video-editing

# Video editing (Kdenlive · ffmpeg · melt) ## Toolkit on this machine | Tool | Use it for | Launch / CLI | |---|---|---| | **Kdenlive 26.08** | Multi-track editing: cuts, titles, transitions, effects, color, audio mixing, subtitles | `kdenlive` · headless `scripts/render-project.sh` | | **melt 7.40** (MLT) | Kdenlive's render engine, scriptable | `melt` | | **ffmpeg 9 (`/usr/bin/ffmpeg`)** | Encode, convert, trim, loudness, GIFs, VAAPI hardware encoding | `/usr/bin/ffmpeg` | | **Blender VSE** | Backup editor; also for 3D/motion-graphic inserts (`3d-modeling` skill) | Blender → *Video Editing* workspace | | **OBS** | Recording source footage | `screen-recording` skill | | **GIMP / Inkscape** | Thumbnails, lower-thirds, title cards as PNG with alpha | `graphic-design` skill | **Machine quirks** - Plain `ffmpeg` in your shell is **Homebrew's (no VAAPI)**. Scripts here force `/usr/bin` first; in manual commands type `/usr/bin/ffmpeg`. - The Vega iGPU hardware-encodes **H.264 and HEVC only** (no AV1 encode, despite `av1_vaapi` being listed). - Hardware encoding is fast but makes bigger files than x264 at equal quality — use `--sw` in `encode.sh` for the smallest final uploads. ## Scripts | Script | What it does | |---|---| | `check.sh` | Kdenlive, MLT, frei0r effects, ffmpeg builds + VAAPI encoders, shadowing warnings | | `encode.sh <in> <preset> [out] [--sw]` | Presets: `web`, `youtube`, `vertical` (1080×1920 blurred fill), `square`, `archive` (HEVC), `preview` | | `loudnorm.sh <in> [--target -14] [--denoise]` | Two-pass EBU R128 loudness normalization (video copied untouched), optional noise reduction | | `gif.sh <in> [--start S] [--dur D] [--width W] [--fps F]` | Palette-optimized GIF + a far smaller WebM for READMEs/docs | | `thumbs.sh <in> [count]` | Evenly spaced frame grabs + storyboard sheet for picking a thumbnail | | `render-project.sh <project.kdenlive> [out.mp4]` | Renders a Kdenlive project with melt, no GUI | ## Guides - `references/kdenlive-workflow.md` — project setup, proxy clips, the edit (J/K/L, razor, ripple), titles, color, audio, subtitles, render. - `references/delivery-specs.md` — per-platform specs, loudness targets, and the ffmpeg one-liners worth knowing. ## Rules of thumb 1. Project profile = your footage (usually 1080p 30 or 60 fps). Enable **proxy clips** for 4K or long screen recordings on this iGPU. 2. Story first: rough cut → fine cut → B-roll/zooms → titles → color → audio → export. 3. Audio matters more than video: normalize to **−14 LUFS** (YouTube/social) or **−16 LUFS** (voice/podcast). 4. Keep masters (`archive` preset or Kdenlive lossless), deliver platform versions from them. 5. Burn captions for social (most people watch muted); upload `.srt` separately for YouTube.