Getting fan videos in full quality, not blurry reposts

To get fan videos in full quality, ask fans to send you the original file from their camera roll, not a repost or a forwarded clip. Most messaging apps and social networks shrink a video before it reaches you, so what you receive is a smaller, blurrier copy. An upload page that takes the file as it is gives you exactly what the phone recorded.

Why do fan videos look worse when they reach you?

Every time a video goes through a chat app or a social network, it usually gets compressed to save space and data. The picture loses detail, fast movement and stage lights turn into blocks, and the sound gets thinner. A clip that looked sharp on the fan's phone can look rough by the time it lands in your DMs.

Screen recordings and downloads of someone's story are worse still. They often have the app's buttons, stickers or captions burned in, and they are cropped to fit the post.

What counts as the original file?

It is the video exactly as the phone saved it: the full resolution, the full length, the original sound, with no filters or text on top. That is the version you want for a post, an aftermovie or a tour video, because you can cut and crop it yourself without losing more quality.

How does aftershow keep the quality?

On aftershow, fans upload the original file straight from their camera roll. The file goes to storage as it is, without being compressed on the way. When you download it from your dashboard, you get that same file back, with its original name.

So you can play videos quickly in the browser, aftershow can make a lighter copy for playback. That copy is only for watching. The original stays untouched and is what you download.

Are there any size limits?

Long concert videos filmed in high quality can be big. On the Free plan each file can be up to 500MB. On Pro a single file can be up to 5GB, enough for a full song in 4K if their phone filmed it that way. Your total storage depends on your plan.

How do you ask fans for the original?

Fans rarely think about this, so tell them what you want in plain words:

• "Send us the video from your camera roll, not a screen recording."
• "Upload it on our page, so it does not get squeezed in the DMs."
• "Wi-Fi is best for big files. Keep the page open until it says it is done."

Giving them a link that goes straight to an upload page does most of the work. They do not need an app or an account, so there is no reason to fall back to a chat app.

What about photos?

The same goes for photos. Fans can upload photos on the same page as their videos, including the formats iPhones use, and you get them in their original form too.

Can you still repost what fans send?

That is what most artists do with fan footage. Download the file, edit it the way you like and post it. It is good practice to credit the fan who filmed it, and to ask first if you plan to use it in something bigger, like an ad.