Cropping a video is a crucial technique in post-production that enables you to remove unwanted elements from your footage. These could be black lines, watermarks, or unwanted objects that appear in your shots.
If you are using the Clipchamp video editor on your Windows device, cropping your videos is an easy process. To help you with this task, we have prepared a simple step-by-step guide on how to crop your videos using Clipchamp.
Clipchamp provides two options for cropping videos – an automated and a manual approach. We will discuss both methods below. However, before we proceed, please open Clipchamp.
Then select Create a new video.
1. Import your video
Now, let’s import the video that you want to crop. To do so, click on Import media.
Then navigate to your file, select it, and click on Open.
After importing your video to Clipchamp, the first step in the cropping process is to add it to the timeline. Simply drag and drop your video onto the timeline to proceed.
Alternatively, hover over your video, and then click on the + icon.
Related: How To Edit in CapCut
2a. Automatically crop using the Fit button
As previously mentioned, there are two methods for cropping a video in Clipchamp. The first option is an automatic method that enables you to crop your video with a single click. Let’s take a look at this method first.
Click on your video in the timeline to select it. Then click on the Fit button in the preview.
This will crop the video to fit the aspect ratio of the project and remove the black bars around it.
You can also change the aspect ratio of the project by clicking on the current ratio to the right of the preview window.
Then select your new aspect ratio by clicking on it.
Use the “Fit” button again to make sure the video is cropped to fit the new aspect ratio.
2b. Manually crop using the Crop button
If the automatic “Fit” option doesn’t help, manual cropping is always a thing. Here’s how to go about it:
Click on the video in the timeline to select it. Then click on the Crop button.
This will bring up the handlebars around your video. Drag these inward to crop out a portion of your video.
Once you’re done cropping, click on the tick mark to confirm the changes.
You will now have cropped your video.
But the work is only half done here. If you’ve cropped your video short, you will want to adjust the position and even perhaps change the black background. To know more about how to do this, jump to step 3.
2c. Zoom in to crop your video
Another way to crop your video such that you don’t end up with black borders is by zooming in on the video and shifting the parts that you don’t want out of the frame. Here’s how:
Click on your video in the timeline. Then expand out the green borders of the preview window, like so:
Of course, this might affect the video quality, but you will at least be able to crop your video without getting the black background.
Related: Top 6 ways to crop a video on Windows 11
3. Adjust the position of the cropped video
If you manually cropped your video using the crop button (as shown in step 2b), you will have to adjust the position so that it occupies center stage. To do so, simply drag the video in the preview to align it to the center.
Use the purple markers to help you with the adjustment.
4. Fit the cropped video to remove the background
If you want to remove the black background, there are a couple of things that you could do. One is to use the Fit button as shown before so that the video fits the frame along the vertical and the horizontal axis.
If the black borders remain, click on Fill (this could affect the video quality slightly).
Alternatively, you could change the background from black to another color that fits the video palette. To do so, click on Stock images in the left pane.
Click on See more under “Block colors”.
Note: You are free to use any background you like, even stock video clips. Block colors are used only for demonstration purposes.
Select a color and drag it to the timeline so it is placed below your main video clip.
Drag the color clip to match the length of the video.
To further adjust the color of the background, click on Adjust colors on the right.
Use the sliders to adjust colors and opacity.
Related: How to trim a video on Android
5. Export your video
Once cropping and adjusting is finished, all that’s left to do is to export the video. To do so, click on Export at the top.
Select your video quality.
And just like that, your cropped video will be imported.
FAQs
In this section, we’ll look at a few commonly asked queries about cropping videos in Clipchamp.
What is the difference between cropping and zooming and trimming?
Cropping and trimming are two distinct post-production techniques that serve different purposes. Cropping removes unwanted elements from the video frame, while trimming shortens the duration of the video.
On the other hand, zooming enlarges the video by zooming in on it. This technique can also be used to fill the video frame if you have cropped your video and need to remove any resulting black background.
Can I crop a video to a square?
Yes, you can easily crop a video to a square using Clipchamp. To do so, select your current aspect ratio (to the right of the preview) and select a 1:1 square aspect ratio.
Thereafter, you can adjust the video accordingly by dragging the video around in the timeline.
Can I add a custom aspect ratio in Clipchamp?
Regrettably, Clipchamp does not allow users to create custom aspect ratios. Instead, users are limited to the six aspect ratio presets available in the preview window.
With this knowledge, you should now be able to effectively crop your videos in Clipchamp, removing any unwanted elements and adjusting them to your desired aspect ratio.
