Use ffmpeg to Create Shorter Clips

I find myself in lots of Zoom meetings these days, many of which are recorded.

Often there are several minutes that need clipped off the start of the recording. Other times, I just want to archive stuff from the middle.

For rough edits like this, ffmpeg is the way to go.

ffmpeg -i /directory/original_file.mp4 -c copy -ss 00:01:23 -to 00:04:20 /directory/destination_file.mp4

-i is the input file. You can drag a file over from Finder into the Terminal if that's faster for you.

-c copy means "Copy the codecs from the original file"

--ss 00:01:23 means "Start the new file at 1 minute 23 seconds of the source file"

--to 00:4:20 means "End the new file at 4 minutes 20 seconds into the old file, dude"