How to Rotate Videos on Mac OS X Using FFmpeg

When working with videos, there are times when you need to rotate them to fix issues like incorrect orientation or to prepare them for sharing on different platforms. One popular video editing tool that can help you achieve this is FFmpeg, which is a free and open-source software that's widely used in the media industry. In this article, we'll explore how to use FFmpeg to rotate videos on Mac OS X.

Before we dive into the steps, it's essential to understand that FFmpeg is not a user-friendly video editing software like iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro. It's more of a command-line tool that requires you to write specific commands to achieve your desired outcome. However, with practice and patience, you can master its use and unlock its full potential.

To get started, make sure you have FFmpeg installed on your Mac OS X system. If you don't have it installed, you can download the latest version from the official FFmpeg website.

Once you have FFmpeg installed, open a terminal window on your Mac OS X system. You can do this by searching for 'Terminal' in Spotlight search or navigating to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

To rotate a video using FFmpeg, you'll need to specify the rotation angle and input/output file names. Here's an example command that rotates a video 90 degrees clockwise:

```

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf 'transpose=1' output.mp4

```

In this command:

* `input.mp4` is the name of your input video file.

* `-vf` stands for Video Filter, which is used to apply various video effects and transformations.

* `transpose=1` specifies that you want to rotate the video 90 degrees clockwise. You can also use `transpose=2` to rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise.

* `output.mp4` is the name of your output video file.

To rotate a video 180 degrees, you can use the following command:

```

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf 'hflip,vflip' output.mp4

```

This command flips the video horizontally (hflip) and vertically (vflip), which effectively rotates it 180 degrees.

FFmpeg also supports more advanced rotation options, such as rotating a video based on its metadata. For example, if you have a video that's been captured in landscape mode but is stored with portrait orientation metadata, you can use the following command to rotate it correctly:

```

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf 'yuvautocrop' output.mp4

```

The `yuvautocrop` filter automatically detects the video's orientation and crops it accordingly.

In conclusion, FFmpeg is a powerful tool that can help you rotate videos on Mac OS X with ease. By mastering its command-line interface and various filters, you can achieve professional-grade video editing results without breaking the bank. Whether you're a filmmaker, YouTuber, or simply a hobbyist, FFmpeg is definitely worth exploring further.

Os x ffmpeg rotate video