Article: Unlike on a Windows computer, FFmpeg is easiest to install as part of the Homebrew package manager, which you can quickly install via Terminal:  Go to https://brew.sh/ in your browser. Copy the code below the "Install Homebrew" heading by selecting it and then pressing ⌘ Command+C. Open Spotlight {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/e\/ea\/Macspotlight.png","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ea\/Macspotlight.png\/30px-Macspotlight.png","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":460,"bigWidth":"30","bigHeight":"30","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon.\n<\/p><p>License: <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a><br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}, type in terminal, and double-click Terminal  Paste in the copied code by pressing ⌘ Command+V. Press ⏎ Return, then wait for the installation to complete. Type in brew install ffmpeg and press ⏎ Return. You can use FFmpeg to change both videos and songs into different compatible formats (i.e., you can change a video into another video format or an audio file into another audio format). Select the file and then press ⌘ Command+C to do so. You'll do this so that you have a backup copy of the original file in case something goes wrong. Go to your computer's desktop, then press ⌘ Command+V. You should see the file appear here. By doing this, your file will be in an easily accessible place when you go to convert it. You can do this by clicking the file to select it, clicking File, clicking Get Info, and looking at the extension on the end of the file name (e.g., ".mp4"). You can convert video-to-video, video-to-audio, and audio-to-audio using the following formats:   Video - MP4, MOV, WEBM, FLV, AIFF, and AVI are all common video formats which are supported by FFmpeg.  Audio - MP3, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC, and OGG are all common audio formats which are supported by FFmpeg. Click your file once to see its full name. You'll need to enter the file's full name into FFmpeg. If you closed Terminal after installing FFmpeg, you can re-open it by clicking Spotlight {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/e\/ea\/Macspotlight.png","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ea\/Macspotlight.png\/30px-Macspotlight.png","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":460,"bigWidth":"30","bigHeight":"30","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon.\n<\/p><p>License: <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a><br>\n<\/p><\/div>"}, typing in terminal, and double-clicking {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/1\/14\/Macterminal.png","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/14\/Macterminal.png\/30px-Macterminal.png","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":460,"bigWidth":"30","bigHeight":"30","licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>I edited this screenshot of a Mac icon.\n<\/p><p>License: <a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"external text\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fair_use\">Fair Use<\/a><br>\n<\/p><\/div>"} Terminal. Type in cd desktop and press ⏎ Return. This will tell Terminal to look for any files that you mention in the Desktop folder. The conversion command starts with ffmpeg -i and then includes your file's current name and file type as well as whatever you want the converted file name and file type to be.  For example, to convert an MP4 video called "Kitties" into a WAV file called "Cats", you would type in ffmpeg -i Kitties.mp4 Cats.wav here. Be sure to keep your file name exactly as it appears (for example, if your file name uses a capital letter, enter it using the capital letter in the command line). If your file name uses spaces, you can place the video's name and extension in quotes. For example, YouTube Drama.mp4 would become "YouTube Drama.mp4" (placing underscores doesn't work if they aren't in the title). As long as the formats are compatible and the file name for the original file is correct, doing so will prompt FFmpeg to begin converting your file. Converting files (especially videos) can take a large amount of time. If you're converting a large video or audio file, just be sure to keep Terminal open until a new, blank line appears at the bottom. Once your file finishes converting, you'll see it on the Desktop under the name that you entered for it.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Make sure that FFmpeg is installed. Find a video or song to convert. Copy the video or song. Place the video or song on your desktop. Determine your file's current format. Figure out a target format. Note your file's name. Open Terminal. Switch your command line to the Desktop. Enter the conversion command. Press ⏎ Return. View your converted file.