Effective Ways to Make Video Files Smaller for Seamless Sharing

Trying to make a video file smaller? Maybe you need to share a large documentary with your team, or gigabytes of video files have hogged down your storage. Anyhow, a video compressor is the best solution. In this article, we will delve into the depths of video compression and how you can convert video to smaller sizes on multiple devices.

How to make video files smaller for free

CapCut is the epitome of video, audio, and image editing. It has an unmatched user-friendly interface integrated with powerful features such as free cloud storage, rich media resources, extensive editing toolbar, smart AI tools, and much more.

CapCut's resize video tool is what content creators and video editors dream of. With its user-friendly interface, it instantly reduces any large video file into smaller and shareable versions without compromising on quality.

Key features

• Free for using: Compress your favorite serial killer documentary into smaller file sizes for free without downloading any third-party app.
• Canvas sizes for social media: With different aspect ratio presets available, it allows you to tailor your videos for YouTube ads, Facebook videos, TikTok, and Instagram with ease.
• Trim with precision and ease: Easily trim out any part of your video. Its high-precision editing timeline allows you to choose the trim timings up to the exact seconds.
• Access to additional video editing tools: Additionally, you can perform transcript-based editing to remove silences and split scenes to delete certain clips from your video. To access the advanced editing tools, click on the "Edit more" button to access the main CapCut editor.

Steps to make videos smaller using CapCut

CapCut's resize video tool comes with dedicated features that, when combined with its intuitive design, make the entire process efficient. Here's how:

Step
1. Upload
2. Upload full-length video directly from your local storage or upload it from CapCut space.
3. 

   

Step
4. Edit
5. Choose the preferred aspect ratio for your video. You can also change your background color from the right toolbar.
6. 

   

7. Additionally, you can start trimming your video to reduce its size.
8. 

   

Step
9. Export

Press the "Export" button from the top right, and choose export settings such as quality, frame rate, and format of your video.

Tip: Choose "Fast exporting" from the "Quality" drop-down to compress your video for reduced size. Besides that, to decrease your video size further, you can set the frame rate at 30fps.

Finally, set your desired resolution and press "Export".



Alternatively, different platforms have native video editing tools that compress video files or reduce file sizes for easy shareability.

How to make video smaller in size on Apple devices

Apple devices come with powerful built-in video editors like iMovie and QuickTime player, making sure that you can reduce video sizes without using any third-party tools. Check below.

1. Via iMovie

iMovie is a highly capable video editor made by Apple. It helps you convert large video files into smaller ones without affecting quality. Besides that, you can split long videos into clips and cut out unwanted parts of your video.

Step
1. Upload
2. Upload your large video into iMovie by hitting the "Import media" button.
3. 

   

4. Next, choose the video footage you want to add. Drag your video to the editing area.
5. 

   

Step
6. Split or cut your video
7. Trim out the unwanted parts by changing the video length from the editing slider, as shown below. If you want to keep the entire video, skip this step.
8. 

   

Step
9. Change Export settings

Click on the "Share" icon on the top right, and tap "Export File".



Now, change the video resolution, quality, and compression type to reduce the file size. It's suggested to use "Faster" under the "Compress" drop-down for a greater reduction in file size. Press "Next".



Now, choose the download location of your video and press "Save".



2. Via Quicktime

Quicktime is the native video player on Apple devices. Its fast and intuitive design sets it apart from other video players. With Quicktime, you can reduce your video size by trimming or removing unwanted parts. Here's how:

Step
1. Open the video in Quicktime
2. Drag and drop your video in Quicktime from your local storage.
Step
3. Edit and trim
4. From the "Edit" menu on the top toolbar, select "Trim".
5. 

   

6. Next, a timeline slider will appear at the bottom; move the slider around to trim and change the length of the video, and press "Trim" to save the changes.
7. 

   

Step
8. Select export quality

Finally, click the "File" menu and tap the "Export As" icon. From here, you can choose from multiple export qualities up to 4K. Choose any decent quality for the reduced file size.



How to make smaller videos on Windows

With software such as VLC and Clipchamp, you can unleash your editing skills to the fullest on a Windows PC. Read on to find out how.

