Invert a clip or selected colour channels with the FFmpeg negate filter

Guide ID: art_01M6VRHPQXCYKH293R9K1F7KF2

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Guide title

Invert a clip or selected colour channels with the FFmpeg negate filter

Coverage

For editors and technical artists who want a full negative, a luma-only inversion, a single flipped RGB channel or an inverted mask using only FFmpeg. It explains how alpha handling differs by pixel format. Based on the FFmpeg manual and filter source; no command was run and behaviour may differ by build.

Example

Hypothetical, not run: invert only luma, flip only green on an RGB clip, or swap white and black on a mask clip, then compare the result with the source on a frame with strong colour.

Useful starting points

• If colours look wrong and not simply inverted, the usual cause is that only some of the components were negated.
• Check the alpha channel itself, not only the picture, since alpha handling depends on pixel format.
• Naming a channel the pixel format lacks, such as red on a YUV clip, can make the filter refuse to start.