user9274: I'm trying to create a transparent box with some text in it and then overlay that onto a (bigger) existing video.
I know I can do the text directly over the video, but I need the text bounded inside an invisible box.
My problem is that the transparent box ( color=#00000000:size=400x100 ) causes the text that I put in it to be transparent too, no matter what fontcolor or shadowcolor or boxcolor (with opaque alpha) I try to give it. Is this a bug or am I doing it wrong (TM)? Is there an alternative way?
ffmpeg \
 -i "capture2.mkv" -t 5 \
 -filter_complex "
   color=Blue:size=400x100 [canvas];
   [canvas]drawtext='
             :fontcolor=Red
             :fontsize=30
             :fontfile=/usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSerif.ttf
             :text=Header blabla (long text should be clipped)
             ' [text];
   [0:v][text] overlay=
  " -strict -2 -y output.mkv

The above works fine: blue box with red text on it. But as soon as I try to make the blue box transparent, the text starts fading too. The 2nd screenshot shows Blue@0.3


Complete output:
ffmpeg version 2.4.6 Copyright (c) 2000-2015 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Feb  1 2015 02:48:47 with gcc 4.9.2 (GCC) 20141101 (Red Hat 4.9.2-1)
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --bindir=/usr/bin --datadir=/usr/share/ffmpeg --incdir=/usr/include/ffmpeg --libdir=/usr/lib64 --mandir=/usr/share/man --arch=x86_64 --optflags='-O2 -g -pipe -Wall -Werror=format-security -Wp,-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fexceptions -fstack-protector-strong --param=ssp-buffer-size=4 -grecord-gcc-switches -m64 -mtune=generic' --enable-bzlib --disable-crystalhd --enable-frei0r --enable-gnutls --enable-libass --enable-libcdio --enable-libdc1394 --disable-indev=jack --enable-libfreetype --enable-libgsm --enable-libmp3lame --enable-openal --enable-opencl --enable-libopencv --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-libschroedinger --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libv4l2 --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab --enable-avfilter --enable-avresample --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-gpl --disable-debug --disable-stripping --shlibdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-runtime-cpudetect
  libavutil      54.  7.100 / 54.  7.100
  libavcodec     56.  1.100 / 56.  1.100
  libavformat    56.  4.101 / 56.  4.101
  libavdevice    56.  0.100 / 56.  0.100
  libavfilter     5.  1.100 /  5.  1.100
  libavresample   2.  1.  0 /  2.  1.  0
  libswscale      3.  0.100 /  3.  0.100
  libswresample   1.  1.100 /  1.  1.100
  libpostproc    53.  0.100 / 53.  0.100
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'capture2.mkv':
  Metadata:
    ENCODER         : Lavf56.4.101
  Duration: 00:58:11.53, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 764 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (High 4:4:4 Predictive), yuv444p, 1024x768, SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 1k tbn, 60 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      ENCODER         : Lavc56.1.100 libx264
No pixel format specified, yuv444p for H.264 encoding chosen.
Use -pix_fmt yuv420p for compatibility with outdated media players.
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] using SAR=1/1
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 SSE4.1 Cache64
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] profile High 4:4:4 Predictive, level 3.1, 4:4:4 8-bit
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] 264 - core 142 r2495 6a301b6 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2014 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=3 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=hex subme=7 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=1 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=1 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=4 threads=3 lookahead_threads=1 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=25 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=crf mbtree=1 crf=23.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00
Output #0, matroska, to 'output.mkv':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf56.4.101
    Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (libx264) (H264 / 0x34363248), yuv444p, 1024x768 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], q=-1--1, 30 fps, 1k tbn, 30 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      encoder         : Lavc56.1.100 libx264
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 (h264) -> drawtext
  drawtext -> Stream #0:0 (libx264)
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
frame=  150 fps= 46 q=-1.0 Lsize=      41kB time=00:00:04.93 bitrate=  67.8kbits/s    
video:39kB audio:0kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: 3.940397%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame I:1     Avg QP:18.30  size: 30586
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame P:38    Avg QP:23.35  size:    71
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame B:111   Avg QP:34.33  size:    56
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] consecutive B-frames:  1.3%  0.0%  0.0% 98.7%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb I  I16..4: 35.1% 49.7% 15.2%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb P  I16..4:  0.1%  0.1%  0.0%  P16..4:  0.1%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:99.6%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb B  I16..4:  0.0%  0.2%  0.0%  B16..8:  0.4%  0.0%  0.0%  direct: 0.0%  skip:99.4%  L0:58.3% L1:41.7% BI: 0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] 8x8 transform intra:58.4% inter:46.2%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] coded y,u,v intra: 7.6% 7.0% 6.9% inter: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i16 v,h,dc,p: 76% 21%  4%  0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 25% 12% 64%  0%  0%  0%  0%  0%  0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 43% 20% 10%  4%  5%  5%  4%  4%  4%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.0% UV:0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref P L0: 41.0%  8.3% 42.0%  8.7%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref B L0: 51.9% 46.4%  1.6%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref B L1: 97.0%  3.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] kb/s:63.22


