Cropping Made Easy: 5 Ways to Crop a Video on Mac with Ease

Ready to crop a video on Mac? Perhaps you've just captured a hilarious puppy chase, only to realize the neighbor's lawn gnome keeps stealing the spotlight. Or you've recorded a travel vlog, but tourists and selfie sticks are stubbornly poking into the frame. You may want to zoom in on a specific detail without losing the whole scene, eliminate awkward photobombs, or remove distracting elements that can sabotage epic footage. In either case, cropping the video on your Mac becomes necessary!

Here are some key benefits of cropping your videos:

• Improve composition and focus: highlight specific actions and draw a viewer's eye to the main subject, making visually appealing and impactful videos for marketing, product demos, etc.
• Adjust aspect ratio for different platforms: optimize your videos for proper display on various social media networks without stretching the footage or unwanted black bars.
• Fix framing errors: ensure polished videos for research and commercial use by removing jittery edges to stabilize shaky footage and eliminating too much headroom.
• Creative storytelling: emphasize details and create unique effects for your podcasts, tutorials, vlogs, etc., to add a layer of meaning and enrich your storytelling.
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So, are you ready to say goodbye to unwanted video clutter? Cropping a video on a Mac is easier than mastering the Macarena, and the following are reliable ways to get the job done!

How to crop a video on Mac for free

The most efficient way to crop a video on a Mac is with a free tool, and CapCut desktop video editor takes the lead. It is a robust multimedia editor with a feature-packed video resizer to crop videos in one click. With it, you can adjust your video's aspect ratio, change its background color, and trim its length. Here's more:

• Free to use: the CapCut resize video tool doesn't charge anything. You don't need to pay in advance since all features are accessible to everyone for free.
• Trim with precision and ease: you can cut out unwanted video parts effortlessly, frame-by-frame, and with the aid of a preview window, timecodes, and markers for exactness.
• Canvas sizes for social media: access various preset aspect ratios, including 9:16 for TikTok, 16:9 for YouTube, 1:1 for Instagram, 4:3, 3:4, and 2:1 for other needs.
• Access to additional video editing tools: not only can you crop a video on Mac, but you can also improve your video aesthetics with premium, advanced, and AI-powered editing tools.

Steps

You don't need prior video editing experience to crop a video on Mac using CapCut resize video. The three-step process is straightforward. Follow the link below to crop a video with a few clicks:

Step
1. Upload video
2. Click the button below to download the CapCut desktop video editor on your device. Sign in after installation, use your TikTok, Facebook or Google account. Then click on New Project, and you can edit your video now!
3. Click "Create project" and select "Import" from the media tab. Upload the video from your device and drag and drop it into the timeline.
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Step
6. Crop and edit
7. On the CapCut resize video interface, select your preferred aspect ratio on the right-side panel and resize your video. You can use the original aspect ratio or select a preset one for YouTube ads, LinkedIn ads, Facebook videos, TikTok, TikTok ads, Instagram posts, etc. Also, you can cut out unwanted video sections by clicking the scissors icon. This trim tool offers a preview window, timecodes, and markers for accuracy.
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9. You can further crop your video by finding the cropping tool and click on it so you can crop the video on Mac more precisely.
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11. On the video cropping window, you can either crop using a preset aspect ratio or manually adjust the edges of the part you intend to crop. It also allows you to rotate the video, and if you make a mistake, you can reset it.
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13. After you crop the video on Mac, click confirm and enhance your video further with basic, advanced, and smart tools. CapCut desktop video editor has a vast resource of templates, filters, effects, transitions, animations, etc., which is perfect for your branding, promo, product videos, and more. There are also advanced tools like transcript-based editing and split scene to help you trim your videos with greater accuracy.
14. If that's not enough, there is an auto background removal and auto-retouching feature to help you polish the video quickly.
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Step
16. Export

Upon cropping and editing your video, click Export and share it for review, as a presentation, or download it to your device disk. Even better, you can share the video to your favorite social media channels like TikTok without exiting the editor.



How to crop video on Mac via the QuickTime Player

Another way to crop video on Mac is via the QuickTime player, a versatile multimedia player by Apple with additional editing features. You can use it for basic edits, such as flipping, rotating, and trimming, or use its video recording tool to crop video on Mac. However, the process is a little challenging because you must first record it to crop the video.

