How to Effortlessly Crop Video to 9:16

9:16 is a vertical video format also known as Portrait (opposite to horizontal 16:9, known as Landscape). This width-to-height ratio is most commonly used for mobile-based social media applications, such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and others.

Gone are the days when video cropping tools were clumsy and memory-consuming. Now you can crop video files to that orientation in seconds using an online video cropper, without downloading and installing any additional software.

This article will provide you with a comprehensive yet concise step-by-step guide to cropping videos on any device or operating system, be it a PC, an Android phone, an iPhone, a Mac, or a tablet.

What is the 9:16 aspect ratio?

An aspect ratio is the proportion between the width and height of a frame. There are three "classic" aspect ratios:

• Horizontal or Landscape, 16:9
• Vertical or Portrait, 9:16
• Square, 1:1

Long-term Internet residents remember when vertical videos were frowned upon. As the mobile era began, the "comme il faut" standards were revised. Now vertical clips are more than welcome, as people often scroll through social media feeds on their smartphones, often "on the go".

Mind the difference between cropping and trimming video files. The former removes part of a frame and changes the aspect ratio. The latter removes part of the footage, making your recording shorter. You can use Clideo Video Editor as both a video cropper tool and a trimmer.

You might need to crop videos to a 9:16 aspect ratio to fit your content to vertical formats required by platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Stories, or Reels. It is also useful for correcting the orientation of videos shot on phones with an incorrect aspect ratio, ensuring the footage displays properly on mobile devices.

How to crop your video to 9:16 using Clideo

Videos can generally be resized with mobile apps, online tools, or desktop software.

Clideo's Video Editor is a "one-size-fits-all" turnkey solution for video editing across popular social media and other uses. Still, if you don't need such an elaborate, multifunctional tool, you can also use Clideo's Video Cropper. Whatever you choose, both services are web-based editing tools with intuitive interfaces that let you create a project with the required parameters in just a few clicks. All Clideo tools are browser-based, so they don't exhaust your device's memory, and you don't have to download software to your computer; they work well for Windows and Mac users alike.

To crop video files with the help of the Video Editor, follow these three simple steps:

1. Upload your video

   Open Clideo's video editor in any browser, click the "Get started" button, and upload your video file to the editing canvas from your camera roll, a laptop folder, or cloud storage. Common supported formats include MP4, AVI, MOV, and WMV. You can also drag and drop it onto the canvas, use built-in stock libraries, or record a clip right in the tool.

2. Crop video

   First, change the canvas size to the 9:16 canvas ratio in the "Canvas" tab.

   Then crop out the part that you need. Click the file in the timeline to open its settings, go to the "Transform" tab, and click the "Crop" icon.

   Now you can choose one of the preset sizes or create a custom aspect ratio by choosing the "freeform" option. Just drag the "crop handles" as needed to select the crop area. Click the checkmark to confirm the cropping settings.

   Finally, to fully match the cropped area to the canvas, click the "Fill" option.

3. Save the edited video

   Click the "Export" button and choose the output quality. Note that the output format can't be changed; it is MP4 by default. The only option is to loop your video into an infinite GIF if it doesn't exceed 30 seconds.

   Then simply upload the cropped recording to the cloud or save it to another location of your choice. The tool will also provide you with information on the file size.

You can always find more information about all Clideo tools and their features in our Help Center.

Tips for cropping videos like a pro

To be honest, I've never heard of such a profession as "video cropper," but that doesn't mean there aren't professional tips for it!

• Mind the platform. Each social medium has its own specifications. For example, YouTube videos use a 16:9 orientation, while the Facebook feed uses a relatively rare 1:1 square format.
• Mind the frame. Make sure cropping will not result in black bars or "dissected bodies" (cut-off heads and limbs).
• Use platform presets. They're there for a reason. If the site already provides a specific aspect ratio template, use it.
• Start cropping early in the video-editing process, preferably at the first step.

Keep in mind that cropping differs from trimming (which shortens the video) or resizing (which alters the video's dimensions, with or without cropping). Make sure you select the appropriate tool.