How to transcode video under GNU/Linux with ffmpeg

Non-linear video editing tools are great, but they're not always the best tool for the job. This is where a powerful tool like ffmpeg becomes useful. This tutorial covers the basics of transcoding video, as well as more advanced tricks like creating animations, screen captures, and slow motion effects. (As a point of interest, this video was created using only free and open source software tools: TightVNC, pyvnc2swf, ardour2, audacity, jackd, LAME, kolourpaint, cinelerra-cv, mjpegtools, and ffmpeg.) Get started transcoding video from Linux with this how-to.