Skip to content

Introduction

fmov is a blazing-fast Python library for rendering videos frame-by-frame using PIL (Pillow). It combines the simplicity of high-level APIs with the performance of low-level tools like FFmpeg — perfect for generative art, animations, or automated video creation.

Features

  • Fast: Built on FFmpeg for high-performance rendering.
  • Simple: Use PIL.Image to draw and render.
  • Scalable: No confusing flags or unreadable code.
  • Audio Support: Register sound effects from within your frame function, at any frame or timestamp.
  • Interactive Preview: Scrub, play, and debug your animation before rendering.
  • Helpful Utilities: Easy time/frame conversions.
  • Modern Pythonic API: Functional, frame-driven, and context-free.

Installation

pip install fmov

You must also have FFmpeg installed on your system and available in your PATH.

sudo apt install ffmpeg     # Linux
brew install ffmpeg         # MacOS
choco install ffmpeg        # Windows

Quick Example

from fmov import Video
from PIL import Image

def generate_frame(frame: int, video: Video) -> Image:
    img = Image.new("RGB", (video.width, video.height), "#000000")
    return img

video = Video(path="output.mp4", dimensions=(1920, 1080), fps=30, function=generate_frame, length="5s")
video.preview()  # Interactive preview
video.save()     # Render to file