In the world of multimedia, videos are a valuable and versatile form of content. However, you may find yourself needing to break down a long video into smaller, more manageable segments for various purposes. This could be for editing, sharing, or simply to make the content more digestible. To automate this process, you can use FFmpeg, a powerful multimedia framework, along with a Python script. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through creating a Python script that segments a video and saves the segments in a dedicated folder.

What You’ll Need

Before we dive into the code, make sure you have the following in place:

  • FFmpeg: Ensure that FFmpeg is installed and available in your system’s PATH. You can download it from the official website.

  • Python: You’ll need Python installed on your system. This script uses Python’s subprocess module to execute FFmpeg commands.

The Python Script

Here’s the Python script to automate the video segmentation process:

import subprocess
import os

# Ask for user input for the input video file
input_video = input("Enter the input video file (e.g., input.mp4): ")

# Ask for the number of threads
threads = input("Enter the number of threads (e.g., 3): ")

# Ask for the segment time
segment_time = input("Enter the segment time (e.g., 10:00): ")

# Ask for the output folder
output_folder = input("Enter the output folder name: ")

# Create the output folder if it doesn't exist
if not os.path.exists(output_folder):
    os.mkdir(output_folder)

# Build the FFmpeg command
output_pattern = os.path.join(output_folder, "out_%02d.mp4")
ffmpeg_command = f"ffmpeg -i {input_video} -threads {threads} -vcodec copy -f segment -segment_time {segment_time} -reset_timestamps 1 {output_pattern}"

# Execute the FFmpeg command
try:
    subprocess.run(ffmpeg_command, shell=True, check=True)
    print("Video segmentation complete.")
except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
    print("An error occurred while executing FFmpeg. Please check your input and try again.")

This script interacts with the user, asking for input video details, the number of threads for processing, the desired segment time, and the name of the output folder where the segmented videos will be saved.

How the Script Works

  1. The script takes user input for the input video file, thread count, segment time, and the name of the output folder.

  2. It creates the specified output folder if it doesn’t already exist.

  3. It constructs the FFmpeg command to segment the video and save the segments in the output folder.

  4. The FFmpeg command is executed using subprocess.run().

Running the Script

To use the script:

  1. Ensure that you’ve met the prerequisites mentioned earlier.

  2. Copy the script into a Python file (e.g., video_segmentation.py).

  3. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory containing the script.

  4. Run the script using python video_segmentation.py.

  5. Follow the prompts to provide the necessary information.

The segmented video files will be saved in the specified output folder.

Conclusion

Automating video segmentation with FFmpeg and Python can save you time and effort when dealing with large video files. This script allows you to easily break down videos into smaller segments while organizing them neatly in a dedicated folder. Whether you’re a video editor, content creator, or simply need to manage video content, this script can simplify the process of working with video files. Give it a try and streamline your video management tasks today!