# Speed Ramp — effect skill for cuts & pacing > **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q="` returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add `.md` to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page. Change playback speed within a shot (fast into a moment, slow on it, fast out) to stress the beat. - **Type:** [Effect](https://varg.ai/how-to/effects.md) · [Cuts & pacing](https://varg.ai/how-to/browse/skills/cuts.md) - **Slug:** `speed-ramp` - **Status:** live - **Publisher:** HeyGen (community) - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source:** https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/tree/main/registry/blocks/beat-freeze-cut - **Works in:** Claude Code, Claude.ai, Codex, Cursor, OpenClaw, Gemini CLI, Any MCP client, varg Studio - **Requires:** ffmpeg, HyperFrames (npx hyperframes), Remotion, CapCut (by hand) - **Cost:** Free — the take renders locally; generated footage, if any, bills by the model ## What it does Built on [Beat Freeze Cut](https://github.com/heygen-com/hyperframes/tree/main/registry/blocks/beat-freeze-cut) by HeyGen (HyperFrames), Apache-2.0. The write-up and recipes below are varg's. Motion races, suddenly drops into slow motion on the key moment, then snaps back to speed. **When:** Sport, action, product hero shots, music edits; shoot at 60/120 fps for clean slow parts. **Watch out:** Slowing 24/30 fps footage below ~0.5× stutters; ramps on talking heads distort speech. **Timing:** Ramp transitions of 4–8 frames between speeds; slow section 0.3–0.5× **Also called:** time ramp, speed curve, velocity ramp, ramping ### In FFmpeg FFmpeg has no speed curve; approximate with constant-speed segments (1× → 2× → 0.5×): ```bash ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -filter_complex \ "[0:v]split=3[s1][s2][s3];[0:a]asplit=3[t1][t2][t3];\ [s1]trim=0:2,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[v1];[t1]atrim=0:2,asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS[a1];\ [s2]trim=2:4,setpts=(PTS-STARTPTS)/2[v2];[t2]atrim=2:4,asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS,atempo=2[a2];\ [s3]trim=4:5,setpts=(PTS-STARTPTS)*2[v3];[t3]atrim=4:5,asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS,atempo=0.5[a3];\ [v1][a1][v2][a2][v3][a3]concat=n=3:v=1:a=1[v][a]" -map "[v]" -map "[a]" -r 30 out.mp4 ``` atempo accepts 0.5–100; chain it for more. Add `minterpolate=fps=60` for smoother slow motion. ### In HyperFrames A `rate` lane in `data-automation` (0.1–10, log-scale interpolation): ```html ``` ### In Remotion `playbackRate` cannot be interpolated directly. Accumulate the rate per frame and pass it as `trimBefore`, as in Remotion's accelerated-video snippet (each frame wraps the video in ``). ### In CapCut Select clip → Speed → Curve → a preset (Montage, Hero, Bullet, Jump Cut, Flash In, Flash Out) or Custom and drag the points. ### Ready-made components - [Beat Freeze Cut](https://skills.varg.ai/component/hf.beat-freeze-cut/) (hyperframes): npx hyperframes add beat-freeze-cut ### Where this comes from - [Wikipedia: speed ramping](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_ramping) - [FFmpeg filters: setpts](https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#setpts) - [FFmpeg filters: atempo](https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#atempo) - [Remotion: speed ramp snippet](https://www.remotion.dev/docs/miscellaneous/snippets/accelerated-video) - [HyperFrames: speed ramps](https://hyperframes.heygen.com/reference/speed-ramps) - [CapCut: speed curve tool](https://www.capcut.com/tools/speed-ramp) ## Use when - Sport, action, product hero shots, music edits; shoot at 60/120 fps for clean slow parts. ## Not for - Slowing 24/30 fps footage below ~0.5× stutters; ramps on talking heads distort speech. ## Install - Claude Code: `claude plugin marketplace add vargHQ/skills && claude plugin install varg@varg` - Codex: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-video-edit-library -a codex -y` - Cursor: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-video-edit-library -a cursor -y` ## Example output https://s3.varg.ai/how-to/previews/58326a2880d1/take-speed-ramp.mp4 — ramp between two shots, with the timeline strip of the edit. Footage: WING IT! (2023), Blender Studio | studio.blender.org, CC BY 4.0; WING IT! (2023), Blender Studio | studio.blender.org, CC BY 4.0. (credit: Rendered by varg · WING IT! (2023)) ## More cuts & pacing skills - [SmartCut (capcut-ai-editor)](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/capcut-smartcut-mcp.md): MCP that reads CapCut auto-captions to cut silences and duplicate takes right inside your CapCut project. - [Auto-Editor](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/auto-editor.md): CLI that cuts dead space by loudness or motion and exports MP4 or editor timelines; now also an agent skill. - [AutoCut](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/autocut.md): Edit video in a text editor: Whisper transcribes, you delete lines in Markdown, AutoCut cuts the video. - [Cut Video](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/cut-video.md): Claude Code skill that tightens long recordings with forced-aligned cuts, keeping laughs and comedic pauses. - [Videogrep](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/videogrep.md): Search spoken words across videos and auto-build supercuts of every match. - [PySceneDetect](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/pyscenedetect.md): Find cuts, fades and scene changes in a video, then split it or export scene lists for the edit. ## Run the generation on varg varg is one API key for the models these skills drive — Seedance 2.5, Kling 4, Veo 3.1, Wan 3, Nano Banana 2.1, GPT Image 2.5, ElevenLabs v4 and 200+ more — billed in credits, with a cost estimate before anything runs. - Claude Code: `claude plugin marketplace add vargHQ/skills && claude plugin install varg@varg` (skill + hosted MCP) - Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenClaw: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-ai -a -y` - Grok and any agent that reads SKILL.md: `npx skills add vargHQ/skills --skill varg-ai`, or point it at the skill's SKILL.md - Claude.ai, ChatGPT, any MCP client: connect `https://mcp.varg.ai/mcp` - API key: https://varg.ai/dashboard/api · Model specs: https://varg.ai/models/llms.txt