What I coded during the break

My fake AI computer setup.
My fake AI computer setup.

ffmpeg scripts: I made scripts that can slice and dice video. They are mostly bash and python scripts. I basically turned any editing task into a coding task. It all works on low-spec computers too. A few highlights:

  • A correct script for zoom and pan. ffmpeg has a built-in zoompan filter, but it is wrong and weird because it won't zoom outside of the frame. I wrote a script that zooms and pans outside of the frame, allows for precise speed control (motion easing functions included!), and it can add motion blur. Also the coordinate origin point is in the middle of the frame (which makes sense), instead of the upper left corner (which is easier to program).
  • A zoomcut script. It makes a quick zoom-in effect. Very popular on youtube.
  • A few compositors. There are some scripts for greenscreen, overlays, and also a special compositor script that I wrote.
  • Audio scripts for recording, mixing, panning, volume adjustment, eq filtering, de-clicking...and more.
  • A motion blur script. Useful for adding motion blur to animations.
  • And also other scripts that make using ffmpeg so much easier.

ffmpeg is difficult to use. It has a weird syntax and a weird way of doing things. If you search the programming webforums, you will find that many people are lost and get no help. They say "It didn't cut the video where I expected it to". So here is a hint: Use a high quality intermediate format that uses 100 percent keyframes. This will allow a cut to be made at ANY frame. The first thing you should do is convert your video to the intermediate format (hint: it isn't .mp4). Don't listen to the nerds who will say, "but it is extra decode and re-encode". The nerds don't even have any idea how many decode/re-encodes have already happened to their favorite videos (don't tell them).

That is all I can say. No one else has even said as much. I wonder if it is supposed to be a secret. The secret intermediate format is the secret that allows your phone to edit video, that somehow your computer can't. Explain that! And no, the answer is not "phones are fast now". The answer is the intermediate format that, I guess, is a secret.

Command line arg parser generators: I had some of these from years ago, but these new scripts generate parsers for command line args in python and bash. Same specification syntax too. Easy to use. Supports short options, long options, the double dash thing, type and range checking for numbers, constrain an option or arg to a set of values, and more.

Scripts (bash and python) to make narrated slideshow videos: Either with AI, or not. Provide your own pictures or generate them using AI, same for the voiceover and screenplay. Oh! What have I done?! I made an AI video about the past trend of bluetooth earpieces (remember those?) and I was appalled, and I also made an AI exposé on the world of waffles! The world doesn't need this! I haven't used these scripts since. The videos remain unreleased.

I did this and it changed my life.

Comments:

😎@sam8077  11 minutes ago.
I would use something professional that supports high resolution.

🥰@cousin-larry9877  40 minutes ago.
Wow, I've never though of it that way before.

🎮@iceberg8025  60 minutes ago.
Truly the greatest script ever sir. I use this script to great effect in my life.