What is the Right Size for My Video?

Video size is one of those things that feels like it should be straightforward—until you actually try to pick it manually. One export is 120MB, another is 800MB, both look “fine,” and suddenly you’re stuck wondering whether you’re wasting bandwidth or quietly destroying quality. The confusing part is that “size” isn’t really a setting; it’s the result of a bunch of other choices (bitrate, resolution, frame rate, codec, content complexity), and different videos chew through data at wildly different rates even at the same resolution.

So if you’ve ever asked “what’s the right size for this video?”, you’re not alone—and the good news is you can make it predictable with a simple workflow.

Key factors that affects the video size

Here is a table for key factors that affects the video size.

Factors	Increase Size ⬆️	Decrease Size ⬇️
Video Duration	Longer videos	Shorter videos
Video Resolution	Higher resolution	Lower resolution
Camera Motion	Moving / handheld camera	Static / locked-off camera
Objects Motion	Frequent object movement	Mostly static objects
Video Codec (Advanced)	Older-generation codec	More advanced codec

Video Duration

This is the most straightforward factor: bitrate is applied per second. Doubling the duration roughly doubles the file size, assuming all other settings stay the same.

Video Resolution

Higher resolutions contain more pixels per frame, which require more data to encode. A 4K video doesn’t just look sharper than 1080p—it also needs significantly more bitrate to avoid compression artifacts.

Camera Motion

Moving or handheld cameras introduce constant changes between frames. Because video compression relies heavily on reusing information from previous frames, more camera motion means less reusable data and a larger file size.

Object Motion

Even with a static camera, frequent movement within the frame (people walking, explosions, fast UI animations) increases complexity. The encoder must spend more bits to accurately represent these changes.

Video Codec (Advanced)

Newer codecs (like H.265 or AV1) are more efficient at compressing the same visual quality into fewer bits. Older codecs require higher bitrates to achieve comparable results, leading to larger files.

One handy video size estimation method

If you just want a fast and reasonably accurate way to estimate video size before exporting, start with this baseline (ref)

A 5-minute 1080p video is roughly 200 MB in most general cases.

This assumes:

• Standard frame rate (24–30 fps)
• Modern codec (H.264 / H.265)
• Moderate motion and scene complexity

From there, you can adjust the expected size using simple multipliers based on content complexity.

---

Motion-Based Multipliers

Camera Motion → ×1.5

If your video has noticeable camera movement—handheld shots, pans, tracking shots, drone footage—expect the file size to increase by about 50%. Motion reduces compression efficiency, forcing the encoder to use more bits.

Object Motion → ×1.5

Frequent movement within the frame (people walking, fast animations, action scenes) also increases size. Even with a static camera, busy scenes demand higher bitrate to stay clean.

If both camera motion and object motion are present, these multipliers can stack.

---

Resolution-Based Multiplier

Resolution Increase → ×2 per level

Each step up in resolution increases pixel count significantly:

• 1080p → 1440p: ×2
• 1080p → 4K: ×4 (roughly two resolution steps)

Higher resolution means more visual data per frame, which directly translates to larger file sizes if quality is preserved.

---

Example (Putting It Together)

• 5-minute 1080p video → 200 MB
• Handheld camera + moving subjects → ×1.5 ×1.5
• Final estimate: ~450 MB

This method won’t replace platform-specific bitrate guidelines, but it’s extremely useful for planning exports, estimating upload times, and choosing compression targets before you ever hit “Render.”