Batch video screenshots

Retrobatch
1

This summer I will be creating a video-intensive website. The tool I’ll be employing uses a image/screenshot of the video for the on-page preview, then lightboxes the video when you press the play button.

I will have about 70 to 100 videos total that I’ll be using. Once I have the screenshots I know how to process them in Retrobatch. Not a problem. However, I’m wondering if anyone has hints/tools for batch creating those initial video screenshots. Putting all relevant videos into one folder is not a problem.

I don’t know if I can somehow do this with Retrobatch. In addition I have CleanShot plus Snagit. I don’t think either does batch processing but I may be wrong.

2

Are you wanting to pull out a frame at a specific timestamp, or just whatever the first frame of the video is?

3

@ccgus Hmm … good question. I know I’d have to be consistent. The first frame is likely fine enough. But if there was a way to choose a specific time from each video (e.g. 1:30 into each video) that would certainly be very cool and would give me a bonus in terms of how I set things up. But bottom line: if I have a way to capture the first frame that’s good enough.

4

I use ffmpeg for this, but outside of RB.

5

Thanks for the info. Specifying a specific time frame would be cool indeed. I’ll keep this in mind for when I hopefully write this some day.

6

Hmmm … thanks for this! I think ffmpeg may be a little out of reach of my technical prowess! But I will certainly give it a try.