Export and publishing

The video is edited, there's one step left, and it can still go wrong here. A bad export gives you a soft picture, audio out of sync, or a file the platform won't take. It happens: a creator learns from the comments that the audio drifted half a second from the lips. A one-minute check would have caught it. Here's that last step and what comes after it.

Resolution and format

For vertical videos there's one standard: 1080 by 1920 pixels, 9:16. Export in it. If the project was set up correctly (lesson one), the editor fills this in by itself.

For horizontal video: 1920 by 1080. If you shot and edited in 4K for a video platform, you can export at 3840 by 2160. For social apps 4K usually isn't needed: they'll squash it to 1080p anyway.

Codec and bitrate

File format: MP4. Video codec: H.264, audio AAC. Practically every platform accepts this. Some phones and editors default to HEVC (H.265): smaller files, but surprises at upload. Switch to H.264 or "most compatible".

Bitrate is how much data per second of video, and quality depends on it. YouTube publishes official figures: around 8 megabits per second for 1080p at 30 frames, around 12 at 60. The vertical social apps don't publish bitrate figures, usually just formats. A working guide: 8–12 megabits is enough, fast motion and grain can take 15–20, and above that there's no gain because the platform recompresses its own way. Below 5 megabits the picture goes mushy on fine detail.

If the editor offers "quality" instead of bitrate, pick high, not maximum: maximum means a huge file with no visible difference.

Sound at export

Audio: AAC, 48 kHz, 192–320 kilobits per second. The overall loudness of the video should sit around −14 LUFS, peaks no higher than −1 dB, and the music noticeably quieter than the voice. What that means and how to measure it is covered in the sound course. One thing belongs here: music from editors' built-in libraries and the platforms' trending sounds often comes without a commercial licence. A brand needs a track it has the right to use, and proof of the licence.

Tip. Export with the same settings every time and save them as a preset. One proven recipe beats new experiments before every post.

Checking before you post

Open the exported file on your phone, not in the editor. Watch it all the way through, with sound and without. Check: captions aren't clipped at the edges, audio hasn't drifted from the lips, no black frames at the cuts, no stray clip left at the end, the logo is where it should be if one is needed.

This one-minute check saves you from posting a mistake everyone will see. Deleting and re-uploading costs far more than a one-minute check.

Cover and first frame

The cover is the frame people see in your profile and in search. Most platforms let you pick it from the video or upload one separately. Upload one: a vertical image with a face or the product and a short line of text, three or four words, large. Keep the text in the centre: the profile grid crops the edges. If a platform won't take a separate cover, put the cover frame inside the video and pick that one. The automatically chosen frame usually lands on a half-open mouth.

The first frame matters too: in the feed it flashes before playback starts. Don't open on a black screen or a slow fade from darkness.

One version or several

The same vertical video usually works on every vertical platform. If your captions are in the central zone, one version works almost everywhere, but check in the app itself before posting.

Export a clean version with no watermark from the editor and upload that to each platform. Don't download the finished video from one app to post it on another: it arrives with the other app's logo, and Instagram said back in 2021 that videos carrying other apps' logos get recommended less.

In the platform's app settings, turn on high-quality uploads if there's a switch for it. Don't send the finished file through a messenger: it compresses it one more time.

Mistake. Editing on the phone, deleting the app "to free up space" and finding the projects went with it. Export and archive before you clear the phone.

Why keep the originals

After posting, the video keeps living: a brand wants a version without the logo, a platform changes format, a month later you need a remix. Keep the raw footage and the project file for at least six months. For brand videos longer, as the contract says.

The one-folder-per-video habit from lesson one pays off here: archive the whole folder in two copies, cloud and external drive. Then you can clear the phone.

Do this now

• Export a video at 1080 by 1920, MP4, H.264, with a bitrate around 10 megabits. Save those settings as a preset.
• Open the file on your phone and run the check: captions, audio, cuts, ending.
• Put music under the voice and turn it down until every word is clear on the phone speaker. Note how much quieter it ended up.