Steps

1. Open your video in the QuickTime player, and when it is ready to play, click pause. Go to File > New Screen Recording.
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3. You'll see a video cropping frame on your screen. Drag it to the part you want to crop.
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5. Click the options menu to pick the sound output if you want to crop your clip and keep the audio. Click Start Recording and click the Play button immediately. After playing the video section to crop, click the Record button to save your cropped footage.
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Note: Although the QuickTime player app is built-in on Macs, it doesn't offer a cropping tool. You must first record your video on the tool and then crop it.

How to crop video Mac via the iMovie app

iMovie is video editing software by Apple for Macs, iPhones, and iPads. It offers a simplified user interface and provides various video editing tools and effects such as image stabilizer and color corrector. You can also use it to crop a square or vertical video to remove undesired sections, highlight a frame, etc.

Steps

1. Launch the iMovie app on your Mac or Macbook and import the video you want to crop. You can commence a new project or proceed with an existing video.
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3. At the top of your screen, click the cropping icon to show the video cropping controls.
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5. You'll see an adjustable frame appear on top of the video, usually constrained to an aspect ratio of 16:9. Move the edges to resize the frame to the screen area you want to crop. Next, click the checkmark sign that is next to the reset button to crop the selected section of your video, and the cropped area will fill the video viewer. Then export it.
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Note: Cropping a video in iMovie will change the frame center and size, but the aspect ratio remains at 16:9 and doesn't allow other regular aspect ratios or freeform.

How to crop video on Mac via the Photos app

Photos is also a preinstalled app for all Macs, offering a library for keeping your pictures and videos. With it, you can also crop and straighten your videos to the center or by changing the clip framing. Here is how it works.

Steps

1. Open the Photos app on your Mac. Double-click your video to open it.
2. At the top of your screen, select Crop from the toolbar, and an adjustable frame will appear.
3. Drag the frame edges to enclose the video area you intend to crop and keep.
4. Click Done once you finish or Reset to cancel the crop.
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Note: Photos app is easy to use, but you can't use it for advanced video editing. You must find a reliable tool such as CapCut.

How to crop video on Mac via the VLC media player

VLC is a renowned name in the multimedia player arena. It is an open-source utility that works across different platforms and operating systems. Moreover, VLC offers tools to perform basic edits such as cropping. You can use it to crop the main subject or even eliminate some unwanted background space for better video highlights.

Steps

1. Download the VLC media player, install it, and launch it. Click the Media menu and select Open File to browse your Mac's local storage for the video to crop.
2. Under the Tools menu, navigate to Effects and Filters and click Video Effects. Click Crop and select your preferred aspect ratio to open the video cropping window.
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4. Enter the specified pixels to which you want the cropped video. Preview the outcome and repeat all the steps to adjust the cropped clip further.
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6. Click Preferences > Tools> Show Settings> All. On the new window, type "Croppadd" in the search bar to find your video.
7. Click Save, and under the Filter tab, tick the video cropping checkbox. Again, click Save, then go to Media and click Convert/Save.
8. Drag and drop the final cropped video to the file box, and select your file codecs and format. Go to Edit Selected Profile and click Video Codec > Filters > Video Cropping Filter.
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10. Save these settings and pick a destination to save the cropped video.

Note: VLC is a great option to crop video on MacOS, but it doesn't give users a preview window.

Conclusion

And voila! You've conquered the art of video cropping on your Mac! Remember, there's no single "best" method – choose the tool that aligns with your project and comfort level. For professional results, use the CapCut resize video to crop video on Mac. Who knows, maybe that viral video you've always dreamed of is just a crop away! So, grab your Mac, open CapCut, and start cropping your videos like a pro.

FAQs

1. What is the best way to crop a video on Mac?
2. Without a doubt, CapCut offers the most reliable tool to crop video on Mac. It has a special video cropper, and its resize video tool also lets you trim and adjust the video aspect ratio at the click of a button. Moreover, CapCut is an all-in-one multimedia editor for all your editing needs.
3. How do you crop a section of a video on Mac?
4. There are various methods to crop a section of a video on Mac, but not all are true to their words. If you want convenience, try CapCut. With the CapCut resize video tool, you can quickly change the aspect ratio and trim your videos. The coolest part is that it is seamlessly integrated with the CapCut desktop video editor, which lets you crop a specific area of your video with precision.
5. Can I change the resolution when cropping video in Mac?
6. Absolutely. After you have cropped your video with CapCut on your Mac, you can customize the export settings including the output quality, format and resolution with a few clicks.