How to cut a video in Mac easily and fast

After downloading some videos on your Mac, you are now looking for an editing software that allows you to edit some parts quickly and easily. We at Teknologya have decided to create an ad hoc guide where we explain exactly how to cut a video in Mac through some programs.

How to cut a video in Mac via Photo

If you do not want to install third-party software, then we recommend using the pre-installed Photos app from Apple on your Macs (and iPhones and iPads). Thanks to this software it is also possible to cut a video in a very simple way.

Let’s find out the steps to follow:

Open the Photos app on your Mac, double click on the thumbnail of the video you want to cut out and then click on the gear on the right.
Through the menu that opens, choose Crop and then use the two yellow indicators that appear on the timeline to set the start and end points.
Finish the operation by clicking on the Cut button.

How to cut a video in Mac via iMovie

Another solution always offered by the Cupertino giant is iMovie. We are faced with a much more advanced program than Photo which allows us to modify different aspects of a movie. iMovie supports all popular video file formats.

Let’s find out how to use it:

Open the program through the Launchpad or search for it using Spotlight and then click on the Projects tab.
From here, click on + Create New, press on the Movie item from the menu shown and then drag the video to edit in the iMovie timeline.
At this point, select the point of your interest to crop and then click with the right mouse button on the part and choose Share clip from the displayed menu.
After that, choose the part of the movie to be deleted and press the space bar on your Mac’s keyboard to delete it. Repeat the same operation with any other parts to be eliminated.
Reached the desired result, press on the square with an arrow pointing upwards (top right) and press on the item File.
Complete the procedure by choosing the format and resolution of the video to be exported and pressing Next to select the saving path.

How to cut a video in Mac using QuickTime Player

As a further alternative to the Photos app and iMovie, macOS also integrates QuickTime Player, the famous multimedia player pre-installed on all Macs that supports videos in MP4, M4V and MOV format.

Let’s see together the steps to follow to make the best use of it:

Launch QuickTime Player through the Launchpad for MacOS or find him through Spotlight.
After that, click on the File menu at the top, choose Open File and select the clip to cut.
Once the videos have been uploaded correctly in the Apple software, place the player indicator where you want to divide the video and then press the Edit menu at the top and choose Share clip.
At this point, the timeline will be divided into two parts. To delete one, select it using the mouse, press the Edit menu and choose Delete. Alternatively, hold down the space bar on the keyboard.
After making any other changes, you can proceed with saving the modified movie via QuickTime Player by pressing the End button of the timeline and then choosing Save via the File menu.
Through the pop-up window, set the name to be assigned to the output file, choose the destination folder via the drop-down menu Located in and press Save to start saving.

If you want to make a new video encoding, then press the File menu at the top and choose one of the options available in Export as (eg 1080p ).

How to cut a video with Mac via Avidemux

If you are looking for a third-party solution, then we recommend using the famous Avidemux video editing program. It is an open source and completely free software that supports all major video file formats such as MP4, AVI and MKV and also allows for recoding.

That said, let’s find out together how to exploit it:

Open the default browser on your Mac (eg. Safari ), connect to the download page for Avidemux and then press the link FossHub present in matching 2.7.2 Mojave QT5 (dmg), under the section of Mac OS X.
Once the installation is complete, open the software, click on the File menu at the top and choose Open.
After selecting the movie to be cropped, wait for the import and then use the indicator on the timeline to set the start and end points by clicking on the A and B buttons.
After selecting the scene correctly, press the space bar to delete it.
Now, to proceed with the saving, click on the floppy disk at the top left, type the name in the Save as field, set the save folder via the Where menu and then press Save to save it.

In case you do not want to save the movie in a new format, after pressing on File > Open, set Copy in the drop-down menus of Video output and Audio output in the left sidebar while in the Output container menu choose the same format as the video to modify.

How to cut a video with Mac: alternatives

In addition to the solutions listed in the last few lines, there are other software you can rely on to cut a movie using your Apple computer. Find the complete list below.

Doubts or problems?

If you still have any doubt or queries related to this article then feel free to leave a comment in the box below. We will try to help you as soon as possible.