1. Via VLC

VLC has reigned the world of media playback for decades. It is a lightweight and user-friendly media player that allows you to convert large videos to smaller ones in seconds. Besides, it supports multiple video formats, such as MOV and MP4.

Step
1. Import video
2. Press "Media" from the top left, and go to the "Convert/Save" option.
3. 

   

Step
4. In the next dialogue box, tap "Add" and choose the video you want to reduce the size of. Press "Convert/Save" again.
5. 

   

Step
6. From the new dialogue box, change the video output format to reduce its size. Tap the "Browser" button to set the output location of your video.
7. 

   

Step
8. Press "Start" to download your video in a smaller size.
9. 

   

2. Via Clipchamp

Pre-installed on Windows 11, Clipchamp allows you to edit and compress videos for free. You can use it to trim, cut, and crop unwanted clips to reduce your video file sizes. Here's how:

Step
1. Upload
2. Upload your video to the Clipchamp interface. You can upload from your local storage or just drag and drop. Alternatively, upload from Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox. If you have an Xbox account, you can upload straight from your gaming accounts.
3. 

   

Step
4. Edit
5. Once uploaded, you can trim your video to delete particular portions. Besides, use its "Split" feature to split various clips out of the video and delete them individually. Moreover, make your video shorter by dragging the green sliders on the editing timeline.
6. 

   

Step
7. Export

Tap the "Export" icon on the top right corner of the interface and choose the video quality of your preference.



Lastly, you can save the video to your local storage or export it directly to OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Alternatively, you can share your video on LinkedIn and YouTube. You can also generate a link to quickly share your video with anyone.



How to make the video size smaller on Android devices

With the development of newer technologies and processor chips, Android phones have become immensely powerful. Modern Android devices can perform complex editing tasks and record videos at high resolutions. As pleasing as these videos are to the eye, they take up much more space, hence making them difficult to share. This is where you need tools to compress and reduce the size of large video files on Android without compromising video quality.

1. Via the Google Photos app

Google Photos is a native photo management app developed by Google. It is pre-installed on all Google-run Android devices. As surprising as it may sound, the Google Photos app is more than just a video player. It can edit and compress your large videos to smaller, shareable ones. Here's how:

Step
1. Tap on the account picture from the top right. Select "Photo Settings" as shown, and click "Back up & sync"
2. 

   

Step
3. Select "Upload size" under the "Settings" tab. Then tap on "Storage saver" to upload photos in smaller file sizes. Head to the main Photos tab; the upload process will start.
4. 

   

Step
5. Now open Google Photos on the web and download the compressed video.
6. 

   

Conclusion

Videos are a modern way to communicate ideas, share memories, and illustrate projects. Converting videos between different sizes and compressing them into smaller files can improve shareability and simplify your workflow. Regardless of the device you are using, making your video files smaller requires no learning curve. Whether it's a lengthy class lecture you want to share or a 4K video from your anniversary, powerful platforms like CapCut's Resize video tool allow you to trim, cut, and compress videos effortlessly in no time.

FAQs

1. What is the best way to make video files smaller?
2. There are various ways to make a video file smaller. These include trimming, cropping, changing resolution and frame rate, splitting scenes, and transcript-based editing, etc. CapCut resize video makes the process simple with its intuitive design. Just upload the video, select the suitable aspect ratio, trim your video content, and customize the export settings. In a few seconds, your large video will be converted into a smaller version in seconds.
3. How to make a video file smaller without losing quality?
4. CapCut resize video can help you reduce file size without losing quality. Simply upload your file, choose the relevant canvas size, trim and cut the unwanted parts, and change its output resolution, quality, or format for export. You can also access more advanced features like split scenes on the CapCut video editor to cut off unwanted clips and reorganize your selected clips together.
5. How to make a video smaller for email?
6. The attachment size of Gmail and Yahoo! Mail is limited to 25 MB, while Outlook's mail attachments are up to 20 MB. If your video file size exceeds the limit, you can use CapCut's resize video tool to decrease its file size with a few clicks.