of the 1.5-second draw, how far along the line the easeInOutCubic curve has travelled. It draws the visible part of the line, a blurred copy underneath for the glow, the fading fill and the dots already passed. This can be done in Pillow, or as an HTML and SVG chart rendered to transparent PNGs with Playwright, which the setup’s helper module supports.
Each output frame is then stacked in three layers: your dimmed, cooled footage at the back, the chart in the middle, and you on top through the person mask. That order is what lets a hand pass in front of the line. ffmpeg writes the frames into an MP4 with your original audio.
Make it yours
Swap the neon yellow for your accent colour and the day letters for months or week numbers. A slower draw, around 2.5 seconds, gives a calmer reveal; a short pill label like “+400%” can replace the arrow, but only if it is true for the numbers on screen. If your room is already dark, you can drop the 25% darkening and keep your skin tones as they are. Bars instead of a line are possible too, though that turns it into a different effect with a different feel.
Questions
Can I chart data from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Paste the values in place of the example numbers, or save a CSV in the project folder and ask Claude to read a named column from it. Either way, keep the number of X-axis labels equal to the number of data points, and check the printed values before the full render.
Why is there no Y-axis?
The prompt is built for a vertical video where the shape of the line carries the message in a second or two. Gridlines and a value axis add small text that is hard to read at phone size. If your point depends on exact values, add value labels to the first and last points or say them aloud.
Can it show a falling line?
Yes. The effect draws whatever numbers you give it. Change the pill label to match, such as 'COSTS ↘', and remove the note about a sharp rise. A neon line can look upbeat whichever way it moves, so say clearly whether the drop is good news or bad.
Does it need the person mask?
Yes. The chart is placed behind you, and the mask is what keeps your head, body and hands in front of it. Without a mask the line would simply draw across you, which flattens the depth the effect relies on.
Step by step
Run the setup once
Open the folder that holds input.mp4 in Claude Code, choose Opus 5.5 and paste the setup prompt. The person mask it creates is what keeps you, and your hands, in front of the chart.
Gather your real numbers
Write down the figures you will chart, what they measure and the period they cover. Seven points match the seven labels in the prompt; if you have more or fewer, change both lists together.
Paste and fill in the prompt
Copy the Chart Grow prompt, replace the labels, data points, colour and pill text, and send it. If your data does not rise sharply at the end, delete that note from the data line first.
Check the chart against your data
Watch the render and ask Claude to print the values it plotted, so you can confirm the line matches your numbers. For a faster first pass, ask for a 540×960 preview before the full render.
You need: Setup prompt (run once) · Person mask · Your real data points
Tips
- Chart only real numbers, and say or show what they measure, for example 'daily sign-ups, 1–7 March'. The values in the prompt are placeholders, not data, and a rising line with no label invites viewers to assume more than it shows.
- The chart has no Y-axis, so viewers cannot read values off it. If the size of the change matters, say the numbers out loud or ask Claude for small value labels on the first and last points.
- Remove '(a sharp rise over the last days)' from the prompt if your data does not do that, so Claude does not shape the chart to fit the description.
- Time the start of the effect so the 1.5 s draw reaches the last point as you say the result.
If it goes wrong
The line's shape does not match your numbers; it looks smoothed or exaggerated.
Ask Claude to plot the exact values on a linear scale with straight segments between points, and to print the values and their screen positions so you can check them.
The line draws across your hand or shoulder instead of behind it.
The person mask is weak at those frames, usually around a fast-moving hand. Ask Claude to check the mask at that second, widen its edge by 1 px and re-render only that range.
The glow washes out and the line looks blurry.
Ask Claude for a smaller glow radius, or darken the image to 35% instead of 25%. Change one of the two and compare.
What it does not do
- The chart is a graphic, not an analysis. Claude plots the numbers you give it; it does not check whether they are correct, complete or meaningful.
- The chart sits behind you in the top half of the frame, so on a close framing your head hides part of it, often the middle points. Check that the last point and its label stay visible.
- Thin axis labels at 70% white are small on a phone, and the draw lasts 1.5 seconds. Viewers take in the shape of the line, not the exact values.
- The 25% darkening and cool shift apply to the whole frame, including your face, for as long as the effect runs.
Sources
- Screenshots — Playwright for Python. Accessed October 21, 2026.
- Robust Video Matting (RVM) — GitHub — PeterL1n. Accessed October 21, 2026.
- Easing functions cheat sheet — easings.net. Accessed October 21, 2026.
- Claude Code overview — Anthropic. Accessed October 21, 2026.
Want the whole library?
Lifetime opens every AI Video Effect, AI Motion Graphic and AI Creator Concept, inside Claude via MCP, for one payment of $79.