Image to video

Image to Video Skill

Combine a static image with an audio file to produce an MP4 video using FFmpeg. Supports resolution presets (1080p, 720p, square, vertical), optional audio visualization overlays (waveform, spectrum, cqt, bars), and batch processing of matched image+audio pairs. For image generation, use image-gen instead.

Reference Loading Table

Signal	Load These Files	Why
building FFmpeg filter graphs for audio visualization; encoding settings	ffmpeg-filters.md	Loads detailed guidance from ffmpeg-filters.md.

Instructions

Phase 1: VALIDATE

Confirm all prerequisites before attempting video creation.

Step 1: Check FFmpeg installation

Always run this check first -- many systems lack FFmpeg or have minimal builds, and skipping it produces confusing subprocess errors instead of clear install guidance.

ffmpeg -version

If FFmpeg is not installed, provide platform-specific install instructions and stop.

Step 2: Verify input files exist

Both the image and audio files must be confirmed present before processing. Use absolute paths for all arguments -- relative paths break silently when the script executes from a different working directory.

ls -la /absolute/path/to/image.png /absolute/path/to/audio.mp3

Confirm both files exist and have non-zero size. Supported formats:

• Images: PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, WEBP, BMP
• Audio: MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG, FLAC

Step 3: Determine parameters

Re-read the user's request before selecting defaults. Resolve resolution preset and visualization mode from what the user actually asked for. Only apply defaults (1080p, static) when the user did not specify -- defaulting to static when the user requested a visualization is a common mistake.

If the user mentions a target platform, select the matching preset to avoid cropping or black bars on delivery:

Preset	Dimensions	Platform
1080p	1920x1080	YouTube HD (default)
720p	1280x720	Standard HD, smaller files
square	1080x1080	Instagram, social media
vertical	1080x1920	Stories, Reels, TikTok

Optional visualization modes (off unless the user requests one):

• --visualization waveform -- Neon waveform overlay
• --visualization spectrum -- Scrolling frequency spectrum
• --visualization cqt -- Piano-roll style bars
• --visualization bars -- Frequency bar graph

Gate: FFmpeg installed, both input files exist, parameters resolved. Proceed only when gate passes.

Phase 2: PREPARE

Set up output path and confirm no conflicts.

Step 1: Determine output path

Use the path provided by the user. If none given, derive from the audio filename:

/same/directory/as/audio/filename.mp4

Step 2: Ensure output directory exists

The script creates parent directories automatically. Verify the target directory is writable.

Gate: Output path determined, directory accessible. Proceed only when gate passes.

Phase 3: ENCODE

Execute FFmpeg to produce the video. Only implement what the user requested -- no extra visualizations or format conversions beyond MP4.

Encoding defaults: libx264 preset medium, CRF 23, yuv420p pixel format, 192k AAC audio.

Step 1: Run the script

python3 $HOME/vexjoy-agent/skills/content/image-to-video/scripts/image_to_video.py \
  --image /absolute/path/to/image.png \
  --audio /absolute/path/to/audio.mp3 \
  --output /absolute/path/to/output.mp4 \
  --resolution 1080p \
  --visualization static

For workspace batch mode (processes all matched pairs in workspace/input/):

python3 $HOME/vexjoy-agent/skills/content/image-to-video/scripts/image_to_video.py \
  --process-workspace \
  --visualization waveform

Step 2: Monitor output

The script prints progress including input paths, resolution, visualization mode, and duration. Watch for ERROR lines in output.

Gate: Script exits with code 0. Proceed only when gate passes.

Phase 4: VERIFY

Confirm the output video is valid. Do not report success based on exit code alone -- FFmpeg can exit 0 but produce a corrupt or zero-duration file.

Step 1: Check file exists and has reasonable size

ls -la /absolute/path/to/output.mp4

Step 2: Probe video metadata

File size alone does not prove video integrity. Always probe with ffprobe to confirm the output is a valid video with correct duration.

ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=duration,size -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 /absolute/path/to/output.mp4

Confirm video duration matches audio duration (within 1 second tolerance).

Step 3: Report to user

Provide: output file path, file size, duration, resolution, and visualization mode used.

Gate: Output file exists, duration matches audio, metadata is valid. Task complete.

Error Handling

Error: "FFmpeg is not installed or not in PATH"

Cause: FFmpeg binary not found on system Solution:

1. Install via package manager: brew install ffmpeg (macOS), sudo apt install ffmpeg (Ubuntu)
2. Verify with ffmpeg -version after install
3. Ensure FFmpeg is in system PATH

Error: "Image file not found" or "Audio file not found"

Cause: Path is incorrect, relative, or file does not exist Solution:

1. Verify the path is absolute, not relative
2. Check file permissions with ls -la
3. Confirm the file extension matches a supported format

Error: "FFmpeg failed" with filter errors

Cause: FFmpeg build lacks filter support (showwaves, showspectrum, showcqt) Solution:

1. Install the full FFmpeg build, not a minimal variant
2. On Ubuntu: sudo apt install ffmpeg (full package)
3. Fall back to --visualization static which requires no special filters

Error: "Could not determine audio duration"

Cause: Audio file is corrupted or uses an unsupported container format Solution:

1. Test the audio independently: ffprobe /path/to/audio.mp3
2. Convert to a known format: ffmpeg -i input.audio -acodec pcm_s16le output.wav
3. Re-run with the converted file

References

• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/ffmpeg-filters.md: FFmpeg filter documentation for visualization modes
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/image_to_video.py: Python CLI script (exit codes: 0=success, 1=no FFmpeg, 2=encode failed, 3=missing args)