How to Transfer Dailies from Set to Post — Without Paying Per-GB

Transferring dailies from set to the edit suite is one of the most critical handoffs in production. It needs to be fast, reliable, and — if you're not backed by a major studio — affordable.

Pay-per-GB services charge $0.25/GB. A typical day of shooting on a narrative feature generates 200-500GB of camera originals. That's $50-125 per day just for the transfer. Over a 30-day shoot, you're looking at $1,500-3,750 in transfer fees alone.

Handrive eliminates these costs entirely. Here's how to set up a dailies workflow that costs $0.

The Challenge: Both Parties Must Be Online

Handrive uses direct peer-to-peer transfers. This means your device and the editor's device both need to be running Handrive simultaneously. For many productions, this works perfectly — the DIT wraps, the editor is at the office, and files transfer directly.

But what if you're shooting in a different timezone? Or the editor isn't available when wrap is called? That's where the headless server comes in.

Workflow 1: Direct Transfer (Both Parties Online)

This is the simplest setup. Use it when the DIT and editor can coordinate timing.

Setup (One-Time)

1. Both DIT and editor download and install Handrive
2. Both create accounts and log in
3. DIT creates a share for the project (e.g., "Project Alpha Dailies")
4. DIT adds the editor as a member with Editor role
5. Editor adds the DIT as a contact (required to see their shares)

Daily Workflow

1. At wrap, DIT copies camera originals to the share folder
2. DIT messages editor: "Day 12 dailies ready"
3. Editor opens Handrive, navigates to the share
4. Editor downloads the new files
5. Transfer happens directly, encrypted, no cloud involved

Workflow 2: Headless Server (Async Transfers)

When the editor isn't available at wrap time, run Handrive in headless mode on a server or NAS. The DIT uploads to the always-on server; the editor downloads whenever ready.

Setup (One-Time)

1. Set up a Linux server or NAS (can be at the production office)
2. Install Handrive headless:

   wget https://downloads.handrive.app/handrive-linux-x64
   chmod +x handrive-linux-x64
   sudo mv handrive-linux-x64 /usr/local/bin/handrive

3. Start the server and authenticate:

   handrive serve --port 3001 &
   handrive auth login otp production@studio.com

4. Set up as a systemd service for auto-restart:

   # /etc/systemd/system/handrive.service
   [Unit]
   Description=Handrive Server
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/handrive serve --port 3001
   Restart=always
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

5. Create the dailies share on the server
6. Add DIT and editor as members

Daily Workflow

1. At wrap, DIT uploads dailies to the headless server
2. Server stores files and keeps them available 24/7
3. Editor downloads whenever convenient — next morning, different timezone, whenever
4. No coordination required

Bonus: AI-Powered Automation

Handrive's 43 MCP tools allow AI agents to automate the entire workflow. Configure Claude Code to:

• Monitor the DIT's upload folder for new camera cards
• Automatically rename files using production naming conventions
• Organize into scene/take folder structure
• Notify the editor when new dailies are available
• Generate transfer reports

This is more powerful than traditional cloud watch folders because the AI understands context — it can read slates, parse folder names, and make intelligent decisions.

Cost Comparison

When This Workflow Works Best

• Indie productions that can't afford per-GB pricing
• Distributed teams working across timezones (with headless server)
• Privacy-conscious productions that don't want footage on third-party servers
• High-volume shoots where per-GB costs would be prohibitive

Limitations to Consider

• No TPN compliance — if contractually required, use a TPN-certified service
• Requires Handrive on both ends (recipients need the app)
• Headless server requires some technical setup