This Is How to Crop a Video Using Placeit

This Is How to Crop a Video Using Placeit

Video editing can be challenging, especially if you need to perform a more complex task such as cropping your video. Fortunately, tools such Placeit by Envato can make this much easier. Placeit offers many valuable resources such as its free online video cropper, though there can be a bit of a learning curve when you try and use this tool for the first time.

This is how to crop a video using Placeit:

  1. Upload your MP4 or MOV file directly onto the site
  2. Choose a predefined size or choose a custom width and height
  3. Download your video

If you have already tried to use the Placeit video cropper and found it difficult, there is no need to worry. While Placeit is faster and more user-friendly than many other video cropping tools currently available, it can still require some explanation. Here, we will examine this tool in more detail so you can learn how to crop a video using Placeit in minutes.

Using Placeit to Crop Videos

Placeit offers a wide range of templates for various applications, from T-shirts and tote bags to slideshows and videos. You will have to pay to access the site’s large library of templates and mock-ups. However, the Placeit video cropper is free to use.

A great benefit of the tool is the video cropper’s accessibility. No downloads are required and you perform all steps in the video cropping process directly on the Placeit website. This is true from the upload of the original video to the download of your edited piece.

Uploading Your Video

Once you head to Placeit and navigate to the video cropper tool, you will find a space where you can either drag and drop your video or click on a button to upload your video.

This makes uploading the video you wish to edit a simple process. However, there are a few important things to note about the videos you can upload to Placeit. While many video formats exist, the Placeit video cropper is only capable of working with MP4 or MOV files.

Additionally, before trying to crop a video using Placeit, you should pay attention to its size. This is because the online video cropper tool will only work with videos measuring a maximum of 1920 x 1920 pixels or 100 MB.

Cropping and Adjusting Videos

Once uploaded, there are plenty of revisions you can make to your video using Placeit including cropping, resizing, and trimming. At any time you can click play to see how your video will look with its current adjustments. This makes it easy to track your progress as you get started with your editing.

It’s a good idea to start by choosing the size of your video. If you are uploading it to a social media site or using it for any specific purpose, you have the option to choose from a list of preset sizes. Otherwise, you can specify a custom width and height for your video in pixels.

Once you have chosen your video’s size, you can start cropping. Simply click on the video, hold down, and move it until it fits within the defined space in a way that suits you. The plus and minus buttons will make your video larger or smaller. Any part of the video that leaves the defined space will be cropped out.

Finally, you have the ability to trim your video. At the bottom of the Placeit video cropper, you can see a reel of the entire video. Just click on the head or tail of the clip, hold down, and slide to adjust it to the point where you would prefer the video to begin or end. The time is displayed in minutes and seconds to help you identify a start and endpoint.

Downloading Your New Video

Once you have finished cropping your video and making any other changes, your work is done. All you need to do is click on the button to download your new creation. However, there are a few small details to note about the download process.

At this point, if you have not already done so you will be prompted to create an account with Placeit. Feel free to do so. As mentioned already, there is no cost to sign up.

Soon after clicking on “Download” you will receive a download of your cropped video. At this point, it is yours to use in whichever manner you please. This includes sharing your video on social media platforms, using it in advertising, or simply keeping it for your own personal use.

What Cropping a Video Does

You can easily confuse cropping with other video editing tasks such as trimming, cutting, zooming, and resizing. This is why you should know exactly what it is you are trying to do when using Placeit.

  • Trimming – Refers to removing the “head” or “tail” of a video clip and reducing its length. Great information on this and other basic video editing terms can be found at Clockwork Productions.
  • Cutting – Refers to removing a section or sections of a video clip to reduce its length.
  • Zooming – Refers to a moving effect that pushes in or out at a steady rate as the video plays.
  • Resizing – Refers to altering the dimensions of the video, such as from 1280 x 720 pixels to 1080 x 1080 pixels.
  • Cropping – Refers to removing sections of a video around the frame, often for aesthetic purposes. Many of the basics are explained in this blog post from TechSmith.

What makes Placeit so convenient is it offers users the ability to crop, trim, and resize their videos with a single tool. However, this is one of the things that can also make its online video chopper a bit more of a challenge to use.

Fortunately, once you have a solid understanding of how to use Placeit you can easily crop a video as well as perform other essential video editing tasks. This is just one of the many things that makes it such a fantastic tool.

When Should You Crop a Video?

If you are new to video editing you may only now be realizing it is possible to crop a video in the same way you can crop an image. You may also be unaware of the many benefits this video editing technique offers.

Cropping is a simple way to remove unwanted or unsightly images from a video. For example, it can be used to get rid of personal information you accidentally captured while recording.

Cropping can also be used to improve the composition of a video. Removing certain areas allows you to emphasize the most important parts of your shot such as a building or someone’s face.

Cropping is also effective for removing the black bars that appear in many videos. These black bars often appear in videos captured on mobile devices. When you crop a video using Placeit and similar tools, even a video taken on your phone can have a professional feel.

Conclusion

While learning to use Placeit to crop your videos can be challenging, it is still much simpler to use compared to many other video cropping tools. Just remember the steps and you will be cropping videos like a pro in no time.

First, upload your video, ensuring you are using the right video format and that your video is the right size. After that, use the tools in the Placeit video cropper to crop, trim, and resize your video as desired. Finally, all you need to do is download your video and you will be able to use it however you like.