fast online reel options?

Yo Gang,

I do not have a web or ftp site yet. There is a freelance gig I want to apply for that requires posting an online reel immediately. I don't want to use You Tube, even for just over the weeked, as so much of my reel content is TV and other copyrighted stuff...

Any suggestions?

Marla

Use a commercial FTP site. Two of these I know are:

[www.yousendit.com]
(used to be 1GB, free of charge. Now they charge $$$; unless you pay for a membership, you get a very low allowance)

[www.filestogo.com]
(not free either, but pretty large allowance; don't know what their current capacity is)

YouSendIt sends an e-mail to the receiving party with a link, and they can browse to the site and download the file. FilesToGo requires a login ID and password to access a secure list of files and anybody with the password can download or upload.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks-

the potential complication is that they are a team of peops in various locations who all needd to view the reels to make their decisions, over this weekend. So if I used you send it (I have used it before, I think the free allowance was 100MB), would they all be able to access it? I guess the producer could just email the link to her cohorts, don't know what'd happen if they all tried to watch at the same time... maybe some butterflies in China would turn back into cocoons, or perhaps tadpoles...

Marla
PS-who is Sarah Slean?

dot mac & iweb work pretty well. Just export your reel in the ipod format and create a podcast page in iweb. upload to .mac.

travis ballstadt
www.thrillcateditorial.com

G5DP2.5ghz, 4.5gbRAM, 2TB external SATA, Panasonic AJ-D455, G4PB1ghz, 15", 1gbRAM

how much space do you need? i have some directory browsable space i could loan you (100meg or so...)

actually, the dotmac solution is a STEAL at $100 a year for like a gig of space or more! dont know if its an IMMEDIATE setup or not... its been so long since i used mine.

> So if I used you send it (I have used it before, I think the free allowance was 100MB), would
> they all be able to access it?

Yes, just e-mail the link to all parties involved. You get a copy of the link in your own e-mail. YouSendIt's not the most convenient for multiple users, but it'll work.

YouSendIt tells you you have 100MB free; ever since they started charging, I've never been able to upload more than 30MB before it stops me and tells me I have to have a paid account. So I wouldn't use them unless you're willing to get an account or if your file is under 15MB. The crap thing is, the site doesn't tell you there's a problem until you've started the upload for a while.


www.derekmok.com

A .mac account is not bad for people who use Macs. One big problem I have with it: I did four commercials with an FX artist from overseas and I used his .mac account for some large files (100MB-1.5GB). It's slower than uploading to the company's FTP site, and after I'd copy a file to his drive, there'd be a period of 30-90 minutes where you get the Spinning Beach Ball of Death. The file does go through eventually, but there's no progress bar so you can never tell whether you've crashed or if the transfer is still healthy. This happened on two completely different G5s (my home station and the company's, both with DSLs), so it's not an isolated incident.

P.S. Sarah Slean is a brilliant Canadian singer-songwriter. Writes with alt-rock, pop, classical and cabaret influences. Also a smart lyricist with a wicked sense of humour. I PA'd on her first music video waaay back in the day, first year of film school.


www.derekmok.com

Marla,

You have got to be the busiest gal in the business (God Bless). I think you should start thinking about your own host space / build a website / client ftp / etc. I use a company called ICDSoft - they have really affordable plans. If you (or anyone reading this) decide to use them, please tell them Joe Morelli @ DigiDojo.net referred you (I get points for that ). I have been with them for years - the site never goes down, the control panel shows detailed site hits with monthly page / link breakdown charts, multiple FTP Sub Accounts, $5 domain name registration, no set-up fees, 20 / 40 Gig monthly bandwidth, unlimited email accounts & a ton more. It's awesome. Worth a look-see.

- Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Thanks Y'all- 4 things:

1) I paid YouSendIt but can't seem to upload there either (2Gig limit, and the file is 273MB...)

2) Wayne: my file must be too big, can't seem to upload, I'll re-compress smaller...

3) Joey: thanks for the recco, I will definitely check them out - and no I certainly don't feel busy in the sense of being employed. Just in the sense of making efforts to be... I hope, for the professional good of my gender, that there are busier gals than I!

4) Derek, thanks, I'll give her a listen

5) iPod format: do you mean H.263/264??


-Marla

"So if I used you send it (I have used it before, I think the free allowance was 100MB), would they all be able to access it? I guess the producer could just email the link to her cohorts"

you probably found out already,
but you can notify multiple people about the one file.


nick

Thanks everyone -

Rediculous that none of these options are working - I am a bit stymied on an old machine at the moment (older OS, older firmware) - I am going over to a friend's place to try this all out from a better set-up,

Marla's observation of the day:

Frustration breeds resistance or persistence: take your pick!!!

-Marla

> I paid YouSendIt but can't seem to upload there either (2Gig limit, and the file is 273MB...)

How long have you waited? A 273MB file on my DSL connection should take about an hour. How long is the reel? 273MB for a reel between five and 10 minutes (which would make it a pretty long reel) sounds way too large for internet purposes -- it may take your prospective clients 20-40 minutes to download depending on their connection. Maybe you're not pushing hard enough on the compression? Try 320x240, one-pass (if WMV), 400-600kbps, Mono sound at 48-64kbps and 22.05-44.1 kHz. Use a heavier compression codec like MPEG-4.


www.derekmok.com

Hi Derek,

It was many hours (hit upload and went to sleep). I am at a different machine now, and I took your advice and recompressed, not particularly happy with it but it's down to 80MB.

You send it appears to be loading it, we'll see if it goes through...

Thanks,

Marla

Well, You Send it finally came through, absurd amount of trying for the final results though.

Thanks everyone, for keeping me company through the agony,

May your day be filled with lively moments and fascinating thoughts,

Marla

FWIW, after much research, I chose Dreamhost... instead of 100 bucks a year for a gig of space, it's 60 a year for 250 gigs of space, with a well-known company. I paid them, had my iWeb designed page up and running in twenty minutes, and have used about 30 gigs of space to shuttle dailies back and forth between the director, dp, and producer of the film I'm cutting.

For my money, the 1-2 gig limit on .mac isn't enough for the money. I looove having as much space as I can possibly use online...

Groovy!

That sounds like a real deal.

Marla

If you're going Dreamhost, just do a google search for "dreamhost coupons". I was able to knock 30 bucks off my bill...

I use myspace.
private and easy and free.

Johan Polhem
Motion Graphics
www.johanpolhem.com