More businesses produce video for product explainers, social posts, and ads. A high-quality video tends to come with a large file, though, and a file that is too large carries real downsides.
- It does not play smoothly
- Transfers take a long time
- It exceeds an upload limit and will not load into an ad dashboard or social
- It eats storage, forcing you to delete other data
To prevent that, this guide covers why shrinking a file is worth it and a three-step method to do it.
Why it is worth shrinking
A smaller file uploads smoothly, since a large one takes longer and can stall mid-upload, and ad placements set an upload size limit you should check before submitting. It also lets users watch comfortably, where a large file runs heavy and may not play smoothly, and a high-quality video carries more data and costs the user extra bandwidth. And it spares your storage, since video needs far more space than a still, and shrinking the file leaves room for other data.
What makes a file large
Several factors drive a video's size: runtime, the presence of an audio track, resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and the compression format. The method below works through them in three steps: edit, settings, then compress.
Trim in the edit
First, look for scenes and audio you can cut. Runtime drives size, so cut what you do not need and shorten the runtime, and where it does not read as off, doubling the playback speed is an option. With "time performance" on the rise, more users speed up long videos or favor short ones, so a shorter runtime not only shrinks the file but can raise the share who watch to the end. And if the audio track is unnecessary, delete it rather than muting it, which shrinks the file.
Change the export settings
With editing done, set the resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and format on export to shrink the file while holding quality.
Lower the resolution. Resolution is the pixel count, and more pixels mean a sharper image. Without a need for high quality, lowering it shrinks the file, but quality drops too, so weigh the viewing device: a phone often does fine at 720p, while a large TV needs 1080p or more.
Lower the bitrate. Bitrate, the data per second in bps, drives image and sound quality, and a higher value means better quality and a larger file. The right value varies by quality and screen, but as a rough guide, a phone at 480p to 720p sits at 500 to 2,500 Kbps and a PC at 720p to 1080p at 1,500 to 5,000 Kbps. For high-motion or large-screen video, too low a bitrate makes the roughness show.
Lower the frame rate. Frame rate, in fps, drives playback smoothness, and a higher value runs smoother at a larger file. For a typical video, 30fps is the guide, and you can drop to 24fps for a low-motion clip.
Use a high-compression format. Converting the format also shrinks the file, and MP4 and WebM are the picks. MP4 is the popular extension, with good quality and compression, recognized widely and playing on nearly any device and platform, so it suits keeping quality and playing anywhere. WebM, Google's format built for net streaming, suits web delivery, with slightly lower quality than MP4 and narrower device support but higher compression, so it suits prioritizing compression over quality.
Compress as the last step
Finally, use a compression tool. VideoProc Converter is one option whose free version handles compression, format conversion, and basic edits like cutting and trimming, friendly for beginners. One caution: back up the file before compressing. Compression shrinks the size but coarsens image and audio, and repeating it degrades the file further, so keep the passes as few as possible. A degraded file cannot return to its original state, so back up each time.
The method in short
To recap: trim unneeded scenes and audio to shorten the runtime, lower resolution, bitrate, and frame rate within your tolerance and choose the right format, then compress. Depending on how much quality loss you accept, this method has shrunk a file to around a hundredth of its size in some cases. Shrinking a video can take longer than expected, so working through these steps in order saves the time.
