10 Ways to share your large Motion Graphics and Video files

This list is a review of different options available for Motion Graphics Artists, Video Editors or anyone who wants to share large files with clients or each other.

The various methods and services below are examples, there are many other similar services from alternative sites.

1. Yousendit

A very common and popular service with people from all types of background yousendit allows you to upload files free of charge to a limit of 100MB and download up to 1GB per month. If you upgrade to the Pro account for $9.99 (£6.50) per month then you can send as many files up to 2GB in size as you want with 40GB of download bandwidth per month. You can also keep a contact address book on the site for quick retrieval of email addresses that you share with regularly and provides free plugins for Outlook and Photoshop.

2. Mailbigfile

Similar to Yousendit except you don’t need to sign up, but you can for the pro account which also offers 2GB file transfers and unlimited amounts of transfers. You can use the service for free and as long as you want to send up to 200MB per file via email but with no additional features. It also has an address book facility.

3. Dropbox

Slightly different and becoming increasingly popular (It’s without doubt our favourite), Dropbox allows you 2GB of online storage space for free, and up to 100GB if you are a paying customer. The great thing about Dropbox is you can simply drag and drop files to a folder on your desktop, then share the folder with whoever you want to. They will receive notification and once they have a Dropbox account they can drag and drop from the shared folder to wherever they want. This means you can have as many folders as you like each shared with as many different people as you like, or a public folder for everyone. It’s a great way to store files and access them from wherever you are, use as backup cloud storage or a collaboration tool. They even have a new mobile app. Also, if you sign up using this link then both you and I receive 250mb of additional space, absolutely free. Everyone you then invite who sign up also adds to your free space quota.

4.  PipeBytes

PipeBytes claims to have no filesize limit and you can start uploading while someone else starts downloading by sharing a simple reference code. They claim complete privacy, there is no software to install and the file is not stored online but sent directly to your recipient.

5. Assetbox

With Assetbox there is no limit on file size and only the intended recipient will access the file. You can even embed a media player to smoothly stream your shared content to your blog or profile page. The folder structure is very coherent, but each person must register for an account before they can share a file with you.

6. Z-Share

With Zshare you can host files, images, videos, audio and flash in the same place, and as long as the files remain active they can be downloaded limitlessly. Files not touched for 60days are automatically deleted. Zshare lets you upload files up to 1GB, and if you register for the service which still free, you’ll be able to share them privately. Premium members get faster downloads and the ability to upload files as large as 2GB.

7. Rapidshare

Rapidshare is a basic storage place lacking in features & design, but if you’re looking for a one-click file host, it may be the right solution. The service is the twelfth most visited homepage in the world. With Rapidshare, users can upload files up to 200MB in one step and make them available to anyone they like via the download link. The 200MB limit means that larger files need to be broken down into pieces using compression software ready to be pieced back together at the recipients end after download. Premium accounts offer additional convenience and faster speeds.  A file can be downloaded 10 times, and will be deleted after 90 days.

8. Filedropper

With this service you can upload files as large as 5GB and they claim it is the simplest way to share large files. You need to sign up for an account and it isn’t a free service. You can try a 7-day trial or pay for 3 plan options, 99cents (65p) plan, Silver Plan which is $5 (£3.25) a month or the Gold Plan which costs you $10 (£6.50) a month.

9. FTP

FTP or file Transfer Protocol is used to exchange and manipulate files over a TCP/IP-based network. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server applications. Anyone who owns a web domain with associated webspace can utilise part of it for FTP usage by installing an FTP client such as filezilla or cuteftp to transfer the files back and forth to the server. This method can also be utilised well by creating links on ‘secret’ posts within your website and sending the recipient the link and password. Not only can they watch or download the file, they can also leave comments and collaborate via your website.

10. PeertoPeer

BitTorrent technology also requires a client to interface with the torrent files and hosts on the internet. The more popular a large video, audio or software file, the faster and cheaper it can be transferred. BitTorrent is a protocol (a set of rules and description of how to do things) allowing you to download files quickly by allowing people downloading the file to upload parts of it at the same time. BitTorrent is often used for distribution of very large files, very popular files and files available for free, as it is a lot cheaper, faster and more efficient to distribute files using BitTorrent than a regular download. There are many other peer-to-peer networks, most famously Napster and more recently Limewire.

– Here’s hoping this brief list has given you some options when considering how to move your files around, please leave any comments or suggestions and let everyone know what methods work best for you.