Do you need to send someone video that you’ve filmed or had made? Is it stressful, a struggle or end up looking terrible? Here’s how to do it easily without losing any quality.
The problem
As a video producer I mostly work with very large, high quality video files. On occasion however a video needs to include something that someone shot themselves: either on their own camera or a phone. Sending such large files via email doesn’t work as most emails don’t allow large attachments.
Over the years I have tried out almost every service for transferring files and wanted to share how you can easily transfer video quickly and easily and, most importantly, without losing quality.
Rule #1
NEVER USE WHATSAPP TO SEND VIDEO FOR A PROFESSIONAL PROJECT.
Forgive me but I tend to get emotional here. WhatsApp is great for sharing quick videos and photos with friends or family. If you’re only ever going to view things on your phone its fine. For professional use this will never work well because WhatsApp compresses video. In simple terms it shrinks the video to a size that doesn’t take up much of your phone data to send. What this means is that instead of beautiful HD or 4k video that your phone will likely have filmed it is less than half the size (1920 x 1080 to 848 x 480).
It does a huge disservice to whatever footage is being sent and makes any video look worse.
The solution
There are two ways to solve the problem:
- Cloud storage and sharing
- Large file transfer
Cloud storage and sharing
If you are trying to send multiple large files I recommend cloud storage. It allows you to upload all of the large files to one location and send the folder that contains them (or a link to it) to anyone you like.
These are just a few examples that offer either free or affordable solutions. They all allow you to upload your files either from your computer or device (using an app) and share links with just a few clicks or taps.
Large file transfers
If you only want to send someone a single file then there are services that allow you to do this without creating an account. The best known and most reliable is wetransfer.com. By simply adding your email, the email of the person you are sending to and selecting the file you want to send everything is done for you. There is 2GB limit however so huge video files will need one of the cloud based solutions above.
Video producers beware
A good video production service will have system in place to allow footage, assets and finished video to be shared amongst everyone involved in production. If you are working with a production company or freelancer and need to send them something make sure you discuss with them the easiest way to send it without losing quality.
For more information about Smarter Video take a look here.
Please get in touch and let me know what you would like to learn or read about.
David Cooper has worked in video production and marketing for over 10 years. His clients have included organisations of all sizes including LEGO and Amazon.