frame_interpolate

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Description

Generates smooth slow-motion or higher-FPS video by creating intermediate frames using motion-compensated interpolation.

Purpose

frame_interpolate creates additional frames between existing frames to produce:

ultra-smooth slow motion,
high-FPS versions of footage,
stabilized motion flow for VR, gaming, or cinematic sequences,
visually enhanced motion for archival or restoration tasks.

It supports multiple interpolation engines (RIFE, DAIN, FFmpeg Minterpolate), allowing both high-quality deep-learning interpolation and traditional optical-flow methods.

How It Works

Engine Selection
Choose interpolation backend:
- rife (AI-based, fast, high quality)
- dain (AI-based, depth-aware interpolation)
- ffmpeg (classical minterpolate optical flow)
Interpolation Strategy
- fps: Defines the exact output frame rate.
- multiplier: Doubles, triples, or otherwise multiplies the existing frame count.
Optical Flow Configuration (FFmpeg engine)
- mi_mode, me_mode, mc_mode configure interpolation, motion estimation, and motion compensation logic.
- vsbmc enables virtual scene-based motion compensation.
- scd toggles scene-change detection to prevent warping across hard cuts.
AI Engine Configuration
- rife_bin and dain_bin specify executable paths or binaries for AI interpolation engines.
Encoding Output is encoded using CRF + preset settings, with optional audio copying.

Program Template

videobeaux -P frame_interpolate \
  -i input.mp4 \
  -o output.mp4 \
  --outfile VALUE \
  --engine VALUE \
  --fps VALUE \
  --multiplier VALUE \
  --mi_mode VALUE \
  --me_mode VALUE \
  --mc_mode VALUE \
  --vsbmc VALUE \
  --scd VALUE \
  --x264_preset VALUE \
  --crf VALUE \
  --copy_audio VALUE \
  --rife_bin VALUE \
  --dain_bin VALUE

Arguments

outfile — Output filename for the interpolated result.
engine — Interpolation engine (rife, dain, ffmpeg).
fps — Target frames per second for output video.
multiplier — Multiplies frame count (e.g., 2×, 4×, 8×).
mi_mode — Minterpolate mode (FFmpeg engine).
me_mode — Motion estimation algorithm.
mc_mode — Motion compensation method.
vsbmc — Enables scene-based motion compensation.
scd — Scene-change detection toggle.
x264_preset — Encoder preset for libx264.
crf — Constant Rate Factor controlling video quality.
copy_audio — Copies original audio without re-encoding.
rife_bin — Path to RIFE binary for AI interpolation.
dain_bin — Path to DAIN binary for AI interpolation.

Real World Example

videobeaux -P frame_interpolate \
  -i myvideo.mp4 \
  -o frame_interpolate_styled.mp4 \
  --outfile EXAMPLE \
  --engine EXAMPLE \
  --fps EXAMPLE \
  --multiplier EXAMPLE \
  --mi_mode EXAMPLE \
  --me_mode EXAMPLE \
  --mc_mode EXAMPLE \
  --vsbmc EXAMPLE \
  --scd EXAMPLE \
  --x264_preset EXAMPLE \
  --crf EXAMPLE \
  --copy_audio EXAMPLE \
  --rife_bin EXAMPLE \
  --dain_bin EXAMPLE

Technical Notes

AI engines (RIFE/DAIN) generally produce the smoothest and least artifact-prone interpolation.
FFmpeg’s minterpolate can introduce warping around fast motion or scene cuts—use scd=true to reduce artifacts.
High multiplier values (4×, 8×) should be paired with AI engines for best results.
GPU acceleration may be required for realtime or high-resolution AI interpolation.
Audio is not stretched—slow-motion audio must be handled separately if desired.

Recommended Usage

Slow-motion cinematic sequences.
High-FPS playback for sports, action, and dance footage.
Animation smoothing for stylized or experimental outputs.
Restoring archival footage to modern frame rates (e.g., 12fps → 24fps).
Motion interpolation for VR or interactive displays.

Quality Tips

Prefer RIFE for general-purpose high-quality interpolation.
Use DAIN when accuracy around depth edges is important.
Avoid interpolating across scene cuts; enable scd.
Start with CRF 16–20; lower values for grading-quality output.
Test different multipliers—sometimes 2× looks more natural than 4×.

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