Sharing large event videos with relatives or colleagues

Choose the method by what each person needs to do. Someone who only wants to watch needs a link or a smaller copy. Someone who must keep the video needs the full file. Share the first widely and the second narrowly.

Do they need to watch it or keep it?

Start with this question, because it decides everything else.

• Watch only: most relatives and many colleagues. A viewing link or a smaller copy is enough.
• Keep: the family member who looks after the archive, or the team that will reuse the footage. They need the full file.
• Use: a colleague who will edit or post it. They need the right format. See which videos to ask for.

Writing these three groups down before you send anything saves repeated requests like “it will not open on my phone”.

Which sharing method fits whom?

Our guide to download-link expiry and access explains what happens when a delivery link stops working.

Why not just use a chat app?

Chat apps are convenient, but they usually compress video and may limit file size. The picture and sound that arrive are not the same as the file you sent.

That is fine for sharing a short clip. It is a poor choice for the only copy of a wedding speech or a company event. Keep the original somewhere safe first, as our guide to keeping independent copies explains. Then share copies from it.

How big is the file, really?

Size depends on the length of the video and its quality. A long full recording is much bigger than a three-minute highlight.

Before you send, find out how big the file is and whether your connection and the other person’s storage can cope. Our guide to how much space delivered video files may need and the video storage and transfer calculator help you work it out from the numbers you have.

Who should be able to see it?

Think about privacy before you click share.

• A public link can be forwarded by anyone. Use it only for videos you are comfortable with everyone seeing.
• A private link shared with named people is safer for family events.
• Children, funerals and sensitive moments need extra care. Consider a USB drive or a link only a few people hold.
• For work, check what your organisation allows before sharing outside the team.

If you want separate public and private versions, the private and public video version planner can help you decide what each group sees.

A simple plan for a family event

For example, a family receives a 40-minute recording of an anniversary dinner and wants everyone to see it. A sensible plan could be:

1. Keep the full file safe with one person and make a second copy elsewhere.
2. Make a smaller version for phones and share it by private link with relatives.
3. Put the full file on a USB drive for the two relatives who want to keep it.
4. Note who has what, in a short message to the family group.

This is only an illustration. Your plan depends on who is watching and on what.

What we confirm for your event

• Which versions we deliver, and in what formats.
• A smaller copy suitable for phones.
• How delivery is made, and how long the link lasts.
• Who keeps the source files after delivery.

The video archive and handover planner helps you track who has which version. It is optional. If you are planning event videography, tell us who will watch and we agree the versions in your quote.