Send large wedding video files to clients

You cannot attach an example ceremony master of about 18 GB to the email you send clients. You send large wedding video files to clients from a gallery, and the couple watches on a phone. momentake publishes this article for wedding videographers who move masters of that size after the edit.

You try to attach the file to email, and the app refuses it. A chat upload refuses a file of that size too. The couple has a phone and a message thread. They want to press play on the wedding film, highlight or ceremony, without waiting out an 18 GB download. You upload the original once. They watch a stream.

The 30 GB cap on one file

The upload cap is 30 GB per file. The example ceremony master at about 18 GB fits under it. A highlight at about 4 GB fits under it. You check the size in your export folder before you start the upload, so you do not discover the cap at the end of a long transfer.

You export a new file under 30 GB when a timeline export lands above the cap. A delivery master for the couple can be that smaller file. You keep the heavier project file on your edit drive. The couple receives the file you chose for them, with a name they can read.

Example names help on a download. Mara-Owen-Ceremony.mp4 and Mara-Owen-Highlight.mp4 tell a parent what the file is. Ceremony-Master-Final-v7.mov tells them nothing they can say out loud. You rename before the upload.

You export MP4 or MOV. H.264 or HEVC is the codec pair with the widest playback. You upload into My files. momentake accepts the original and starts the transcode after the upload finishes. You can add the file to a gallery while that work runs.

The original you store and the stream they watch

momentake counts the original toward your quota. The HLS stream stays outside the quota. In the example, the 18 GB master counts as 18 GB. The stream the couple watches does not add a second 18 GB on top.

On Free the couple watches at 1080p. On Basic, Pro, and Max the couple watches at 4K. The original is the file that meets the quota and the 30 GB cap. The stream is the version the couple plays on the phone. You pick the plan for storage first, then for the quality on their screen.

Add the example highlight and the example master and you store 22 GB of originals. Free includes 20 GB, so the pair does not fit on Free. Basic includes 300 GB, so both files fit, with room for another wedding beside them. You start a 14-day trial of a paid plan for this pair. momentake does not ask for a card.

You look up the cap and the quota rule in the FAQ. Storage, the stream, the page, and the password are the jobs of a delivery setup. Read what a video delivery platform does for weddings if you want that map before you upload.

A phone on a guest connection

The couple opens the link on a phone in a hotel, in a car, or at a kitchen table. They press play. momentake serves an HLS stream, so they watch without downloading the full 18 GB first. A hotel line can start the film. A full-file download on that same line is a different task, and you control it with a switch.

You turn downloads on when they ask for the file on a laptop. You leave downloads off when the page is for watching. The original is the download, if you enabled it. The stream is what they see in the player. You say which is which in the note, so a slow bar does not look like a failed film.

The same hour you upload, the player can show the original while momentake transcodes. You write that in the message. The couple can watch the master you sent. They wait for the stream if they want lighter playback on the guest connection. You test this on your own phone before you tell them the link is ready.

A send for the 18 GB example

Label this sequence as an example. You have Mara-Owen-Ceremony.mp4 at about 18 GB. The couple asked for the film in a direct message on Monday. You send on Wednesday, after the grade.

1. You confirm the export is under 30 GB and the container is MP4 or MOV.
2. You upload the file to My files and wait until the transfer finishes.
3. You create a gallery, add a title and a cover from the ceremony exit, and place the file in it.
4. You set a password in the gallery settings, and you set the download switch for the way they asked to watch.
5. You copy the public link, send the link in one message, and send the password in the next.
6. You open the link on your phone, type the password, and press play for a few seconds.

The couple does not create an account. They tap the link, type the password once, and the page opens. The wider handoff, including what you send the parents, sits in the guide to delivering the wedding film.

The 4 GB highlight beside the master

The example highlight is about 4 GB. You upload it as its own file, under the same 30 GB cap. You place it first in the gallery. The couple can finish it at the table. They start the ceremony master if they want the vows the same night.

One original can sit in more than one gallery. You can build a short gallery that holds the highlight for the wedding party, and a second gallery that holds both films for the couple. momentake counts each original once. The 4 GB file does not become 8 GB because two pages show it.

You set a public file link when one person wants a download of the highlight and nothing else from the gallery. You choose an expiry of 7 days, 30 days, or no end date. You put a password on that link. The uncle downloads Mara-Owen-Highlight.mp4. The couple keeps the gallery.

A package link or a folder link

A transfer tool is built for a one-off send. The WeTransfer comparison describes that shape. You use it for a rush cut that one person downloads once, on Sunday night, before the gallery exists. The gallery is the page you leave up for the couple and the parents after Wednesday.

A Drive folder is a list of files in a Google account. A free Google account includes 15 GB. Drive, Gmail, and Photos draw on that same pool. The example master at about 18 GB is larger than 15 GB, so it does not fit in a free Google account that has to store the file. You set that choice beside a gallery in Drive folder or a client gallery, and you compare the storage numbers in the Google Drive comparison.

The note that travels with the link

You write three lines in the first message. Line one is the gallery title. An example is Mara and Owen, 3 October. Line two names the highlight and the ceremony master, in that order. Line three says the film plays in the browser on a phone. The password goes in the next message, a short phrase they can read aloud to a parent.

You can expect a reply that calls the film too big for a phone. You answer with the stream. The 18 GB figure is the original in your quota. The couple does not pull 18 GB onto the phone to press play. If they want the file itself, you turn the download on, and you tell them the download is that large original.

A parent who forwards the link to a sibling forwards the page. The sibling types the password from your second message. You keep a single ceremony master in My files for that household and the next one. You check the gallery title during the phone test. A leftover project name from the edit, such as Wedding_Owen_v3, is the line they will screenshot. You replace it with their names and the date before the message goes out.

Checks on the message

You play the film on your phone before the couple does. You use mobile data for that test. A wired line in the edit suite can mask a stall, and their phone will show it. You watch the opening ten seconds. You scrub once. You confirm the audio is the mix you exported.

• You send the password in a second message, separate from the link.
• You name the films in the first message, highlight first, ceremony master second.

You state the download switch in plain words. Play in the browser is one line. The file download is on is the line you add when the switch is on. You omit that line when the switch is off.

You send in the evening, when the couple is in one place. A noon link meets them apart, on different networks, and you spend the afternoon answering two versions of the same question. An evening link meets them at a table. They watch the highlight together, then they decide whether the ceremony master waits for the parents.

If the export will not go under the cap

You make a delivery export under 30 GB. You lower the data rate on the delivery master, or you send the highlight as the film they watch this week and you bring the long ceremony master across in a second file that fits. You tell them which file is which. You give them two named files, and the upload accepts each one.

You keep the camera masters on your own drives. The gallery holds the films you meant the couple to see. The 18 GB example and the 4 GB example are those films. momentake counts them in the quota. The couple watches the stream on a phone. You send the link after your own phone has played the opening.