Portable RAID 1 for field work

Hello all.

I'm putting together some numbers for a potential shoot in Africa this summer for a client of mine.

I'll be shooting the RED ONE and typically when I'm in the field, I bring my MBP with a connected CalDigit VRMini with me set at RAID 1 to safely offload the footage.

As I'll be in Africa for 2-3 weeks, I was planning on either 1) taking 3 VRMinis with me (expensive), or 2) taking one VRMini with me and 4 replacement 500GB drives. Either way I'd, in theory, have almost 1.5TB of "safe" storage space with me.

In checking things out online, I'm now seeing that G-Tech has the G-RAID Mini (look like their version of CalDigit's VRMini) that can also be set to RAID 1. In addition to having the same storage space (500GB / unit if it's set at RAID 1), they have a choice of drive speeds and, most importantly, the price is HALF of what a CalDigit costs.

Now I see a price difference like this and I'm immediately suspicious. However both CalDigit and G-Tech both have good reputations from what I've heard.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Thanks in advance,

-Bryan

G-Tech's reputation has taken in hit in the past year or two, unfortunately.

Pretty much the only major disadvantage of the Red One is the fact that recording media is too expensive to haul around in bulk. CF cards, Red drives and Red RAM are all just too pricey to treat like film or videotape. So you have to dump mags to disk storage on location and erase the camera media so it can be reused. This opens up the huge and terrifying possibility of data loss.

Insurance companies are still wrestling with this, to be honest. Every policy turns out to be different, but a lot of time and effort goes into figuring out exactly how the data must be wrangled before a completion bond can be obtained.

Generally, it boils down to this: All digital magazines (be they CF cards or whatever) must be copied to at least two independent redundant storage devices on location, and verified by the DIT. One of those devices goes into a vault someplace at the end of the shooting day ? where "vault" is generally understood not to be the trunk of the DIT's car. Sometimes a completion bond stipulates that three independent copies of each mag have to be made.

Obviously if your production is insured, the guarantor is going to give you a list of procedures to follow. But if you're doing a self-guaranteed gig, be sure to bring a minimum of two totally separate devices; one device with some spare drives won't cut it, because that doesn't give you a backup copy.

Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention: Check out a piece of software called R3D Data Manager. Though I haven't used it personally and can't offer a testimonial, it's got a solid reputation from what I can tell. It'll copy your mags to your multiple devices in one go ? plug in both Firewire drives, one to your laptop and one to your Express Card Firewire port, then point R3D Data Manager to both devices. It checksums your mags and stores the checksums for later verification, and it does basic sanity checking, like making sure all shots got named uniquely by the camera. I've heard it also has audit trail functionality, which is required for many completion bonds, but which is just plain handy to have even in the absence of an outside guarantor telling you how to do things.

I have been a "pretend" DIT on a few RED shoots and I can vouch for using RED Data Manager.
It does MD5 checksum verification AND can copy one RED volume to up to 4 separate destinations.

Some DIT's are doing RAID 1 splits where the data is copied to a RAID 1 volume and then each RAID unit is separated into the individual mirrored elements and sent out for further backup.

Most of the insurance and bonding stipulations call for some sort of on set verification of the footage and that usually entails visual confirmation of EVERY frame of every piece of footage by someone. A bad CF card can cause 1 frame dropouts which you can only tell by watching the footage through.

Do you have the DATA in enough places that it can travel back home via two separate paths, not on the same flight?

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

IMHO, you are taking your life into your own hands using bus powered anything on such an important trip / shoot (and IMHO, they are ALL important shoots). If it were me going to Africa, knowing how much I value my source footage, I would get a CalDigit VR 2 TB unit (running RAID 1) for $400:

[www.adorama.com]

...and 2 pairs of matching modules (4) for backup @ $189 each:

[www.adorama.com]

G-Tech is not an option for me. That ceased when they were bought out by Fabrik and the quality went down the toilet (IMHO).

You mention "expensive" and "cost" multiple times in your post. Put it this way...can you put a price on your client's footage? I bet they can. How many times are you going to go to Africa? Are you planning for pick-up shots? Probably not. Expense should be relative to the production and not be an issue when we are talking about a few hundred dollars. If I were shooting a screaming car spot at "Phil's Friendly Ford" down the street, I might use the mini-bus-powered thingys.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

> IMHO, you are taking your life into your own hands using bus powered anything on such an
> important trip / shoot

I would agree...if that's all you're taking.

However, bus-powered drives are an excellent additional backup tool. If you can't find a power source in a pinch, for example, or need a very fast turnaround on backing up data, or simply don't have the physical space to manoeuvre, then bus-powered drives can give you that extra edge. And they're small, so you can keep them on your person. Draw, backup, holster -- an extra layer of security. Just don't store data on them long-term, and back it up to a more robust drive as quickly as possible.


www.derekmok.com

Great feedback. This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for.

I have both the CalDigit VRMini and the larger CalDigit VR. I never knew that bus-powered drives could have a possible problem in the field. EXCELLENT to know. Thanks Joey and Derek!!!

I think I'll bring both. I'll use the Mini to offload the cards when I'm out shooting (using RED Data Manager to ensure safe xfers - good points Jeff & Andrew) and then xfer all files to the VR at night.

Joey, you're absolutely right. While I am being extremely cost-conscious, the security of the footage is critically important so even if it's spending a couple grand, it's money well spent. I wasn't sure if buying additional modules for the CalDigits was a safe way to expand the storage capacity I'd have or if it would be better to buy additional whole units (which would mean more equipment and luggage to transport).

Your post seems to indicate that additional modules would be a safe-ish way to go. Is that correct?

I just looked at the back of my CalDigit VRMini and there is, what appears to be, a power input jack.




Is that what this is? If so, where can I get the power supply and, more importantly, would this solve the dodgy nature of a bus-powered RAID 1 drive?

Thanks!

-B

Dood...there's more than just the power from the bus that is the issue...these units have no fan. NOT RECOMMENDED for main drive units - period. CalDigit Tech questions:

[www.caldigit.com]

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Bueno. Moochas gracias!

Jeff writes-
[Insurance companies are still wrestling with this, to be honest. Every policy turns out to be different, but a lot of time and effort goes into figuring out exactly how the data must be wrangled before a completion bond can be obtained.]

Wow, even THOSE guys are up on the new tech, that's very interesting. Used to be they'd worry only about actors dying after two weeks of shooting. I knew a good one years ago; helped make some interesting indie features possible (WINTER KILLS, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON come to mind). And they can get invasive-- this guy planted his kid on the productions as "Bond Rep." But they make investors comfortable.

[Generally, it boils down to this: All digital magazines (be they CF cards or whatever) must be copied to at least two independent redundant storage devices on location, and verified by the DIT.]

Now THERE's job security!

- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Cycle your timeline track size with Shift-T !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com