Cropping is an editing tool that allows you to choose what part of a video or image frame you want to be visible. Cut out unwanted elements or lines at the edges of a video or fit a video to a new aspect ratio.
Read on to learn how to crop videos or images to remove black bars (i.e. remove letterboxing) in the Clipchamp.
Please note that cropping is different from trimming, zooming, or changing the aspect ratio (dimensions) of a video.
How to crop videos
Easily resize your media, remove black bars, and edit to the right focus point with the cropping tool.
Step 1. Drag media onto the timeline
Drag and drop your media file from the Your media library onto the timeline.
Step 2. Crop your media
There are two different ways to crop your media file.
A) Click on any asset on your timeline to highlight it in green. To remove black bars, click on the fit option to automatically crop your media to the size of your video's aspect ratio. The Fit tool zooms in on your media to remove the black bars. If you want to change your media's position, freely move it up and down or left and right on the video preview window.
OR
B) You can freely crop unwanted areas of your video with no limitations using the handles. Using the freehand crop tool is also the perfect tool for cropping an overlay. Click on the crop button to use the freehand tool.
Handles will appear on the sides, top, and bottom of your clip. Drag the handles left and right or diagonally to crop your asset freely.
You can also move your media around the preview window to recentre or reposition your asset. Drag and drop your asset left and right or up and down.
Once you are happy with your crop selection, click on the tick Done button to save your crop.
To undo the changes before saving, click on the Revert to original button.
Step 3. Save your final video
If you're finished editing and would like to save the video/s in your timeline to your computer, click the export button in the top right.
NOTE: The freehand crop tool also allows you to crop GIFs and GIPHY Stickers.
Try it out
Head over to Clipchamp's free online video editor.
