How to Add a Lead Out in FFmpeg
This article explains how to create a professional “lead-out” at the
end of your videos and audio files using FFmpeg. While FFmpeg does not
feature a specific filter named “leadout,” you can easily achieve this
exact effect by utilizing the tpad filter to append black
frames to the end of a video, the apad filter to extend
audio with silence, and the fade filter to create smooth
transitions.
Video Lead-Out using the
tpad Filter
To add a visual lead-out (such as a black screen or a frozen frame)
to the end of a video, use the tpad (temporary padding)
video filter. The stop_duration option specifies how many
seconds of padding to add to the end of the stream.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "tpad=stop_duration=5:stop_mode=add:color=black" output.mp4stop_duration=5: Adds 5 seconds of padding to the end of the video.stop_mode=add: Generates new frames of a solid color.color=black: Sets the padding color to black. You can change this to any standard color.
If you prefer to freeze the very last frame of your video for the
lead-out instead of using a solid color, change stop_mode
to clone:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "tpad=stop_duration=5:stop_mode=clone" output.mp4Audio Lead-Out using the
apad Filter
If you extend your video stream, you must also extend your audio
stream so the player does not cut off early. The apad
filter pads the end of an audio stream with silence.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "tpad=stop_duration=5" -af "apad" -shortest output.mp4-af "apad": Adds infinite silence to the end of the audio track.-shortest: Tells FFmpeg to stop hosting the container output as soon as the longest explicit stream (the newly padded video) ends.
Creating a Fade-Out Transition
For a more natural lead-out, you can fade both the video and audio to
black and silence before the file ends. This is done using the
fade and afade filters.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "fade=t=out:st=58:d=2" -af "afade=t=out:st=58:d=2" output.mp4t=out: Specifies that the transition is a fade-out.st=58: The start time of the fade-out in seconds (e.g., at the 58-second mark).d=2: The duration of the fade-out (2 seconds).