Create high-quality GIFs from video files using FFmpeg
Project description
gifmemore
A command-line tool to quickly create high-quality animated GIFs from video files using FFmpeg. You can trim the video, adjust speed and FPS, resize the output, and add custom text overlays.
Now with two-pass encoding for superior quality!
Features
- Preview your GIF before creating it with built-in ffplay integration
- Two-pass palette generation for better color quality and smaller file sizes
- Clip a specific segment from any video file
- Adjust the speed and frame rate (FPS) of the resulting GIF
- Resize the output to a specific scale (e.g., 50% of original size)
- Overlay custom text with control over size, color, and position
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Clean, modular codebase with proper abstraction
Core Dependencies
This tool uses FFmpeg under the hood for video processing:
- FFmpeg: The industry-standard multimedia framework (must be installed on your system)
- Python 3.7+: For the command-line interface and orchestration
Two-Pass Method: By default, gifmemore generates a custom color palette first, then uses it to create the GIF. This produces significantly better quality than direct conversion, with optimized colors for your specific video content
Installation
1. Install FFmpeg (if not already installed):
- macOS:
brew install ffmpeg - Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install ffmpeg - Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org
2. Install gifmemore:
pip install gifmemore
Usage
gifmemore -f <path_to_video> [options]
Or run as a module:
python -m gifmemore -f <path_to_video> [options]
Examples
Create a simple 5-second GIF from the beginning of a video:
gifmemore -f "my_video.mp4" -d 5
Create a high-quality GIF starting at 10 seconds, with red text at the top left:
gifmemore -f "input.mp4" -s 10 -d 3 -fp 25 -t "Hello World!" -p top_left -c "red" -fs 70
Create a half-sized GIF that runs at 1.5x speed:
gifmemore -f "cool_movie.mkv" -s 65 -d 4 -r 0.5 -sp 1.5
Use single-pass mode for faster (but lower quality) conversion:
gifmemore -f "video.mp4" -m single-pass
Preview before creating (recommended for fine-tuning):
gifmemore -f "video.mp4" -s 10 -d 3 --preview
All Options
usage: gifmemore [-h] -f FILE [-s START] [-d DURATION] [-fp FPS]
[-sp SPEEDUP] [-r RESIZE] [-t TEXT] [-p POSITION]
[-fs FONTSIZE] [-c COLOR] [--loop LOOP] [-o OUTPUT]
[-m {single-pass,two-pass}]
Create GIFs from video files using FFmpeg
options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-f FILE, --file FILE Input video file
-s START, --start START
Start time in seconds (default: 0)
-d DURATION, --duration DURATION
Duration in seconds (default: 5)
-fp FPS, --fps FPS Frames per second (default: 15)
-sp SPEEDUP, --speedup SPEEDUP
Speed multiplier (default: 1.0)
-r RESIZE, --resize RESIZE
Resize factor (default: 1.0)
-t TEXT, --text TEXT Text overlay
-p POSITION, --position POSITION
Text position: center, top, bottom, top_left,
top_right, bottom_left, bottom_right (default: center)
-fs FONTSIZE, --fontsize FONTSIZE
Font size (default: 50)
-c COLOR, --color COLOR
Text color (default: white)
--loop LOOP Loop count, 0 = infinite (default: 0)
-o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
Output filename (default: output.gif)
-m METHOD, --method METHOD
GIF creation method: single-pass or two-pass (default: two-pass)
--preview Preview the output before creating GIF
Programmatic Usage
You can also use gifmemore as a Python library:
from gifmemore import GIFConfig, GIFCreator
config = GIFConfig(
input_file="video.mp4",
output_file="output.gif",
start=10,
duration=3,
fps=20,
method="two-pass",
preview=True # Enable preview
)
creator = GIFCreator(config)
creator.create()
Preview Feature
The --preview flag opens the video segment in ffplay with all your filters applied (speed, resize, text, etc.) before creating the GIF. This lets you:
- See exactly what your GIF will look like
- Verify timing, text placement, and effects
- Adjust parameters without waiting for GIF creation
- Save time by getting it right the first time
After closing the preview window, you'll be prompted to continue or cancel the GIF creation.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.
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