user12101: Try this :
ffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -vf "drawbox=enable='between(t,2,6)':y=ih-ih/4:color=black@0.5:width=iw:height=56:t=max",\ "drawtext=enable='between(t,2,6)':fontfile=roboto.ttf:y=h-h/4+10:x=20:text='Test Heading':fontcolor=white:fontsize=16,drawtext=enable='between(t,2,6)':fontfile=roboto.ttf:y=h-h/4+30:x=20:text='Test sub heading':fontcolor=white:fontsize=12" -acodec copy output.mp4


9274: <p>I'm trying to create a transparent box with some text in it and then overlay that onto a (bigger) existing video.</p>

<p>I know I can do the text directly over the video, but I need the text bounded inside an invisible box.</p>

<p>My problem is that the transparent box ( color=#00000000:size=400x100 ) causes the text that I put in it to be transparent too, no matter what fontcolor or shadowcolor or boxcolor (with opaque alpha) I try to give it. Is this a bug or am I doing it wrong (TM)? Is there an alternative way?</p>

<pre><code>ffmpeg \
 -i "capture2.mkv" -t 5 \
 -filter_complex "
   color=Blue:size=400x100 [canvas];
   [canvas]drawtext='
             :fontcolor=Red
             :fontsize=30
             :fontfile=/usr/share/fonts/dejavu/DejaVuSerif.ttf
             :text=Header blabla (long text should be clipped)
             ' [text];
   [0:v][text] overlay=
  " -strict -2 -y output.mkv
</code></pre>

<p>The above works fine: blue box with red text on it. But as soon as I try to make the blue box transparent, the text starts fading too. The 2nd screenshot shows Blue@0.3</p>

<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/t6CIt.png" alt="Blue box with text"></p>

<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/vzikT.png" alt="Blue@0.3 box with faded text"></p>

