File sharing for video editors: from rough cut to 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.

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 where the recipient presses play. They need no account.

Two settings matter for a review cut. For a video transfer, you decide whether to allow download. For a files transfer, you can tick View only, so the player works but the Download button does not appear. Use one of them for anything unreleased, and keep the downloadable master for later.

Export an H.264 MP4 for review, because it is the safest format for browsers, and open your own link once before you send it. If the link also carries 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, and the client can pin comments on them and finish with Approve this work or Request changes. Reviewers need no account, and client feedback and approval is available on the Free plan.

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 the person who downloads needs no account.

Two ways to hand it over fit most clients. A video transfer with downloads allowed gives the client's team a page to watch the film and then download the original file. A direct download link suits one person who just wants the file: it starts the download the moment the link opens, with no page in between. Use it for finals only, never for review cuts, because there is no page to hold your branding or your settings.

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. That stops new downloads but does not remove a copy someone already saved, so the contract matters as much as the tool.

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. It tells you the link was opened. It is not a report on how long someone watched.

Branding helps with the first impression too. Custom branding and a custom domain are included on the Free plan, so the link reads as your studio and not a stranger's file drop.

Set this up today

1. Export your next review cut as an H.264 MP4 and give it a version number.

2. Send it as a view-only or no-download video link, and open the link yourself first.

3. Ask the client for one consolidated list of timecoded notes, and keep the reply that says approved.

4. Check the final's size against your plan, then send it with downloads allowed or as a direct download link.

5. After approval and payment, send the source files as a separate transfer with a password and an expiry date.

The Free plan covers a 1 GB file limit, password protection, custom branding and a custom domain. Start for free and send your next cut from your own domain.