How to store and edit large video files: the complete guide

If you’ve ever watched Premiere crawl through a 6K timeline, or run out of drive space mid-project, you know the pain of editing large video files all too well.

Add deadlines into the mix, and it’s enough to send any creative over the edge.

But large video files are the new reality. More footage, higher resolutions and complex codecs mean hundreds of gigs have now ballooned into terabytes.

This makes knowing how to store large video files and how to edit large video files without sacrificing speed or quality is essential. Here are our top tips to keep your projects moving and your creativity flowing.

The frustrations of working with large video files

As a video editor, you’re tasked with delivering creatively compelling projects and managing the technical side of your craft too. And that’s only getting harder. 

Modern video editing workflows create a perfect storm of complications:

• File bloat: massive files eat up premium storage space fast

• Sluggish software: laggy timelines, dropped frames, endless export times

• Team bottlenecks: waiting on downloads, uploads or approvals

• File chaos: missing assets, version conflicts, sync errors

• External storage woes: more drives in fewer ports, overheated SSDs, limited access

All these workflow roadblocks eat into your productivity — wasting time, money and sapping creative energy.

How to store large video files: best storage options

So, what’s the best way to store large video files and keep playback smooth while editing?

First up, your computer needs enough processing muscle power to handle the format, resolution and codec you’re editing. You’ll need a beefier machine to handle 6K RED RAW files than HD H.264 movs, because the files are far more complex to process.

Luckily, Apple Silicon M series Macs come with built-in video processing chips, and newer Windows machines are catching up too.

But even the best system needs fast storage to keep up. If your drives can’t deliver data fast enough, your playback will still stutter.

External SSDs: fast but limited

External SSD (Solid State Drives) are popular for solo editors working on small-medium sized projects. They’re affordable, portable and deliver fast playback performance. But there’s a trade-off: limited capacity.

While you can get 8TB SSDs, a general rule of thumb is that the larger the SSD capacity the slower the performance. This means larger video editing projects will need to be split across multiple SSD drives.

You’ll also need a way to back them up securely and efficiently.

SSDs are good for on-location editing and offloading footage from camera cards, thanks to their compact size and lack of moving parts. But this does also make them vulnerable to loss or theft.

One more thing: SSD performance tends to dip once drives are around 70–80% full. They can also slow down as they age and accumulate heavy use.

RAID and NAS systems: powerful but complex

For editors managing massive projects — or entire teams — RAID and NAS systems are popular choices for storing large video files. You’ll often find them in post-production houses and professional edit suites.

These systems combine multiple drives into one storage pool, improving speed and adding built-in redundancy. If a single drive fails, your data stays safe because pieces of it are duplicated across other drives.

But there’s a catch: complexity. Bigger setups mean more maintenance and more IT know-how. Large studios may have tech support, but for freelancers, managing a RAID or NAS can be a lot to take on.

You can edit remotely from a NAS or RAID system, but it’s not always smooth sailing:

• NAS/RAID needs to be switched on all the time

• Syncing between local and remote storage isn’t automatic

• Performance depends on the number of users and how large the video files are

• Internet bandwidth is a real bottleneck

RAID and NAS solutions are powerful — but if you’re looking for a simpler way to store and edit large video files, cloud-native options can save you serious time and hassle.

Traditional cloud storage: convenient, but not built for video

Tools like Dropbox, Google Drive and others make it easy to back up files and share documents. But when it comes to storing large video files or editing large video files, these platforms start to show their limits.

The main issue? Before you can edit anything, you have to download the entire video file to your local drive. That means you still need enough local storage to handle those huge files — not to mention plenty of patience while you wait.

Because files have to be downloaded and shared manually, it’s easy for version control issues to creep in — leading to duplicate files, confusion over which edit is current and wasted time on rework.

All of which eats up valuable creative time managing file syncing and sharing.

LucidLink: built for large video files and fast collaboration

That’s why many editors are turning to cloud-native solutions built specifically for video editing with large files. This is where LucidLink changes the game.

Instead of forcing you to choose between local speed and cloud flexibility, it gives you both. It’s purpose-built for the demands of cloud video editing workflows, no matter the resolution, format or codec.

