Video files can quickly become very large, depending on how you record your presentation.
Avoid recording the full screen playback of videos or having your webcam in full screen. Ideally record your PowerPoint slides with you, the speaker, showing only in a very small webcam window, which keeps actual moving video to a small screen area and thereby decreasing file size.
If you record your presentation using Zoom (find a how-to guide here) you will automatically achieve excellent compression. In this case, you may not be able to further reduce the file size other than trimming time.
If you have already recorded your presentation in a different way or your file is not an .mp4 file or it is very large (more than 100MB for a basic PowerPoint presentation), follow the steps below to compress and save in the correct file type:
Online Tools for Easy Video Compression
You can try a variety of online tools to compress your video files.
- https://www.media.io/compress-mp4.html
- https://www.freeconvert.com/video-compressor (allows you to set a target file output size in MB)
- 10 best video compression tools
Note: Some free tools may add a watermark or charge a small fee for the compression service. Always review your newly compressed video before uploading into EventPilot.
Compress files manually using HandBrake
- Install the free open source video encoder HandBrake - Download here
- Add your video file you want to compress (you can simply drag and drop the file into Handbrake)
- Select from the Preset > Web > Vimeo YouTube 720p30 (If this size generates a result that is still too large, use one with a smaller size like Gmail Medium ... 480p30)
- Switch to the Audio tab and select Mono
- In the Save As, add to the existing file name -small to indicate compression (this is for your own reference). Use the Browse button to set the folder where HandBrake should save your compressed video file.
- Press the Start button on the top and take a quick computer break - this can take a few minutes depending on your computer speed.
- Once HandBrake has completed processing, you can use the smaller file on your computer for video submission.
Trimming Videos in Handbrake
If you want to cut a little time at the beginning and at the end of the video, you can easily trim with Handbrake.
Watch your video first so you know the exact times when you want to start your video and when you want to cut it.
- Before hitting Start to compress your video, change the Range from Chapters to Seconds
- Set the time at which you want to start your compressed video and the end time where you want to cut the ending. In this example, we are only using only 5 minutes and are trimming the first 29 minutes and the rest after the 5 minutes.
- Press the Start button to start the compression of your now