Goal:

In this blog, we will explain how to create a clip from a video using the FFmpeg library. In my case, I am trying to cut a 15 seconds video and clip time starts from 00:00:05 to 00:00:12. Based on your use case you modify the timestamp in the input parameter.

Input:

Sample video

To check its properties like codec formats , bitrate , etc., run the below command

ffprobe <file_location>

For example
ffprobe input.mp4

Process:

To clip video, run the below command

ffmpeg -y -loglevel quiet -i <source_video_absolute_path> -ss <from_time> -t <to_time> -c:v copy -c:a copy <output_clip_path>

-y : Overwrite output files without asking for confirmation.

-loglevel quiet : Set the log level to quiet, which suppresses most of the console output.

-i <input_file> : Specify the input file

-ss <from_time> – starting point of your clip

-t <to_time> – Set the duration of the clip . Adjust this value to the desired duration of your clip. ( time difference between start and end time )

-c:v copy : Copy the video stream from the input file to the output file without re-encoding.

-c:a copy : Copy the audio stream from the input file to the output file without re-encoding.

<output_clip_path> : Specifies the output file name for the clip

For example

ffmpeg -y -loglevel quiet -i input.mp4 -ss 00:00:05 -t 00:00:07 -c:v copy -c:a copy clip.mp4

Result:

After running the command clip file will be generated.

To check the output file properties run ffprobe <output_file> command

How to create a clip from a video using FFmpeg?