LucidLink lets you:

• Stream large files instantly, so there are no downloads to wait for

• Work directly from the cloud like it’s a local drive

• Collaborate in real time with global team members

• Keep assets secure with zero-knowledge encryption as standard

• Scale storage capacity effortlessly without buying more hardware

LucidLink’s platform is sophisticated enough to underpin production of the award-winning TV series like The Bear, but simple enough to get started right away. It’s a smarter way to store and edit large video files — without sacrificing speed, quality or creative flow.

How to store large video files: storage tips

When it comes to best practices for storing large video files, a few simple steps can dramatically improve both playback performance and collaboration.

Centralize everything

Keep all your assets in one central location that can be easily accessed both locally and remotely. This is easier to manage and maintain on an ongoing basis, from both a hardware and capacity perspective.

Avoid scattering files across drives or platforms to protect against data loss, wasted time searching and added expense.

Use consistent folder structures

Using a logical, consistent and concise folder structure to make it easy for teammates to find what they need.

If every video production project uses the same general folder structure it will be intuitively easier for everyone to store files where other people will expect to find them.

Avoid making the folder structure too dense as this leads to too many clicks each time.

Label files clearly

Similarly, using a naming convention that tells you what is in each file saves a lot of time narrowing down, finding and looking inside each piece of media.

For example, use a naming convention that includes project name, date, version number, revision status and essential notes.

LucidLink_200525_Trailer_v1_Ungraded_For Review.mov

Back up regularly

Stick to the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 locations, 1 off-site. Always automate backups where possible to save time and ensure consistent protection.

As part of this always, incrementally save your projects and archive previous versions so that you can revert to earlier approaches if the client suddenly changes their mind.

How to edit large video files: expert tips

Editing large video files starts with a computer powerful enough to handle the formats, resolutions and codecs you’re working with.

The next foundation is fast storage that can deliver media to your editing software without slowing you down.

But even once you have great tech and tools, there are smart techniques you can use to keep your workflow smooth and avoid frustrating lags.

Optimize your machine

The best video editing computers will have as much RAM and the strongest GPUs you can afford, plus dedicated video processing chips like Apple silicon’s Media Engine. 

This power chews through complex codecs, large resolutions and computing all those star wipes and video effects you must have.

• Upgrade RAM and GPU if possible

• Choose a machine with dedicated video encoders/decoders

• Keep project files on fast storage (SSD or LucidLink filespace)

• Close unnecessary apps when editing

• Keep software and OS up to date

• Don’t overfill your hard drives

Use proxies for smoother performance

A handy trick for better playback from a weaker machine or slower hard drive is to use a proxy workflow.

Proxies are lower quality, smaller file size versions of your media that are easier for the computer to playback and share. But they contain the same timecode and metadata, so you can seamlessly toggle back to full-quality media for final export.

Proxies can easily be created in:

• Adobe Premiere Pro

• DaVinci Resolve

• Final Cut Pro

• Avid Media Composer

• Edit Ready

• Frame.io

• Some production cameras

Curious to know how you can send video without losing quality? We’ve got a guide for that.

Keep everything organized

While it might sound less exciting than buying a shiny new Mac, good data management will deliver better returns than the latest chips when it comes to saving time.

Here’s a recap of best practices for storing and editing large video files:

• Stick to a common folder structure

• Use clear and simple naming convention

• Ensure version control with incremental numbering

• Centralize storage so teams aren’t needlessly duplicating files

• Use LucidLink for collaborative synchronous video editing

Why LucidLink is the future of working with large video files

If storing and editing large video files isn’t a daily challenge for your workflow, it probably will be soon. Video resolutions keep climbing — and so do file sizes.

But those big files come with major benefits: sharper visuals, more creative flexibility and space to perfect your craft.

LucidLink lets you get all the benefits of large video files, without the frustrating admin and wasted time.

Store your large video files in LucidLink and you’ll get:

• Real-time access to huge video files in an instant

• Time back not waiting for downloads

• Instant updates for everyone (and no more version confusion)

• Unlimited and flexible cloud storage capacity

• Secure, centralized, cloud-native collaborative workflows

Try LucidLink free for 30 days and discover a better way to store, access and edit large video files — without slowing your team down.

Or, see how Sandwich, the de facto creative studio for Silicon Valley, creates standout campaigns for top tech brands with a video workflow powered by LucidLink here.