NAME

    Automate::Animate::FFmpeg - Create animation from a sequence of images
    using FFmpeg

VERSION

    Version 0.10

SYNOPSIS

    This module creates an animation from a sequence of input images using
    FFmpeg <https://ffmpeg.org>. An excellent, open source program.

    FFmpeg binaries must already be installed in your system.

        use Automate::Animate::FFmpeg;
        my $aaFFobj = Automate::Animate::FFmpeg->new({
          # specify input images in any of these 4 ways or a combination:
          # 1) by specifying each input image (in the order to appear)
          #    in an ARRAYref
          'input-images' => [
            '/xyz/abc/im1.png',
            '/xyz/abc/im2.png',
            ...
          ],
          # 2) by specifying an input pattern (glob or regex)
          #    and optional search path
          'input-pattern' => ['*.png', './'],
          # 3) by specifying an ARRAY of input patterns
          #    (see above)
          'input-patterns' => [
              ['*.tiff'],
              # specify a regex to filter-in all files under search dir
              # NOTE: observe the escaping rules for each quotation method you use
              [qw!regex(/photos2023-.+?\\.png/i)!, 'abc/xyz'],
          ],
          # 4) by specifying a file which contains filenames
          #    of the input images.
          'input-images-from-file' => 'file-containing-a-list-of-pathnames-to-images.txt',
    
          # optionally specify the duration of each frame=image
          'frame-duration' => 5.3, # seconds
    
          'output-filename' => 'out.mp4',
        });
        # no animation yet!
    
        # options can be set after construction as well:
    
        # optionally add some extra params to FFmpeg as an arrayref
        $aaFF->ffmpeg_extra_params(['-x', 'abc', '-y', 1, 2, 3]);
    
        # you can also add images here, order is important
        $aaFF->input_images(['img1.png', 'img2.png']) or die;
    
        # or add images via a search pattern and optional search dir
        $aaFF->input_pattern(['*.png', './']);
    
        # or add images via multiple search patterns
        $aaFF->input_patterns([
            ['*.png', './'],
            ['*.jpg', '/images'],
            ['*.tiff'], # this defaults to current dir
        ]) or die;
    
        # and make the animation:
        die "make_animation() has failed"
          unless $aaFF->make_animation()
        ;

INSTALLATION

    During "making the makefile" (perl Makefile.PL), there will be a check
    to locate the binary ffmpeg in your system. At first it checks if the
    environment variable AUTOMATE_ANIMATE_FFMPEG_PATH is set, for example,
    in *nix, you can set this variable and do the installation like this:

        AUTOMATE_ANIMATE_FFMPEG_PATH=/abc/xyz/ffmpeg perl Makefile.PL

    Or, if you do not have direct control to the installation process (e.g.
    via cpan/cpanm/package-manager) do it like this:

        export AUTOMATE_ANIMATE_FFMPEG_PATH=/abc/xyz/ffmpeg
        cpan -i Automate::Animate::FFmpeg

    Or, like this:

        # this opens a shell after fetching the module tarball and unpacking it
        cpanm --look Automate::Animate::FFmpeg
        export AUTOMATE_ANIMATE_FFMPEG_PATH=/abc/xyz/ffmpeg
        perl Makefile.PL
        ...

    If the environment variable AUTOMATE_ANIMATE_FFMPEG_PATH was not set,
    the installer will search in the "usual" locations for the ffmpeg
    binaries. This is done by File::Which's which().

    If nothing was found, then it is assumed that ffmpeg is not installed.
    But, the installation will proceed with a warning. Tests will be run,
    but they too will succeed (with a warning) on the absence of an ffmpeg
    executable. The location to the ffmpeg binaries will be left undefined
    in the module's installed scripts and the module will be totally
    unusable. This choice was made in order not to fail the tests when
    ffmpeg is missing from test machines.

    Installation of ffmpeg binaries is straightforward from their website
    <https://ffmpeg.org//download.html> for Linux, OSX and windows, if you
    are still using it. Many Linux distributions offer ffmpeg via their
    package managers. That, or download a static build from said website.

METHODS

 new

      my $ret = Automate::Animate::FFmpeg->new({ ... });

    All arguments are supplied via a hashref with the following keys:

      * input-images : an array of pathnames to input images. Image types
      can be what ffmpeg understands: png, jpeg, tiff, and lots more.

      * input-pattern : an arrayref of 1 or 2 items. The first item is the
      pattern which complies to what File::Find::Rule understands (See
      [https://metacpan.org/pod/File::Find::Rule#Matching-Rules]). For
      example *.png, regular expressions can be passed by enclosing them in
      regex(/.../modifiers) and should include the //. Modifiers can be
      after the last /. For example regex(/\.(mp3|ogg)$/i).

