Cinelerra for Grandma
Basic HOWTOs for very beginners
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Table of Contents

How to compile CinelerraCV from source code on Ubuntu

Note Grandmothers are known to use x86 computers

Dear Grandma,

compiling Cinelerra means translating her source code (that’s text written by the developers in a computer language) into a program you can execute and use.

To build Cinelerra from source code you need to use the command line.
That is, instead of clicking on icons you are going to talk to your computer writing weird words: commands.

To run a command, open a terminal (from the menu Applications → Accessories → Terminal or pressing the keys ALT + CTRL + T), type the suggested command (copy by mouse highlighting and paste by clicking the middle button of your mouse) and press ENTER.

Compilation is made in 5 steps:

1. Get the source code

The source code of CinelerraCV is a multi-developer project. The community of developers use Git, a distributed version control system program for managing multiple revisions of the code. The source code of CinelerraCV is in a git repository hosted by a German server.

To get a copy of the source code, you first need to install Git. In Synaptic go to the menu Settings → Repositories and make sure you have enabled the components called main, universe, restricted, multiverse.

Then use this terminal command:

sudo apt-get install git-core

To fetch the source code type the following command:

git clone git://git.cinelerra-cv.org/CinelerraCV.git cinelerra-cv

This command downloads a copy of the source code of CinelerraCV from the German server. It will appear as a folder in your home directory (or your current working directory) named cinelerra-cv.

Note

If you already have the source code from the git repository, you only need to update it. Use the following commands:

cd cinelerra-cv
git pull
Note

Sometimes you might want or need to apply a patch. That means merging some changes from a difference file (usually with extensions .diff or .patch) prepared by a developer to the Cinelerra source code. This is mostly done for testing purposes.

To apply a patch you need to download the diff file first. Then you apply it using one of the following commands, depending on the kind of patch (remember to edit the path to the file and the filename to fit your case):

For normal patches

patch -p0 -i /home/raffa/0001-Fix-Cinelerra.patch

For GIT patches

cd cinelerra-cv
git am /home/raffa/0001-Fix-Cinelerra.patch

2. Get the dependencies

a - Install the compilation tools

You need to install some compilation tools. Type:

sudo apt-get install build-essential autoconf automake1.9 libtool nasm yasm gettext
Note Even knowledgeable grandmas need compilation tools!

b - Install the libraries

You also need to install the many libraries that Cinelerra depends on. Their names vary depending on the Linux distribution you use. Copy and paste one of the following looooong commands; which one depends on your distribution:

For Raring 13.04, Quantal 12.10 and Precise 12.04 use:

sudo apt-get install xorg-dev libasound2-dev libogg-dev libvorbis-dev libtheora-dev libopenexr-dev libdv4-dev libpng12-dev libjpeg-dev libx264-dev uuid-dev mjpegtools libmjpegtools-dev libfftw3-dev liba52-0.7.4-dev libmp3lame0 libmp3lame-dev libsndfile1-dev libfaac-dev libfaad-dev libesd0-dev libavc1394-dev libraw1394-dev libiec61883-dev libtiff4-dev libxxf86vm-dev libglu1-mesa-dev

For Oneric 11.10, Natty 11.04, Maverick 10.10, Lucid 10.04, Karmic 9.10, Jaunty 9.04 and Intrepid 8.10 use:

sudo apt-get install xorg-dev libasound2-dev libogg-dev libvorbis-dev libtheora-dev libopenexr-dev libdv4-dev libpng12-dev libjpeg62-dev libx264-dev uuid-dev mjpegtools libmjpegtools-dev libfftw3-dev liba52-0.7.4-dev libmp3lame0 libmp3lame-dev libsndfile1-dev libfaac-dev libfaad-dev libesd0-dev libavc1394-dev libraw1394-dev libiec61883-dev libtiff4-dev libxxf86vm-dev libglu1-mesa-dev

For Hardy 8.04 use:

sudo apt-get install xorg-dev libasound2-dev libogg-dev libvorbis-dev libtheora-dev libopenexr-dev libdv4-dev libpng12-dev libjpeg62-dev libx264-dev uuid-dev mjpegtools libmjpegtools-dev libfftw3-dev liba52-0.7.4-dev liblame-dev libsndfile1-dev libfaac-dev libfaad-dev libesd0-dev libavc1394-dev libraw1394-dev libiec61883-dev libtiff4-dev libxxf86vm-dev

3. Build Cinelerra

Enter the cinelerra-cv directory by typing:

cd cinelerra-cv

Then run:

./autogen.sh

Copy and paste one of the following commands, depending on your system:

for 32-bit systems:

./configure --with-buildinfo=git/recompile --enable-mmx --without-pic

for 64-bit systems:

./configure --with-buildinfo=git/recompile

The option --with-buildinfo=git/recompile will add a notice in the Settings→Preferences→About window about the source version.

Note

To find out if you have a 32-bit or a 64-bit system run this terminal command:

file /sbin/init

You’ll get ELF 32-bit or ELF 64-bit.

Now run:

make

This command will keep your computer busy for a while, giving you time for a cup of coffee.

4. Install Cinelerra

Type:

sudo make install

One last command:

sudo ldconfig

5. Run Cinelerra

To run Cinelerra, go to Applications → Sound & Video and click on Cinelerra. Cinelerra will open with an error message. Ignore it or learn howto approach it.

It is considered wiser to run Cinelerra from a terminal because, in the event of troubles, the terminal output can help you understanding the problem.
To run Cinelerra from the terminal just type:

cinelerra

Happy Editing, grandma!

How to uninstall the compiled Cinelerra

Open a terminal and type:

cd cinelerra-cv
sudo make uninstall

How to remove useless compilation files

During compilation the make command creates a lot of files. They are needed to build the program but once you have installed Cinelerra their only purpose is to eat your disk space. You can remove them with the command:

cd cinelerra-cv
make clean

Troubleshooting

For problems compiling or running Cinelerra see the Troubleshooting page.