How to receive client footage cleanly: a freelancer checklist

Set the rules before the footage moves

Most footage headaches start before a single file is sent. The client picks whatever is easiest for them, you get a broken zip or an expired link, and the edit slips a day. A short, clear message up front fixes almost all of it. This checklist is written from the receiving side, for the editor, as a companion to our guide on sending large video files to an editor or client.

1. Ask for the right kind of link

The transfer method matters more than people think, because it decides whether the link survives long enough and whether you can skip the download later.

• A Google Drive folder link is best for repeat clients: it does not expire, it holds folders, and you can import it straight into your tools.
• WeTransfer is fine for a one off, but the free link expires, so plan to grab it quickly.
• SwissTransfer sends more for free and keeps the link alive longer, which helps when you cannot download the same day.
• A direct download link, meaning the raw file and not a preview page, also works if the client hosts the media themselves.

2. Agree on formats and structure

• Camera originals, not re-exports: ask for the files straight off the card, not a re-compressed upload.
• Keep the folder structure, by day, by card, or by scene, so you are not guessing later.
• Audio: the separate recorder files plus the camera scratch track, with a note on sync by clap or timecode.
• A one line note of the camera, frame rate and codec saves a whole round of questions.

3. Check the files when they land

Before you tell the client it all arrived, verify it. A file list can look complete when it is not.

• Count the files and compare the total size against what the client said they sent.
• Spot check that the largest clips actually open and play, not just that they appear in the list.
• Confirm the frame rate and codec match the brief, so you are not fixing surprises mid conform.
• Check the audio is present and in sync on one or two clips before you commit to the cut.

4. Skip the download: import the link into the cloud

The slowest part of receiving footage is usually the download, then the re-upload into whatever you edit from. You can skip both. With Sanbila you paste the client link and the footage is pulled in on the server side, straight into cloud storage, so the bytes never pass through your machine.

• It resolves a Google Drive link (file or folder), a WeTransfer or SwissTransfer link, or a plain direct link.
• The transfer runs on the server, so you are not tied to your own connection or local disk for the copy.
• Limits to know: a Google Drive link caps at 5 GB per file unless you connect your Google account, which lifts the cap; WeTransfer, SwissTransfer and direct links go up to 50 GB per file; a single import can run up to 4 hours.
• Import works on every plan, including the free one, within its storage quota.

The message to send a client

Copy it, adapt it, send it before the shoot wraps:

Hi, please send the camera originals, not re-exports, as one folder link. Google Drive or SwissTransfer is ideal. Keep them sorted by day or card, include the separate audio with a sync note, and tell me the camera, frame rate and codec. Thanks.