Maximum upload length
Also known as: length limit, duration cap
The longest video a platform will accept, which differs by platform and by account and quietly shapes what gets made for each one.
Updated
What it means
Every platform caps duration somewhere. Short vertical slots allow a minute or three, general video platforms allow hours, and the cap is frequently tied to whether an account has been verified or not.
The limit people actually meet is shorter than the limit written down. Attention runs out a long way before any cap does, so Audience retention rather than the rule decides the useful length.
It interacts with the shape. A vertical slot caps duration tightly and a widescreen platform does not, which is why a Short-form edit and a long edit are different pieces of work.
How it works in practice
Deciding the destination first avoids the problem entirely. A Target duration chosen before the edit means the cap never comes up, and the structure gets built for that length rather than trimmed down to it.
Splitting is better than compressing. A long session cut into two published pieces holds attention better than one squeezed to fit a limit, and both halves get an opening and an ending of their own.
The caps change without announcement. A limit that applied last year is worth checking before planning around it, because platforms raise and lower these limits regularly.
What to watch out for
Hitting the cap produces a bad edit rather than a rejection. Material cut to fit a number loses its shape, and the result is a Trip film with its middle section removed.
Verification requirements catch people out. An account that has not completed whatever a platform asks for is held to a much shorter limit, and discovering that at the point of upload is common.
A long upload is not a long watch. Reaching an hour because the platform allows it produces something nobody finishes, which Recommendation algorithm behaviour then quietly punishes.
How RawClip handles it
A requested target length is what sets the duration of a result, so a limit on the destination platform is worth stating up front. Where nothing is specified the length follows what the footage supports, which is usually well inside any cap a platform imposes.