NotchMindA screen recording that’s too big to send, a MOV someone needs as MP4: macOS can handle both without installing anything.
Finder: Encode Selected Video Files
- Select one or more videos in Finder.
- Right-click and choose Encode Selected Video Files (in Services or Quick Actions, depending on your macOS version).
- Pick a size, such as 1080p or 720p, and choose whether to use HEVC for smaller files.
- Choose Continue.
The new files appear next to the originals.
QuickTime Player: Export As
Open the video in QuickTime Player, choose File → Export As, and pick a resolution. Good for shrinking a single video.
For everything else: ffmpeg
The open-source ffmpeg (install with Homebrew) converts between almost every format, for example ffmpeg -i in.mov out.mp4.
From the notch
NotchMind, which I make, converts videos on its Converter page in the notch: drop the file, pick MP4, MOV or M4V, and convert. Video quality in its settings goes from Passthrough, which copies the video without re-encoding where it can, to Small. See convert files in the notch.
Smaller files
Lower resolution helps most: 720p is about a quarter of the pixels of 1440p. HEVC files are smaller than H.264 at the same quality, but some older devices can’t play them.