If you’ve ever worked with large MP4 video files, you might have run into issues with uploading limits or processing performance. Splitting a video into smaller, evenly timed chunks—such as 2-minute segments—can make editing and sharing much easier. In this tutorial, we’ll use Python and the MoviePy library to automate the process.
What You'll Need
- Python 3 installed
- MoviePy library:
pip install moviepy - An MP4 file you'd like to split
How It Works
The script loads your MP4 file, calculates the duration, and slices it into 2-minute segments using MoviePy’s subclip function. Each chunk is saved as a new video file.
Python Script to Split the MP4
from moviepy.editor import VideoFileClip
import math
import os
def split_video(file_path, chunk_duration=120):
video = VideoFileClip(file_path)
video_duration = int(video.duration) # in seconds
total_chunks = math.ceil(video_duration / chunk_duration)
base_name = os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(file_path))[0]
output_dir = f"{base_name}_chunks"
os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
print(f"Total Duration: {video_duration} seconds")
print(f"Splitting into {total_chunks} segments of {chunk_duration} seconds each...")
for i in range(total_chunks):
start = i * chunk_duration
end = min(start + chunk_duration, video_duration)
subclip = video.subclip(start, end)
output_path = os.path.join(output_dir, f"{base_name}_part{i+1}.mp4")
subclip.write_videofile(output_path, codec="libx264", audio_codec="aac")
print(f"Saved: {output_path}")
print("Splitting completed.")
# Example usage
split_video("your_video.mp4", chunk_duration=120)
Output
After running the script, you’ll get a folder named after your video (e.g., my_video_chunks) containing files like:
- my_video_part1.mp4
- my_video_part2.mp4
- ...
Tips
- For longer or shorter segments, just change the
chunk_durationparameter. - Ensure your MP4 file is not corrupted and properly encoded with audio.
