How to send large video files without compressing them

How to send large video files is usually a size problem first. Gmail stops around 25 MB. iMessage transcodes. A Drive upload can work, then permissions drift, then someone downloads an H.264 proxy because that was the file sitting at the top of the folder.

The job is: get the real master to the person who needs it, let them confirm it is the right cut, and still have that master next week. Spike stores the folder, then gives you a link. You can send that link for free, password it, or put a price on it.

Why video breaks ordinary send tools

• The file is large: 4K, ProRes, RAW, or a long timeline export.
• The recipient needs to know it is the right version before they pull 40 GB overnight.
• The same set gets requested again after a note pass.
• You may want payment before the clean export leaves.

Transfer products are good at the first bullet. Collaboration drives are good when many people edit in place. A client delivery link is the extra when the recipient is outside your team and the file should not become a mystery in someone else's Shared with me pile.

Keep the master. Preview a clip.

Upload the export you would put on a shuttle drive. Do not H.264 it "for the link." The public view can be a short clip so a producer can see picture and sound without pulling the whole reel. After they have access, they download what you stored.

That split is the same idea as blur on stills: visible enough to decide, not a substitute for the deliverable.

A simple large-video send

1. 01

   Drop the export into a folder

   Keep picture, sound, and a notes PDF together. Subfolders survive the upload, so dailies and finals can stay sorted.

2. 02

   Turn on the share

   Send the URL. Password it if the cut should not travel. Free-plan share links last three days; Pro and Business stay until you turn them off.

3. 03

   Add a price only if you need to

   For a paid delivery, checkout happens on that page. The same link unlocks the master. See paid download links.

When a transfer is enough

If you are handing a draft to an editor on your own crew, and nobody will ask for that exact file on Friday, a transfer send is the right size of tool. Spike is the extra when the recipient is a client, a festival, a colourist outside the studio, or anyone who will come back to the same master.

For the wider sharing model, read how to share large files securely. For the comparison with a classic pipe, see WeTransfer vs Spike.