      The optional second parameter is the search path. If not specified,
      the current working dir will be used.

      Note that there is no implicit or explicit eval() in compiling the
      user-specified regex (i.e. when pattern is in the form
      regex(/.../modifiers)). Additionally there is a check in place for
      the user-specified modifiers to the regex: die "never trust user
      input" unless $modifiers=~/^[msixpodualn]+$/;. Thank you Discipulus
      <https://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=174111>.

      * input-patterns : same as above but it expects an array of
      input-pattern.

      * input-images-from-file : specify the file which contains pathnames
      to image files, each on its own line.

      * ffmpeg-extra-params : pass extra parameters to the ffmpeg
      executable as an arrayref of arguments, each argument must be a
      separate item as in : ['-i', 'file'].

      * frame-duration : set the duration of each frame (i.e. each input
      image) in the animation in (fractional) seconds.

      * qw/verbosity : set the verbosity, 0 being mute.

    Return value:

      * undef on failure or the blessed object on success.

    This is the constructor. It instantiates the object which does the
    animations. Its input parameters can be set also via their own setter
    methods. If input images are specified during construction then the
    list of filenames is constructed and kept in memory. Just the
    filenames.

 make_animation()

      $aaFF->make_animation() or die "failed";

    It initiates the making of the animation by shelling out to ffmpeg with
    all the input images specified via one or more calls to any of:

      * input_images($m)

      * input_pattern($m)

      * input_patterns($m)

      * input_file_with_images($m)

    On success, the resultant animation will be written to the output file
    (specified using output_filename($m) before the call.

    Return value:

      * 0 on failure, 1 on success.

 input_images($m)

      my $ret = $aaFF->input_images($m);

    It sets or gets the list (as an ARRAYref) of all input images currently
    in the list of images to create the animation. The optional input
    parameter, $m, is an ARRAYref of input images (their fullpath that is)
    to create the animation.

    Return value:

      * the list, as an ARRAYref, of the image filenames currently set to
      create the animation.

 input_pattern($m)

      $aaFF->input_pattern($m) or die "failed";

    Initiates a search via File::Find::Rule for the input image files to
    create the animation using the pattern $m->[0] with starting search dir
    being $m->[1], which is optional -- default being Cwd::cwd (current
    working dir). So, $m is an array ref of one or two items. The first is
    the search pattern and the optional second is the search path,
    defaulting to the current working dir.

    The pattern ($m->[0]) can be a shell wildcard, e.g. *.png, or a regex
    specified as regex(/REGEX-HERE/modifiers), for example
    regex(/\.(mp3|ogg)$/i) Both shell wildcards and regular expressions
    must comply with what File::Find::Rule expects, see
    [https://metacpan.org/pod/File::Find::Rule#Matching-Rules].

    The results of the search will be added to the list of input images in
    the order of appearance.

    Multiple calls to input_pattern() will load input images in the order
    they are found.

    input_pattern() can be combined with input_patterns() and
    input_images(). The input images list will increase in the order they
    are called.

    Caveat: the regex is parsed, compiled and passed on to
    File::Find::Rule. Escaping of special characters (e.g. the backslash)
    may be required.

    Caveat: the order of the matched input images is entirely up to
    File::Find::Rule. There may be unexpected results when filenames
    contain unicode characters. Consider these orderings for example:

      * blue.png, κίτρινο.png, red.png,

      * blue.png, γάμμα.png, κίτρινο.png, red.png,

      * blue.png, κίτρινο.png, γαμμα.png red.png,

    Return value:

      * 0 on failure, 1 on success.

 input_patterns($m)

      $aaFF->input_patterns($m) or die "failed";

    Argument $m is an array of arrays each composed of one or two items.
    The first argument, which is mandatory, is the search pattern. The
    optional second argument is the directory to start the search. For each
    item of @$m it calls input_pattern($m).

    input_patterns() can be combined with input_pattern() and
    input_images(). The input images list will increase in the order they
    are called.

    Return value:

      * 0 on failure, 1 on success.

 output_filename($m)

      my $ret = $aaFF->output_filename($m);

    It sets or gets the output filename of the animation.

    When setting an output filename, make sure you specify its extension
    and it does make sense to FFmpeg (e.g. mp4).

    Return value:

      * the current output filename.

 input_file_with_images($m)

      $aaFF->input_file_with_images($m) or die "failed";

    Reads file $m which must contain filenames, one filename per line, and
    adds the up to the list of input images to create the animation.

    Return value:

      * 0 on failure, 1 on success.

 num_input_images()

      my $N = $aaFF->num_input_images();

    Return value:

      * on success, it returns the number of input images currently in the
      list to create the animation. On failure, or when there are now
      images to create the animation, it returns 0.

 clear_input_images()

      $aaFF->clear_input_images();

    It clears the list of input images to create an animation. Zero, null,
    it's over for Bojo.

 ffmpeg_executable()

      my $ret = $aaFF->ffmpeg_executable();

    You can not change the path to the executable mid-stream.

