Reduce the Size of a Large Video in under 10 minutes

My friend Miguel Reynoso posted a question about reducing the file size of a video. I was short on time but wanted to share a tip that had been shared with me a while back

use Handbrake

My friend Joe Van Harken of Th3rdEyeXR came to my rescue two years ago when I was struggling to significantly reduce the size of a very large video. I had tried using Camtasia to change the video settings, but each render resulted in some serious pixelation and bad out of sync audio. Joe recommended I use Handbrake. Now, I've been using Handbrake for a while but not to reduce a video file size. Actually, until then, I didn't know I could reduce a file size drastically without losing quality. I always thought that reducing a file size meant that the fantastically gorgeous looking video would end up looking bad, resulting in bad user experience. I was proven wrong.

Why reduce a video file size? Most videos render as very large videos. The longer the video, the higher the sound quality, the bigger the video file. There are a lot of reasons why you may need to reduce the file size of a video. For instructional designers, the majority of the time the need arises out of the file size limitations of the learning management system (LMS) we are uploading our content too. Other times, it may be that video will be presented on a website and we need to make sure that we reduce that annoying latency and buffering effect that happens with larger videos.

Whatever your need may be, Handbrake could be a great tool to add to your toolbox.

I've created a short video to walk you through the settings that I normally use - the ones shared by my hero, Joe.

Handbrake has some presets that work nicely as well. I always recommend that you experiment and find the settings that work best for your project.

As promised here's a link to my original notes where I scribbled down the settings that Joe shared with me - if you can read my scribbles you should give yourself a pat on the back.

Do you have an awesome video creation, editing, publishing tip? Share it in the comments.

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