File sharing for video editors: rough cut to source files
File sharing for video editors in four stages: a rough cut link, notes, the final file and source files.
File sharing for video editors comes down to one rule: give each stage of a job its own link with its own settings. The rough cut link plays in the browser and can be set so the client cannot download it, the final link hands over the master, and the source files go out separately after approval. This article walks through those four stages and shows which setting to use at each one. For a deeper look at the delivery stage alone, read how to deliver video to clients.
Why one folder link breaks file sharing for video editors
A single shared folder is the easy start and the usual mess. The client finds your rough cut next to the final master and the project files, downloads the wrong one, and replies about a version you replaced last week. An email attachment is worse, because video rarely fits in one.
Splitting the job into stages fixes this. Each link has one purpose, one audience and one end date. When the client asks "which one is the latest?", the answer is the link in your last email.
Name every export with the client, the project and the cut: Acme_Launch_v02_review.mp4. The same name goes in the email subject.
Stage one: send a rough cut that plays in the browser
The client should be able to watch the cut before anything lands on their disk. In Tarkle, a video shared with a built-in player opens on a page with a player. On a public link, the recipient needs no account.
Two settings matter for a review cut. On a video transfer, the Allow download setting decides whether the video can be downloaded for free. Show watermark during playback overlays your workspace name on the video while it plays. Turning on the watermark turns downloads off, so a watermarked cut cannot be downloaded. For a files transfer, set the transfer to view only when you create it. The files then open as a preview in the browser, and the Download button at the top of the transfer page is not shown. Use one of these for anything unreleased, and keep the downloadable master for later. The video transfer steps show where each setting sits, and view only file sharing explains the preview.
Export a review cut and give it a version number. Then open your own link once before you send it. If you protect the link with a password, send the password in a separate message.
Stage two: collect notes in one place
Here is a limit you should know before you promise anything to a client. Tarkle's feedback and approval tool works on images and PDFs. It does not take video, so a client cannot pin a comment to a moment in your cut inside Tarkle.
For the cut itself, ask for one consolidated list of timecoded notes ("01:12, trim the second line") in a single email thread, from one person on the client side. Reply to that thread with the next version link. Approval can be a one-line reply, as long as you keep it.
The feedback tool still earns its place on the video job around the cut. Storyboards, treatments, shot lists, thumbnails and colour stills are images or PDFs. A board holds one kind of file, and the client can pin comments on it and finish with Approve this work or Request changes. Reviewers need no account, and client feedback and approval is available on the Free plan. On Free, each workspace can have 5 active boards. Pro and Agency have no limit on active boards.
End each review email with a question that has a yes or no answer: "Reply 'approved' and I will export the final." It gets a faster answer than "let me know your thoughts".
Stage three: send the final file
The final is usually the biggest file of the job, so check its size against your plan first. On Free, a single file goes up to 1 GB. On Pro and Agency, files go up to 200 GB each. The send large files page has the details, and a public link needs no account to download.
There are two ways to hand over a final. A video transfer with downloads allowed gives the client's team a page to watch the film, and the page then offers the video for download. A direct download link suits one person who just wants the file: it starts the download as soon as the link opens, with no transfer page in between. Use it for finals only, never for review cuts, because the client never sees a page to watch the cut on. A direct download link also does not ask for the transfer's password or an email address, so a final that needs either goes out on a standard transfer link.
If the final is close to your plan's size limit, upload it a day early. A failed upload the hour before a deadline is the worst time to find out.
Stage four: share source files after approval
Source files are a different product from the finished film. The film is what the client pays to publish. The project file, media, fonts and presets let someone else rebuild or edit your work, so they deserve their own transfer and a decision from you.
Agree in your quote whether source files are included, an add-on or not offered. After approval, pack one folder with the project file, the linked media and a short readme, and send it as one transfer. Put a password on the link and an expiry date that gives the client a week or two to download, and tell them the date.
Release the package only when the job is settled, for example after the final invoice is paid. If plans change, you can switch the link off in one click. The contract should say what happens to a copy the client has already saved, because no link setting can reach it.
Open the project from the copy you are about to send, not from your working drive. Missing media shows up before the client finds it.
Know when the client has opened it
Chasing a client who never opened your link wastes a day. Transfer status shows whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded, so you can follow up on facts instead of guessing.
Branding helps with the first impression too. Free includes custom branding, and the "Powered by Tarkle" line stays on every Free page. Free also includes one custom domain for each workspace, so your links can open on your own address. On Pro and Agency, a workspace can hide the Powered by Tarkle line. On Agency, turning on White label replaces that line with your organization's name and website.
Set this up today
Export your next review cut and give it a version number.
Send it as a video transfer with Allow download off, or send a files transfer set to view only, and open the link yourself first.
Ask the client for one consolidated list of timecoded notes, and keep the reply that says approved.
Check the final's size against your plan, then send it with downloads allowed or as a direct download link.
After approval and payment, send the source files as a separate transfer with a password and an expiry date.
What to remember about Tarkle
A review cut can be set to no download, and a public link needs no account to open or download. Give each final a direct download link or a transfer page, and send source files as a separate transfer with a password and an expiry date. The Free plan covers files up to 1 GB, file sharing, password protection, client feedback and approval, and custom branding, and Pro and Agency take files up to 200 GB each. Start for free and send your next cut from your own domain.
