How to Crop a Video Without Losing Quality

One of the most time-consuming aspects of creating video content is editing. This includes cropping your video to fit the aspect ratio of the platform you’re posting it to. If you post a video to multiple platforms, you’ll need to crop it in 2 or more aspect ratios.

With a proactive approach and the right editing tools, video editing is fast and easy. Below are the basics of how to crop a video without losing quality.

Film With Quality and Aspect Ratio in Mind

The quality of your editing begins before you film. The more proactive your approach, the easier the edit.

• Complete a test shot before you film: The longer your video, the more important it is to film a quick test shot. This minimizes post-filming edits, including low lighting, background issues, and off angles.

• Film for aspect ratio: If you’re filming on your smartphone, be mindful of the platforms you’ll be posting to. Film shorts vertically and YouTube videos horizontally. If you’re posting to multiple platforms, film horizontally with ample headroom. Or film vertically and utilize animations or graphics to fill the frame.

• Background: For maximum flexibility, film in front of a green screen or blue screen. Be mindful of the contrast between your clothing and the background.

• Invest in lighting: At minimum, you’ll need an O-ring. If you’re filming in front of a green screen or have a large background use at least 3 lights.

• Perfect your script: If you haven’t mastered the art of speaking off the cuff, write a script for longer videos. Add the script to a teleprompter to ensure proper eye placement while filming.

Do I Need to Crop My Videos?

Maybe. Successful content creators repurpose their content. They edit videos into multiple clips to minimize content creation. For example, editing a 5-minute video into 3 shorts for a total of 4 videos. The more platforms you want to create video clips for, the more cropping and editing.

You may need to:

• Crop something out of the frame.

• Create a closer shot.

• Resize horizontally or vertically.

• Resize for different platforms.

• Crop to create shorts.

• Crop to add special effects.

Can I Crop Videos for Free?

Yes, you can use free apps and software. Just don’t expect full editing functionality. Many paid video editing software systems offer free video cropping to entice you to upgrade. Or they offer a free trial so that you can test their features and functions.

If you plan on creating a high volume of video content, a paid video cropping tool pays for itself in quality and time.

How to Crop a Video Without Sacrificing Quality?

You can manually crop your videos without sacrificing quality. Especially when you utilize AI video editing and automated editing features. AI and automated features ensure you maintain resolution and quality.

Begin editing by:

• Uploading your video into advanced editing software.

• Customize export settings, including resolution and frame rate.

• Using auto reframe, auto enhancer, and video enhancer.

How to Resize a Video Without Losing Quality?

Advanced video editing software offers one-click resizing and aspect ratio changes. If you’re using free resizing or editing software, you’ll need to be more strategic. When possible, film with aspect ratio in mind.

Compress your video before resizing with one of the methods below:

1. Use an online compressor.

2. Convert it to a ZIP file.

3. Trim the video to a smaller size.

4. Switch to a lower resolution.

5. Convert it to a MP4 file.

Will Cropping a Video Reduce File Size?

Most video editing tools provide automated features to compress your video and reduce the file size without distortion. Even without file size limitations, larger files take longer to upload and download.

Why File Size Matters?

Most platforms you upload video content to have file size limitations. If there are no file size limitations, you may want to reduce the file size anyway. For example, large files added to your website media library slow down your websit- 426 x 240 pixels: Lowest accepted quality.

• 640 x 360 pixels: Basic resolution for smartphones.

• 854 x 480 pixels: Cellular device resolution.

• 1280 x 720 pixels: Minimum resolution for HD.

• 1920 x 1080 pixels: Full HD resolution.

• 2560 x 1440 pixels: 2K resolution.

• 3840 x 2160 pixels: Ultra HD or 4K resolution.e speed. This can be harmful to SEO.

How to Crop a Video For YouTube?

YouTube video aspect ratios are 16:9 for wide-length videos and 9:16 for shorts. Aim for a high-definition resolution of at least 1920 x 1080.

Standard Aspect Ratios

• Widescreen: 16:9

• Vertical: 9:16

• Square: 1:1

• Fullscreen: 4:3

• Cinematic widescreen: 21:9

• Tall: 4:5

• Wide: 5:4

How to Crop a Video on iPhone?

The iMovie app is free and pre-installed on all iOS devices. It allows you to crop and edit from your iPhone or Mac. iMovie is not the most advanced editor, but it may be sufficient for cropping shorts.

1. Open the iMovie app.

2. Click on “New Project”.

3. Import or select the video you want to crop.

4. Select the “Crop” button to create your crop box.

5. Use the slider to perfect cropping.

6. Complete additional video editing.

7. Click the “Done” button when complete.

8. Click “Share” to export your video.

How to Crop a Video on Android?

The Google Photos app is pre-installed on most Android devices. The app is free, but you may need to pay for additional Cloud storage space.

1. Open Google Photos.

2. Select your video and tap “Edit”.

3. Select “Crop”, then “Aspect Ratio”.

4. Once you have your aspect ratio, tap “Transform”.

5. Drag the dots to crop or use the Auto crop feature.

6. Complete additional video editing.

7. Click “Save Copy” once complete.

Do I Need to Hire a Video Editor?

Don’t forget that you can hire a video editor! Learning to edit your shorts and standard posts maximizes your budget. However, you may want to hire a video editor for longer-form content, online courses, and specialty projects.

Film, Crop, and Edit to Perfection

Now that you understand how to edit a video without losing quality, it’s time to begin creating. In addition to filming your own videos, explore your options in AI video editing and production.

With the right cropping, editing, and AI tools you can elevate quality and accelerate production. JoggAI is a multi-faceted AI-based video editing tool. It enables you to clone your voice, clone yourself, and create custom avatars.

Produce a high-quality video in seconds instead of hours!