content-making-scripts

Scripts and shortcuts for editing audio/video (e.g batch ffmpeg commands).

FFmpeg Video Audio Processor

A Python script for Windows 11 that automates the workflow of extracting audio from videos, editing it in a DAW (like Reaper), and merging the edited audio back with the original video—all without re-encoding the video.

🎯 Purpose

This tool is perfect for content creators who need to:

Extract audio from videos for editing in a DAW
Replace video audio with professionally edited tracks
Maintain original video quality (no re-encoding)
Process multiple videos in batch

✨ Features

Extract audio from MP4 videos without re-encoding (preserves original quality)
Merge edited audio (WAV format) back with original video
No video re-encoding - keeps original video stream intact
High-quality audio encoding - 320 kbps AAC for maximum quality
Batch processing - handles multiple videos automatically
Detailed logging - see exactly what's happening at every step
Social media ready - outputs MP4 files compatible with Instagram, YouTube, TikTok

📋 Prerequisites

1. Python

Python 3.6 or higher
Check if installed: python --version in Command Prompt

2. FFmpeg

Download and Install

Download FFmpeg from: https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/
Get ffmpeg-release-essentials.zip
Extract to C:\ffmpeg

Add to System PATH

Press Win + X → System → Advanced system settings
Click Environment Variables
Under "System variables", find Path → Edit → New
Add: C:\ffmpeg\bin
Click OK on all dialogs
Restart any open Command Prompt windows

Verify Installation

ffmpeg -version

You should see FFmpeg version information.

🚀 Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ffmpeg-video-processor.git
cd ffmpeg-video-processor

No additional dependencies needed - uses Python standard library only!

📖 Usage

Method 1: Command Line with Argument

python process_videos.py "C:\path\to\your\video\folder"

Method 2: Interactive Mode

python process_videos.py

The script will prompt you to enter the folder path.

Method 3: Drag and Drop (Easiest!)

Create a file named run_processor.bat with this content:

@echo off
python process_videos.py %1
pause

Drag your video folder onto the .bat file

🔄 Workflow Example

Step 1: Initial Folder Structure

my_videos/
  ├── vacation.mp4
  └── tutorial.mp4

Step 2: Run Script (First Time)

python process_videos.py "C:\my_videos"

Result: Audio files are extracted

my_videos/
  ├── vacation.mp4
  ├── vacation.m4a          ← Extracted audio
  ├── tutorial.mp4
  └── tutorial.m4a          ← Extracted audio

Step 3: Edit Audio in Your DAW

Import .m4a files into Reaper (or your preferred DAW)
Edit the audio (mixing, effects, etc.)
Export as WAV with the naming convention: video_name-mix.wav

Recommended Reaper Export Settings:

Format: WAV
Sample Rate: 48000 Hz (match video)
Bit Depth: 24-bit or 32-bit float
Resample Mode: r8brain free (or Medium/Good)

my_videos/
  ├── vacation.mp4
  ├── vacation.m4a
  ├── vacation-mix.wav      ← Your edited audio from Reaper
  ├── tutorial.mp4
  ├── tutorial.m4a
  └── tutorial-mix.wav      ← Your edited audio from Reaper

Step 4: Run Script Again

python process_videos.py "C:\my_videos"

Result: Final videos are created

my_videos/
  ├── vacation.mp4
  ├── vacation.m4a
  ├── vacation-mix.wav
  ├── vacation-mix.mp4      ← ✓ Final video with edited audio!
  ├── tutorial.mp4
  ├── tutorial.m4a
  ├── tutorial-mix.wav
  └── tutorial-mix.mp4      ← ✓ Final video with edited audio!

🎬 What the Script Does

Stage 1: Audio Extraction

For each .mp4 file in the folder:

ffmpeg -i video_name.mp4 -vn -acodec copy video_name.m4a

Extracts audio without re-encoding
Preserves original audio quality
Creates .m4a files ready for DAW import

Stage 2: Audio-Video Merge

For each video_name-mix.wav found:

ffmpeg -i video_name.mp4 -i video_name-mix.wav -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 320k -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 video_name-mix.mp4

Keeps original video stream (no re-encoding = no quality loss)
Encodes audio to 320 kbps AAC (maximum quality)
Creates social media-ready MP4 files

📝 Output Example

============================================================
FFMPEG VIDEO AUDIO PROCESSOR
============================================================
Folder: C:\Users\YourName\Videos\my_videos
Found 2 video file(s) to process

************************************************************
PROCESSING: vacation.mp4
************************************************************

[STEP 1/2] Extracting audio to: vacation.m4a
============================================================
STARTING: Extracting audio from vacation.mp4
============================================================
Command: ffmpeg -i vacation.mp4 -vn -acodec copy -y vacation.m4a

✓ SUCCESS: Extracting audio from vacation.mp4
✓ Audio extracted successfully: vacation.m4a

[STEP 2/2] Found edited audio: vacation-mix.wav
Creating new video: vacation-mix.mp4
============================================================
STARTING: Merging vacation-mix.wav with vacation.mp4
============================================================

✓ SUCCESS: Merging vacation-mix.wav with vacation.mp4
✓ Video created successfully: vacation-mix.mp4

============================================================
PROCESSING COMPLETE
============================================================
Audio files extracted: 2
Videos merged: 2
Errors: 0
============================================================

🎯 File Naming Convention

Important: Follow this naming pattern:

Original Video	Extracted Audio	Edited Audio (from DAW)	Final Output
`video.mp4`	`video.m4a`	`video-mix.wav`	`video-mix.mp4`
`my_clip.mp4`	`my_clip.m4a`	`my_clip-mix.wav`	`my_clip-mix.mp4`

The script automatically:

Ignores files ending with -mix.mp4 (to avoid processing output files)
Looks for -mix.wav files to determine which videos need audio replacement

⚙️ Technical Details

Why No Video Re-encoding?

Preserves quality: Original video remains untouched
Fast processing: Only audio is encoded
No generation loss: Perfect for iterative editing

Audio Quality

320 kbps AAC: Indistinguishable from lossless for most listeners
Compatible: Works with Instagram, YouTube, TikTok
Professional: Suitable for content creation

Platform Compatibility

The output MP4 files with AAC audio are compatible with:

✅ Instagram
✅ YouTube
✅ TikTok
✅ Facebook
✅ Twitter/X
✅ Most video platforms

🐛 Troubleshooting

"ffmpeg not found"

Make sure FFmpeg is installed
Check that C:\ffmpeg\bin is in your system PATH
Restart Command Prompt after adding to PATH

"No .mp4 files found"

Verify you're pointing to the correct folder
Make sure video files have .mp4 extension
Check that files aren't named with -mix.mp4 ending

Audio/Video out of sync

Ensure your DAW project sample rate matches the video (usually 48000 Hz)
Check that exported WAV length matches the original audio length

Script hangs or shows no output

FFmpeg might be waiting for confirmation to overwrite files
The script uses -y flag to avoid this, but check for error messages

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with FFmpeg
Designed for workflow with Reaper DAW

📧 Contact

For questions or support, please open an issue on GitHub.

Made with ❤️ for content creators

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