Turn an image into a video with FFmpeg

ffmpeg -loop 1 -framerate 30 -i image.png -t 10 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -pix_fmt yuv420p output.mp4

Repeats the image at 30 fps for 10 s: 300 frames, 1920x1080, 136 KB, because a static picture compresses to almost nothing. -pix_fmt yuv420p is what makes the file play in browsers and on phones.

Flags, explained

-loop 1

Input option for image files: repeat the picture indefinitely. Needs -t or -shortest to stop.

-framerate 30

Rate at which the looped image is read, and therefore the output frame rate.

-t 10

Output duration in seconds.

-pix_fmt yuv420p

Chroma subsampling every player supports. Without it a PNG encodes as yuv444p and many players show black.

-framerate 1/3 -i img%03d.png

Image sequence input: one image every 3 s, files numbered 001, 002 and so on.

-r 30

Output frame rate for the slideshow, duplicating frames between images.

zoompan=z=...:d=300:s=1920x1080

Zoom expression per frame, number of frames to generate, output size.

-shortest

Stop when the shortest input ends, here the 10 s of video against endless silence.

Variants

ffmpeg -loop 1 -framerate 30 -i image.png -f lavfi -i "anullsrc=r=48000:cl=stereo" -t 10 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 64k -shortest output.mp4

ffmpeg -framerate 1/3 -i img%03d.png -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -r 30 -pix_fmt yuv420p slideshow.mp4

ffmpeg -loop 1 -framerate 30 -i image.png -vf "zoompan=z='min(zoom+0.0015,1.5)':d=300:x='iw/2-(iw/zoom/2)':y='ih/2-(ih/zoom/2)':s=1920x1080:fps=30" -t 10 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -pix_fmt yuv420p kenburns.mp4

ffmpeg -loop 1 -framerate 30 -i image.png -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -t 6 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -pix_fmt yuv420p vertical.mp4

Pitfalls we hit

• Without -pix_fmt yuv420p the output was yuv444p (74 KB for 2 s): QuickTime, Safari and most phones play it as a black screen.
• Odd image sizes: FFmpeg 9 silently rounded a 1001x751 image down to 1000x750 with yuv420p. Older releases fail with "width not divisible by 2". Add scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2 to make it explicit.
• -loop 1 without -t or -shortest encodes forever.
• -framerate must come before -i; after it, it is ignored for image sequences.
• zoompan renders every frame from the full image, so it is slow on large photos; scale the source down to the output size first.

The same edit as a typed operation

image_to_video takes a duration and an aspect ratio, fits the image into that frame with even dimensions and a player-safe H.264 pixel format, and returns the MP4 through a signed URL. The options are validated before the render starts.

{
  "inputs": [{ "id": "main", "url": "https://example.com/poster.png" }],
  "options": { "duration": 5, "aspect_ratio": "9:16" }
}

FAQ