How to combine multiple FFmpeg filters into single command?

Tech QnA
2

John,

Combining multiple filters into a single FFmpeg command is very simple, you must be using the -vf option provided by FFmpeg for your individual filters, but to combine them into a single command you have to create a filter chain and use it with the -filter_complex option provided by FFmpeg.

For example,
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter_complex "[0:v]filter1=option1:option2[outv];[0:a]filter2=option3:option4[outa]" -map "[outv]" -map "[outa]" output.mp4

  • -i input.mp4 indicates the input file, in this case, input.mp4.

  • -filter_complex is used to target the complex filter graph.

  • [0:v] refers to the video stream from the first input (index 0).

  • filter1=option1:option2 shows the first filter you wish to apply to the video stream.

  • [outv] is the name given to the output video stream from the filter.

  • [0:a] refers to the audio stream from the first input (index 0).

  • filter2=option3:option4 shows the second filter you want to apply to the audio stream.

  • [outa] is the name given to the output audio stream from the filter.

  • -map "[outv]" and -map "[outa]" specify which output streams to include in the final output file.

  • output.mp4 is the name of the output file.

And you can also use the filters twice in different commands and complex filters in ffmpeg.
I hope this may help you! Ask if you need further guidance.

Thanks