    Return value:

      * on success, it returns the path to ffmpeg executable as it was set
      during module installation. The return value will be undef if ffmpeg
      executable was not detected during installation.

 verbosity($m)

      my $ret = $aaFF->verbosity($m);

    It sets or gets the verbosity level. Zero being mute.

    Return value:

      * the current verbosity level.

 frame_duration($m)

      my $ret = $aaFF->frame_duration($m);

    It sets or gets the frame duration in (fractional) seconds. Frame
    duration is the time that each frame(=image) appears in the produced
    animation.

    Return value:

      * the current frame duration in (fractional) seconds.

SCRIPTS

    A script for making animations from input images using ffmpeg is
    provided: automate-animate-ffmpeg.pl.

    It accepts the following options:

        --input-image I [--input-image I2 ...] : specify the full path of an
        image to be added to the animation. Multiple images are expected.
    
          OR
    
        --input-images-from-file F [--input-images-from-file F2 ...] :
        specify a file which contains a list of input images to be
        animated, each on its own line. Multiple images are expected.
    
          OR
    
        --input-pattern/-p P [D] : specify a pattern and optional search
        dir to select the files from disk. This pattern must be accepted
        by File::Find::Rule::name(). If search dir is not specified,
        the current working dir will be used.
    
        --output-filename/-o O : the filename of the output animation.
    
        [--frame-duration/-d SECONDS : specify the duration of each
        frame=input image in (fractional) seconds.]
    
        [--verbosity/-V N : specify verbosity. Zero being the mute.
        Default is 0.]

    As an example,

        automate-animate-ffmpeg.pl \
           --input-pattern '*.png' 't/t-data/images' \
           --output-filename out.mp4 \
           --frame-duration 3.5
    
        # or
    
        automate-animate-ffmpeg.pl \
           --input-pattern 'regex(/.+?.png/i)' \
           --output-filename out.mp4 \
           --frame-duration 3.5

 UNICODE FILENAMES

    Unicode filenames are supported ... I think. Please report any
    problems.

AUTHOR

    Andreas Hadjiprocopis, <bliako at cpan.org>

BUGS

    Please report any bugs or feature requests to
    bug-automate-animate-ffmpeg at rt.cpan.org, or through the web
    interface at
    https://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Automate-Animate-FFmpeg.
    I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of
    progress on your bug as I make changes.

SUPPORT

    You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

        perldoc Automate::Animate::FFmpeg

    You can also look for information at:

      * RT: CPAN's request tracker (report bugs here)

      https://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Automate-Animate

      * AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation

      http://annocpan.org/dist/Automate-Animate

      * CPAN Ratings

      https://cpanratings.perl.org/d/Automate-Animate

      * Search CPAN

      https://metacpan.org/release/Automate-Animate

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      * A big thank you to FFmpeg <https://ffmpeg.org>, an excellent, open
      source software for all things moving.

      * A big thank you to PerlMonks <https://perlmonks.org> for the useful
      discussion <https://perlmonks.org/?node_id=11156484> on parsing
      command line arguments as a string. And an even bigger thank you to
      PerlMonks for just being there.

      * On compiling a regex when pattern and modifiers are in variables,
      discussion <https://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=1210675> at PerlMonks
      <https://perlmonks.org>.

      * A big thank you to Ace, the big dog. Bravo Ace!

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

    Copyright 2019 Andreas Hadjiprocopis.

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the terms of the the Artistic License (2.0). You may obtain a
    copy of the full license at:

    http://www.perlfoundation.org/artistic_license_2_0

    Any use, modification, and distribution of the Standard or Modified
    Versions is governed by this Artistic License. By using, modifying or
    distributing the Package, you accept this license. Do not use, modify,
    or distribute the Package, if you do not accept this license.

    If your Modified Version has been derived from a Modified Version made
    by someone other than you, you are nevertheless required to ensure that
    your Modified Version complies with the requirements of this license.

    This license does not grant you the right to use any trademark, service
    mark, tradename, or logo of the Copyright Holder.

    This license includes the non-exclusive, worldwide, free-of-charge
    patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import and
    otherwise transfer the Package with respect to any patent claims
    licensable by the Copyright Holder that are necessarily infringed by
    the Package. If you institute patent litigation (including a
    cross-claim or counterclaim) against any party alleging that the
    Package constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then
    this Artistic License to you shall terminate on the date that such
    litigation is filed.

    Disclaimer of Warranty: THE PACKAGE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER
    AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES.
    THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
    PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT ARE DISCLAIMED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
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    CONTRIBUTOR WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR
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