Keep the original, solve the sharing problem
Your climbing attempt is recorded, but a message or upload refuses the file. Before lowering every setting, find out what actually failed. A file-size limit, a slow connection, an unsupported format, and a clip that will not play are different problems. Making the file smaller is useful only if size is the obstacle.
This guide is a practical workflow for making a separate delivery copy. It does not claim that CruxCut has a target-file-size control or that one export setting works for every destination. Keep the unchanged recording until you have checked both the edit and the delivered result.
Read the error before re-exporting
- Explicit size limit: note the destination's current limit and whether it applies per file or to the entire message. Check its own help page instead of relying on a limit remembered from another service.
- Upload stalls: check your connection and whether the service reports an interruption. A stalled transfer is not proof that the video exceeds a size limit.
- Unsupported file or playback error: inspect the file format and the destination's supported formats. A smaller copy in the same unsupported format may still fail.
- Not enough device storage: this is a local capacity problem, not necessarily a sharing limit. Do not delete the only original to make space for an unverified export.
Use the saved file's information panel to note its size, duration, dimensions, and format where available. The number of seconds alone does not tell you how many megabytes it contains. Two equally long clips can have very different sizes.
Choose what the recipient needs to see
A coach reviewing footwork needs different footage from a friend watching one successful move. For beta review, preserve the approach to the move, visible contacts, and enough of the finish to understand the outcome. For a short social clip, remove unrelated waiting time without making the attempt misleading.
Start with the trim-boundary checklist. Cut the walk to the camera, long empty-wall sections, and unrelated attempts only when they are not needed for the purpose of this copy. Keep a longer review version if the short version hides the setup.
Make one short test before a whole-session export
- Duplicate or preserve the original recording. Give the delivery copy a clear name such as session-problem-attempt-share.
- Choose a representative segment that includes a fast move, small footholds, and the finish where possible.
- Export once using your editor's normal supported settings. Record the resulting size and the controls you actually used.
- If it is still too large, change one supported setting at a time and compare the saved results.
A short sample can reveal unreadable hold edges or missing frames before you spend time exporting a long session. It is a quality test, not a guarantee that a longer clip will fit a destination's limit. Check the final full-length file separately.
Use the available controls, not an imaginary preset
If your editor exposes a lower output resolution or a quality/bitrate option, try a modest reduction on a copy. Check the exact app's controls; availability varies. Do not assume that a label such as “HD” or “high quality” means the same dimensions or file size in two editors.
Lower bitrate often means a smaller video at the same duration, but it can remove useful detail. The container name alone is not a size setting. Changing a file extension manually does not transcode a video and may make it harder to open.
Do not lower frame rate blindly to solve size. If you need to inspect a quick foot adjustment or a dynamic move, compare whether the new saved clip still shows that action clearly. Playback speed and frame rate are separate checks; see the slow-motion and playback guide if the result changes speed.
A rough size estimate, with limits
If a tool actually lets you choose bitrate, the approximate relationship is: file bytes ≈ total bits per second × duration in seconds ÷ 8. Total bitrate includes audio as well as video; the container adds some overhead. For illustration, 30 seconds at a total 8 megabits per second is about 30 megabytes in decimal units, before overhead. This is arithmetic, not a recommended climbing-video preset.
Variable bitrate, audio settings, and different MB/MiB displays can make the actual saved size differ. Leave room below a hard limit and inspect the final file rather than treating the estimate as a promise. If your editor does not expose bitrate, compare actual saved copies instead of guessing a hidden value.
Check movement detail before sending
- Watch the original and smaller copy at the same moments, at normal playback speed.
- Check hands and shoes against the holds, especially during fast movement and in darker parts of the wall.
- Confirm that the start and finish are still included and that audio is present if you intended to keep it.
- Open the saved copy outside the editor. An editor preview is not the delivered file.
Do not assume a tighter crop is a free size reduction. Depending on the output dimensions and encoding, it may not reduce size, and enlarging a small part of the source can make detail harder to read. Use the vertical-crop guide to check framing independently.
When a link is better than another compression pass
If the recipient needs the original for detailed review, consider an existing file-sharing service you already trust, subject to its limits and access controls. Verify that the recipient can access the intended file and that the link does not expose a whole private folder. A link changes delivery; it does not itself prove the downloaded file is original quality.
Ask before sharing identifiable bystanders or private conversations. Prefer a recipient-restricted link where available, and check the actual permissions rather than assuming an unlisted link is private. Do not create a public link simply to avoid a message attachment limit.
Verify the delivered copy once
Send or upload only after the local copy passes your check. Then inspect the destination's processed result or ask the recipient to confirm playback. If your saved copy is readable but the delivered one is not, follow the sharing-quality guide; repeated exports may not address what the service does after upload.
Keep the original, the chosen delivery copy, and a short note about its purpose. The goal is a file the recipient can open and use, not the smallest possible number of bytes. This workflow does not establish a particular platform's current upload limit, a guaranteed compression ratio, or a CruxCut export feature.