Importing and renaming raw video clips with creating time on FreeBSD.
Import or copy the raw video clips from the camera and store them on a temporary local fast file system. Rename the raw video clips, so the filename contains the time stamp. This will become convenient later, when listing and loading them. The following csh script uses the stat utility to get the file creation time stamp and then renames the video clips accordingly.
$ cat rename-mp4
#!/bin/csh
foreach file (*.MP4)
set newname = `stat -f '%SB' -t '%y%m%d-%H%M%S' "$file"`
mv "$file" "${newname}-${file}"
end
An example of the manual approach, for the same result, would be the following commands.
$ mv MGR103.MP4 240314-213544-MGR103.MP4 $ mv MGP101.MP4 240314-213535-MGP101.MP4
Creating a new project and profile preset in KDEnlive.
Launch KDEnlive and create a new project. KDEnlive will ask you to select a profile preset. In the settings, select or create a profile preset, that matches the raw video clips from the camera and the main format, you will be targetting. If you will be creating a new profile preset, find a general profile preset and I recommend using a naming convention, that reflects the resolution and frame rate.
- Action cameras, such as the legendary GoPro Hero 3 Black, produces high resolution frames in more narrow aspect ratio and high frame rate, such as 1920×1080@60 (16:9).
- Cam corders, such as the legendary Sony FDR AX43, produces high resolution frames in traditional film aspect ratio and frame rate, such as 3840×2160@25 (16:9) or 1920×1080@25 (19:6).
- Mobile phoes, such as Samsung Galaxy A series, produces moderate resolution frames, such as 1920×1080@25 (16:9) or 1080×1920@25 (9:16).
Editing video and audio on the timeline i KDEnlive.
Adding effects i KDEnlive.
If you want to add a watermark, also known as an overlay, you will need an image with your logo or watermark. If the watermark is transparent, it will most likely be in PNG format. Add a track on top of the video in the timeline and place the watermark in it. Stretch it, so it matches the full length of the video. You can now place the watermark, where you want it to be, by opening the effects window, finding the transformation effects and selecting the Crop, Scale and Tilt effect. Adjust the scale and tilt values as necessary. If the video is 1080 pixels wide and the watermark is 200 pixels wide, you might want to scale to 20 and 20 and tilt to 953 and 1779.
Exporting video clips for other use.
If you will be exporting video clips for other use, then use the input and output markers to export those at this point and before any formatting and watermarking. Use a naming convention, that keeps the clips in chronological order, such as a time based prefix and a descriptive tekst. Such clips can later be formatted and watermarked with KDEnlive or FFmpeg for sharing or use on social media.