"Is there any way on how to make a video file smaller? I have several video files and would like to put them onto my Android smartphone. But the problem is that there is not enough storage to save all these video files. So I would like to know how to make file size smaller. Please help."

There are occasions when we need to make video smaller. In such cases, do you know how to make video file smaller? Do you know what kind of file compressor programs you could use to make video smaller? If not, don't worry. In this guide, we would like to show you 2 tools on making video smaller.

Part 1: Why Do We Make Video File Smaller

Videos take up a lot of space, widely depending on the video format, the resolution, and the number of frames per second that was chosen when the video was created, and the video length.

Uncompressed 1080 HD video footage takes up about 10.5 GB of space per minute of video. If you use a smartphone to shoot your video, 1080p footage takes up 130 MB per minute of footage, while 4K video takes up 375 MB of space for each minute of film. Your smartphones would shortly become full with these recorded clips.

Meanwhile, nowadays a HD movie would cost a lot of storage. Generally speaking, it wouldn't be strange to see a movie that is 2GB large in size. If you want to watch HD movies on your smartphone, the smartphone storage would be quickly occupied.

There are various occasions in which you need to make video file smaller so as to achieve your own purpose: transfer video files to a portable device like iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, etc., upload video files to YouTube or other video sharing sites, add video to your own blog post, edit video in professional video editing software like iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, etc. In such cases, you need to make video file smaller.

Part 2: How to Make a Video Smaller with Leawo Video Converter

Then, the problem becomes how to make video smaller? What kind of video processing tools should you use to make a video smaller? Leawo Video Converter would be exactly what you need. It could help you make a file smaller in the aspects mentioned above, like changing video format, resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, quality, bit rate, etc. so as to reduce the file size. What’s more, it could even cut long video files into several smaller clips.

The below guide would show you how to make a video file smaller. Download and install Leawo Video Converter on your computer first. And then follow the below steps to learn how to make file size smaller.

Step 1: Open Video Converter

After downloading and installing, you will find that Leawo Video Converter is actually a function module of Leawo Prof. Media. On the main interface of Leawo Prof. Media, click the "Video Converter" option, or open the "Convert" module to enter the video converter interface.

Prof. Media

Step 2: Add source video files

Click the "Add Video" button to browse and add video files or video folder from local drive. You could also directly drag and drop source video files into this program.

Add source video files

Step 3: Choose output format

Next to the "Add Photo" button, click the button and then on the drop-down panel select "Change" option to enter the "Profile" panel, where you need to select output format.

Choose output format

On the "Profile" panel, choose any format as output format from either "Format" or "Device" group.

Set output format

Step 4: Adjust video and audio parameters

Since you need to make file size smaller, it would be necessary to adjust the video and audio parameters of selected output format. Click the button next to the "Add Photo" button and then choose "Edit" option. On the popup "Profile Settings" panel, you could adjust video quality, video bit rate, video resolution, frame rate, audio quality, audio bit rate, etc. To make file smaller, make values of these parameters smaller into a proper degree.

Adjust  file parameters

Step 5: Edit video to make video unique

Leawo Video Converter offers a built-in video editor that enables you to trim video length, crop video size, etc. You could then further make the file size smaller. You could trim video length to separate a long video into several short clips, crop video size to remove black margin, etc.

Edit output file (optional

Step 6: Set output directory

After editing, click “OK” button to return to the main interface. Then click the big green “Convert” button. Set output directory in the popup sidebar.

Edit MOV files

Step 7: Convert files

Finally, click the bottom “Convert” button on the sidebar to start to converting videos. Leawo Video Converter would start to reduce the video size for you and make video files smaller.

Convert MOV to 3GP

After converting, you could now get video files in smaller size. Now, you could upload the smaller video files to YouTube, Facebook, blog or other sites, send to your friends, edit in video editing software, etc.

Part 3: How to Make a File Smaller with Handbrake

You could also use Handbrake to make a video file size smaller. Handbrake is a free video processing program that could help you convert video files between different formats. Through its parameter editing feature, it could successfully help you make file smaller in different ways.

MOV to 3GP

The below steps show you how to make a file smaller with Handbrake. Check them carefully.

1. After downloading and installing Handbrake, launch it on your computer.

2. Click "Source > Open File" to select the video you want to compress.

3. Under the "Destination", set an output directory to save the final results.

4. Under the "Output Settings" option, choose an output format. We would like to recommend you to choose Mp4. And select Web Optimized.

5. Click on "Video" tab and choose H.264(X264). Then, set the "Frame Rate", and "Avg Bitrate" options. To make file size smaller, choose low values.

6. Under the "Audio" tab, set audio bit rate, sample rate, etc.

7. Click the "Start" button to start to make file size smaller with Handbrake.

Now, the video file has been lowered with the help of Handbrake. You could now freely transfer the video files on any device and player as you like.

It’s quite obvious that Leawo Video Converter offers better solution in making a file smaller than Handbrake does. Leawo Video Converter enables you to adjust the video and audio parameters like bit rate, aspect rate, frame rate, sample rate, etc. so as to reduce the file size. What’s more, Leawo Video Converter allows you to trim video length and crop video margins, which successfully save space for you.