Transfers are the plumbing behind every successful deliverable

Moving media files reliably is one of the boring but mission-critical parts of video production. Miss a deadline because a transfer failed, and nobody remembers the great edits - they remember the missed delivery. This guide explains the tools and patterns that ensure secure, reliable, auditable transfers and smooth cloud sharing for reviews and delivery.

Quick TL;DR

• Use managed transfer (accelerated protocols) for TB-scale ingest/delivery.

• Use resumable uploads for contributor/browser uploads.

• Use short-lived presigned URLs and strong ACLs for direct cloud uploads.

• Separate transfer (move the master) from sharing (host proxies for review).

• Automate proxy generation and handoffs so reviewers don’t wait.

Key concepts

Transfer vs Share

• Transfer = reliable movement of big masters (often one-off), with integrity checks and high throughput.

• Share = ongoing access, streaming proxies, comments, and versioned review.

Resumable uploads

• Avoid re-starting multi-hour uploads. Use protocols that resume where they left off.

Integrity & checksums

• Always verify MD5/SHA checksums after transfer before archiving or deleting local copies.

Audit trails & receipts

• For commercial or broadcaster deliveries, keep transfer reports, timestamps, and delivery receipts for invoicing and dispute resolution.

Tools & providers

• MASV - fast pay-as-you-go large-file transfer. Great for one-off TB deliveries and contributor portals.

• Signiant - enterprise accelerated file movement & SaaS. Ideal for scheduled pipelines and media companies.

• Backblaze B2 - cost-effective cloud object storage for archives and incoming buckets. Use it as an archive + cheap restoration pipeline.

• Cloudflare R2 - low-egress object storage alternative (good for avoiding egress surprises). Helpful when you expect heavy outbound delivery to global recipients.

• Kreatli (project workspace) - centralize proxies, comments, approval records and share review links. Use Kreatli to host proxies and manage approvals after transfers complete.

Transfer patterns & recommended architectures

Pattern A - TB-scale ingest (on-set or vendor → post)

1. Use an accelerated transfer tool (MASV/Signiant).

2. Upload into a secure cloud bucket (Backblaze B2 or R2).

3. Trigger a serverless job to generate proxies and populate the review workspace.

4. Notify editors and reviewers with a project link (Kreatli) that points at proxies, not masters.

Why: This pattern separates the heavy transfer (which is resilient and audited) from review playback (which is optimized for streaming and comments).

Pattern B - Contributor/browser uploads (many small/medium files)

1. Generate a short-lived presigned URL on the server and return it to the browser/client.

2. Use a resumable upload library (tus or vendor SDK) to avoid full re-uploads on interruptions.

3. On completion, verify checksum and auto-create proxies for review.

Why: Presigned URLs keep credentials off the client and resumable uploads avoid wasted time on flaky consumer connections.

Pattern C - Final delivery to broadcaster/client

1. Confirm delivery specs (container, codec, LUTs, checksums).

2. Use an enterprise transfer (Signiant or MASV depending on the recipient requirements).

3. Provide a signed delivery receipt and keep a copy in long-term archive (Backblaze B2 or cold tier).

Security & compliance best practices

• Enforce TLS for all transfers and at-rest AES-256 where possible.

• Use short-lived presigned URLs for direct uploads and downloads.

• Log transfer events: who uploaded what, when, from which IP (use provider transfer reports).

• Watermark sensitive review copies; keep masters access-limited.

• Use role-based access and SSO for production accounts.

Cost considerations & egress modeling

• Storage costs are predictable; egress is where surprises happen. Evaluate monthly egress for expected deliveries.

• MASV is pay-per-transfer; Backblaze B2 is cheap storage but you’ll pay for downloads or data retrieval depending on the tier.

• Consider Cloudflare R2 if you need predictable low-egress costs for frequent outbound streaming.

Automation: the time-saver

• Trigger proxy creation automatically when a transfer finishes (webhooks).

• Auto-notify reviewers and attach the review link to the project workspace with expected deadlines.

• Auto-tag assets with ingestion metadata so MAM or search works from day one.

Developer checklist

• Expose an endpoint to sign presigned upload URLs with minimal TTL and allowed operations.

• Use a resumable upload client in the browser (Uppy + tus) when handling user uploads.

• Validate checksums server-side and store them with the object metadata.

• Hook transfer-complete webhooks to start proxy jobs and webhook into the project workspace (Kreatli) to populate the review item.

Playbook: one-week pilot

Goal: validate ingest → proxy → review → delivery chain on one typical project.

Day 1: Configure transfer endpoint (MASV or Signiant) and a test Backblaze bucket.
Day 2: Transfer a 100 GB master into the bucket; verify checksums and transfer report.
Day 3: Auto-generate proxies and push to Kreatli project workspace; invite reviewers.
Day 4–5: Collect comments and one revision cycle via the proxy player.
Day 6: Deliver final master to client via MASV; collect delivery receipt.
Day 7: Review costs, failed transfers, and reviewer friction; document improvements.

FAQ

Q: When should I choose MASV vs Signiant?
A: MASV is great for pay-as-you-go one-offs and contributor portals. Signiant fits enterprise pipelines needing scheduled, managed workflows and deeper integrations.

Q: Are presigned URLs secure enough?
A: Yes when you enforce short TTLs, restrict methods (PUT vs GET), and log usage. They limit credential exposure by design.

Q: Can I automate proxy generation for any file type?
A: Most cloud transcoding pipelines support common codecs. Confirm your transcode provider supports your camera codecs or add a transcode step in your ingestion pipeline.

Conclusion

Reliable transfers are a system: protocols, storage, automation, and review workflows working together. Use managed transfer for masters, resumable uploads for contributors, automatic proxy generation for reviews, and a project workspace (Kreatli) to keep everything connected. Run the one-week pilot above and you’ll quickly see how much time automation and the right transfer pattern save your editors and producers.