Cropping allows you to remove or cut out portions of your File that you do not necessarily want. It applies to audio as well as video files. Cropped MP4 files are usually smaller with a different aspect ratio from the original File. There exists tons of free software and applications that allow you to quickly and do this, although it is not usually easy to crop MP4 because of some of its highly compressed contents like VP9 and HEVC.
Let’s analyze six fast and free ways to crop MP4 Video on Windows, Mac, and online tools.
Part 1: 2 Best Ways to Crop MP4 Video Windows
You can crop MP4 video on Windows by different means, out of which we will discuss two below:
1. VLC
VLC can be helpful to crop MP4. VLC allows you to add an MP4 video, effects, and special filters. With a user-friendly interface, you can achieve good quality for your MP4 files. One of the drawbacks of editing videos on VLC is that it doesn’t have a preview window.
Follow these three simple steps to crop MP4 Video on Windows with VLC.
Step 1: On VLC, click on Media and then tap Open File to select the File you want to crop. At the top menu, select Tools and then click on Effects and Filters. On the new dialog box, select Video Effects and click Crop.
Step 2: 4 fields marked left right top and bottom will appear with their default values as zero. Using the up and down arrows, click inside the field and enter values in pixel.
Write them down somewhere as you’d still need them. Return to the main interface and select Tools and Preferences. On the option of Show Settings, click All. Under Video, scroll up to find filters, then choose Crop Add by clicking on the arrow beside Video. On the right panel, type the initial pixel values and return to Filters.
Step 3: On the right unfolded filters, check for Video Scaling Filter. To return to the main panel, click Save, select Media, and click on Convert or Save.
On the new dialog box, select Add to load the MP4 File. Click Convert/Save, click on Edit selected profiles, select Video codec, and finally, tick Video cropping filter. Click Save and select browse to create a destination folder for the newly cropped MP4 Video. Click Start so that VLC can begin to crop the Video.
2. Filmora Video Editor
Wondershare Filmora allows you to create pro videos using its different presets, filters. It is a full-featured video editing tool, supporting a variety of formats. It has a modern, user-friendly interface. With Filmora, you can split, trim, and crop MP4 video.
Follow the simple guidelines below to crop MP4 on Filmora:
Step 1: Select the Video you want to crop and drop it in the timeline. Right-click on the Video and choose the Crop and Zoom option, or click the Crop and Zoom option just above the timeline to open up a new window.
Step 2: In the new window, select the frame size you’d love for the video. It could be 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, or 1:1. You can also make a custom frame size.
Step 3: Drag the frame over the video to make adjustments. Hit OK to effect and save the new modifications.
Part 2: 2 best ways to crop MP4 Mac
You can crop MP4 Mac videos using some of the available free software designed for that purpose. Two of the best ways to crop MP4 on Mac are discussed below:
1. iMovie
iMovie works on macOS and iOS devices. It provides you the options of adding transitions, adjusting color settings, modifying speed, crop MP4 videos, resize videos, etc. You can also add photos with the Ken Burns effect, add a soundtrack, adjust audio levels, etc.
Below are the steps to crop MP4 on Mac with iMovie:
Step 1: On your Mac, open the iMovie software. Along the top bar, click on File and then select New Movie.
Step 2: Hit Import Media. Select the Video you want to shorten and add it to the video track. This action will automatically divide your screen into three sections.
Step 3: Click the Timeline section and select the Crop button. Make adjustments to the frame size and then click Apply, of ours comfortable with your results. Finally, Save your newly cropped video.
2. Davinci Resolve 16
This advanced video editing software can assist you to crop MP4 on Mac, Linux, and Windows. It allows you to work faster with its collaborative editing, audio post-production, and color correction with its modern and user-friendly interface that helps you achieve stunning videos.
Below are steps to follow to crop MP4 videos on Mac:
Step 1: Open Davinci Resolve> Click import to load the MP4 File you want to Crop> Hit Edit. On the Edit panel, drag the MP4 File and drop it on the timeline.
Step 2: At the bottom left of the preview window is an icon in square shape. Click the drop-down arrow beside it and select Crop. At the MP4 video preview window, drag the framing box over the area you want to retain.
You can also click on the Inspector tab and select the Cropping feature to adjust the cropping frame range.
Step 3: To remove black bars which might appear around the MP4 file, right-click the timeline on the Media pool> Select Timelines to enable editing of the timeline. Click on Customize to select our desired resolution of the resulting MP4 file.
Navigate to Mismatched solution files and choose Center crop with no resizing. Then, click OK. To access the deliver panel, click Deliver > Go to Location (to set up the destination folder for the cropped MP4 file) > Select Add to Render > Click Start Render.
Part 3: 2 Best Ways to Crop MP4 Online Free
Many different online tools allow you to cut MP4 videos. We have listed below a guide on two free tools that you can use online to crop MP4.
1. Clideo
This free online cropping tool allows you to crop MP4 and other formats such as MOV, MPG, and WMV effectively. It is entirely online, and you do not have to download any application. Clideo is super easy to use with its default presets, allowing you to save time while you work.
Follow these three steps to crop MP4 online:
Step 1: To select the Video, drag and drop from your computer or phone. You can also choose from your Google Drive or Dropbox account.
Step 2: To crop, select the desired area and Crop. Then, specify an output format for the resulting MP4 File. Convert the File to an MP4 format if you’re using a mobile phone.
Step 3: Save the cropped MP4 File and then download it to your Google Drive, Dropbox, computer, or phone. You can also view the Video online after you’re editing.
2. Typito
This simple video editing tool allows you to crop MP4 files online. Typito provides preset aspect ratios for the Instagram story, Youtube, etc. You can use it to resize videos. With over 20 template formats to create personalized videos, you can trim, merge and crop MP4.
Crop MP4 video on Typito using these three easy steps:
Step 1: 1st, create an account for free then, upload the MP4 File that you want to crop.
Step 2: Click Crop and hit “+” until required. You can also cliche Resize and select any of the preset aspect ratios of your choice.
Step 3: Preview the Video and click Export at the top right corner. Download the cropped MP4 File.
Conclusion
We have successfully discussed six best and free ways to crop MP4 on Windows, Mac, and online, using some top-notch yet easy-to-use video editing software. By now, you’d be familiar with the video cropping tool that works best for you. You now also know the different features they possess, enabling you to make more informed choices on which to settle for. Thus, crop MP4 videos efficiently and quickly using the tools discussed above and give the videos the pro-look you desire.