<p>Complete output:</p>

<pre><code>ffmpeg version 2.4.6 Copyright (c) 2000-2015 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Feb  1 2015 02:48:47 with gcc 4.9.2 (GCC) 20141101 (Red Hat 4.9.2-1)
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --bindir=/usr/bin --datadir=/usr/share/ffmpeg --incdir=/usr/include/ffmpeg --libdir=/usr/lib64 --mandir=/usr/share/man --arch=x86_64 --optflags='-O2 -g -pipe -Wall -Werror=format-security -Wp,-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fexceptions -fstack-protector-strong --param=ssp-buffer-size=4 -grecord-gcc-switches -m64 -mtune=generic' --enable-bzlib --disable-crystalhd --enable-frei0r --enable-gnutls --enable-libass --enable-libcdio --enable-libdc1394 --disable-indev=jack --enable-libfreetype --enable-libgsm --enable-libmp3lame --enable-openal --enable-opencl --enable-libopencv --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-libschroedinger --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libv4l2 --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab --enable-avfilter --enable-avresample --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --disable-static --enable-shared --enable-gpl --disable-debug --disable-stripping --shlibdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-runtime-cpudetect
  libavutil      54.  7.100 / 54.  7.100
  libavcodec     56.  1.100 / 56.  1.100
  libavformat    56.  4.101 / 56.  4.101
  libavdevice    56.  0.100 / 56.  0.100
  libavfilter     5.  1.100 /  5.  1.100
  libavresample   2.  1.  0 /  2.  1.  0
  libswscale      3.  0.100 /  3.  0.100
  libswresample   1.  1.100 /  1.  1.100
  libpostproc    53.  0.100 / 53.  0.100
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'capture2.mkv':
  Metadata:
    ENCODER         : Lavf56.4.101
  Duration: 00:58:11.53, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 764 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (High 4:4:4 Predictive), yuv444p, 1024x768, SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 1k tbn, 60 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      ENCODER         : Lavc56.1.100 libx264
No pixel format specified, yuv444p for H.264 encoding chosen.
Use -pix_fmt yuv420p for compatibility with outdated media players.
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] using SAR=1/1
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 SSE4.1 Cache64
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] profile High 4:4:4 Predictive, level 3.1, 4:4:4 8-bit
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] 264 - core 142 r2495 6a301b6 - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2014 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=3 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=hex subme=7 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=1 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=1 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=4 threads=3 lookahead_threads=1 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=25 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=crf mbtree=1 crf=23.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00
Output #0, matroska, to 'output.mkv':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf56.4.101
    Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (libx264) (H264 / 0x34363248), yuv444p, 1024x768 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], q=-1--1, 30 fps, 1k tbn, 30 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      encoder         : Lavc56.1.100 libx264
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 (h264) -&gt; drawtext
  drawtext -&gt; Stream #0:0 (libx264)
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
frame=  150 fps= 46 q=-1.0 Lsize=      41kB time=00:00:04.93 bitrate=  67.8kbits/s    
video:39kB audio:0kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: 3.940397%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame I:1     Avg QP:18.30  size: 30586
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame P:38    Avg QP:23.35  size:    71
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] frame B:111   Avg QP:34.33  size:    56
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] consecutive B-frames:  1.3%  0.0%  0.0% 98.7%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb I  I16..4: 35.1% 49.7% 15.2%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb P  I16..4:  0.1%  0.1%  0.0%  P16..4:  0.1%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:99.6%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] mb B  I16..4:  0.0%  0.2%  0.0%  B16..8:  0.4%  0.0%  0.0%  direct: 0.0%  skip:99.4%  L0:58.3% L1:41.7% BI: 0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] 8x8 transform intra:58.4% inter:46.2%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] coded y,u,v intra: 7.6% 7.0% 6.9% inter: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i16 v,h,dc,p: 76% 21%  4%  0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 25% 12% 64%  0%  0%  0%  0%  0%  0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 43% 20% 10%  4%  5%  5%  4%  4%  4%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.0% UV:0.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref P L0: 41.0%  8.3% 42.0%  8.7%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref B L0: 51.9% 46.4%  1.6%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] ref B L1: 97.0%  3.0%
[libx264 @ 0x1508840] kb/s:63.22
</code></pre>
 12101: <p>Try this :</p>
<p>ffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -vf &quot;drawbox=enable='between(t,2,6)':y=ih-ih/4:color=black@0.5:width=iw:height=56:t=max&quot;,\ &quot;drawtext=enable='between(t,2,6)':fontfile=roboto.ttf:y=h-h/4+10:x=20:text='Test Heading':fontcolor=white:fontsize=16,drawtext=enable='between(t,2,6)':fontfile=roboto.ttf:y=h-h/4+30:x=20:text='Test sub heading':fontcolor=white:fontsize=12&quot; -acodec copy output.mp4</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/y8XYt.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/y8XYt.png" alt="This is how the output should look like, Try playing with black@0.5 to increase or decrease the transparency " /></a></p>
