Collecting Long Videos (Films) From Your Guests
Some moments don't fit in a 30-second clip: speeches, toasts, the first dance, or a full performance. On the Premium Event plan and above, guests can share long videos of up to 5 minutes, and Fotify mixes them into your event album alongside the photos.
Availability and Limits
Long videos are included from the Premium Event plan up. The allowance grows with the plan:
| Plan | Long videos per event |
|---|---|
| Premium Event | 100 |
| Professional Event | Unlimited |
| Subscription events | Unlimited (they run on the Professional plan) |
- Maximum length: up to 5 minutes per video
- Formats: MP4, MOV, and WebM, the same formats as regular videos
Regular short videos (up to 30 seconds) are never capped and don't count toward your long video allowance. You can compare plans on the pricing page.
How Guests Share a Long Video
There is nothing special to learn: guests upload long videos exactly like photos.
- Scan the QR code or open the upload link
- Tap "From Gallery" and select the video
- Optionally add their name and a message
- Tap "Upload"
Fotify automatically detects that the file is a long video and handles it accordingly. The file shows a "Long video" badge with its own progress bar, and photos in the same upload are not delayed by it.
After the upload finishes, the video shows "Processing..." for a few minutes while we prepare it for smooth playback on every device. Guests can close the page during processing; nothing is lost.
Where Long Videos Appear
Long videos appear in your event album mixed in with the photos, as tiles carrying a Film badge, a play button, and the video's duration.
They are spread through the album instead of being grouped at the end, so guests come across them while browsing. On a big album that matters: a film sitting after a few hundred photos would almost never be watched.
A film joins the album as soon as it has finished processing. Guests never see a film that isn't ready to play; as the organizer you can follow it from the moment it lands, in your private album's Films section.
They are intentionally not shown in the live carousel: a 5-minute video would freeze the rotation of fresh photos on the big screen. Short videos continue to appear in the carousel as usual.
Anyone with access to the album can tap a film to watch it in full screen.
Managing Long Videos as the Organizer
Your private album has its own Films section where you can:
- Play any long video, including ones still pending review
- Approve pending videos when photo moderation is enabled (they show a "Pending review" badge until approved)
- Delete any long video permanently
If your event uses manual photo approval, long videos wait for your approval before guests can see them in the public album. Note that AI moderation applies to photos only, so long videos always go to manual review when moderation is on.
Downloading Long Videos
Long videos are included when you use Download All: they arrive in the same ZIP as your photos, as standard MP4 files that play on any device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long can a guest video be? A: On the Premium and Professional plans, long videos can be up to 5 minutes each. Regular video uploads remain limited to 30 seconds.
Q: Why is the video still showing "Processing"? A: After upload, videos are prepared for playback on all devices. This usually takes a few minutes for a 5-minute video. Until it's ready it stays out of the guest album and shows as "Processing" in your private album; it appears for guests automatically once processing finishes.
Q: Why don't long videos show in the live carousel? A: By design. The carousel is built for a fast rotation of photos and short clips on the big screen. Long videos live in the album itself, mixed in with the photos, where guests can watch them at their own pace.
Q: My guest saw "Video uploads are busy right now". What does it mean? A: During very large events the video service can be briefly busy. The rest of the upload (photos and short videos) continues normally, and the guest can retry the video a few minutes later.
Q: Do guests need an app to watch long videos? A: No. Films play directly in the browser on any phone or computer.
Q: Can I attach the guest's name and a message to a long video? A: Yes. The name and message entered on the upload page are saved with the video, just like with photos.
Q: Do long videos count against my photo limit? A: No. Long videos have their own allowance of 50 per event.
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