Original files question - clearing space for new projects

When one finishes a project and sends off the goods, what do you do with all the original files taking up space on the hard drive? Should I go buy a portable hard drive dedicated to storing captured video files, just in case that client loses or damages their DVD?

Or do you just delete the files from Capture Scratch, hoping you'll never need them again? This feels quite scary to me, even though I have the tapes. Murphy's Law screams that this should not be my path.

Is Time Capsule a good option - I'm wondering if I should back up my files to that and then delete from the laptop. This seems the most logical answer. I did burn an extra copy of the DVD for each of my finished projects and also made Quicktime movies of them, though I'm not sure why I felt compelled to do that except as a way to upload to web.

Okay, that's my dumb question for the night. I'd like to hear what folks do that works well for them.

> Or do you just delete the files from Capture Scratch, hoping you'll never need them again? This
> feels quite scary to me, even though I have the tapes. Murphy's Law screams that this should
> not be my path.

If your tapes were timecoded, and you had logged and captured them properly, that's exactly what you should be doing. However, you should make sure you've segregated your media files properly. AIFF music files, graphics files from After Effects or Motion, clips extracted from DVD and so on are not timecoded and can't be batch-recaptured. Make sure you're dumping only clips batch-captured from a timecoded tape.

If you're worried about the client losing the DVD in the short term, make MPEG-2 and Dolby AC3 files and back those up. They're pretty small.

> Is Time Capsule a good option - I'm wondering if I should back up my files to that and then
> delete from the laptop.

Anytime the words "automatic" and "backup" appear together, run screaming. You should never relegate an extremely important task such as backup and archive to any automatic function. Buy an external drive and do it yourself, by hand, however slowly you have to. Backups are useless unless they're done properly.


www.derekmok.com

Thank you! My tapes are timecoded. But I don't do anything special when I capture - I did start doing batch capture, marking in/out points and logging clips, just writing basic keyword descriptions and naming each clip so I know what it is.

So if I delete the original media files from my Capture Scratch folder, and one day I need to re-capture them, I can do this by using the clips that reference those files, which I keep in the project folder? Is that about the size of it? I can select the clips and capture batch again, or is it more complicated than that? (I don't need to know HOW at this point; just knowing it can be done is enough for me to delete without fear.)

Uh, one more question on this. If I imported all these files into a DVD-Pro project, the files were compressed and spit out into a different format. That file is the one used by DVD-Pro, but does it still reference the original media files? What I mean is, could I still burn a fresh DVD from that compressed file if I have deleted the originals?

Looks like you really need one of these. Forums can be a great help, but we cannot replace instructional books, which are an invaluable resource.

[www.lafcpug.org]

>If you're worried about the client losing the DVD in the short term, make MPEG-2 and
>Dolby AC3 files and back those up.

Another option is to burn an extra copy of the DVD whenever you send something out. Then, you can use disk utility (or any DVD duplicator) to make a copy of the dvd.

Also, you can use Mpeg Streamclip to demux the DVD into Mpeg2s later on and re-compile them onto another DVDSP project.

>Or do you just delete the files from Capture Scratch, hoping you'll never need them again?

You should always plan an archival route for all your projects. My usual one is to MM them onto an LTO or hard drive. That way, you can make changes to your text/supers/credits the moment the client calls you up even years down the road.

Otherwise, you should back up the project file and non-timecoded material (graphics, music, footage that you didn't acquire from tape). And make sure that you always log your stuff properly. This way, you can recapture when necessary.

>That file is the one used by DVD-Pro, but does it still reference the original media files?

If you mean reference the rushes, no. I usually don't even keep copies of DVDSP projects as most of the DVDs I send out are simple insert and play discs which I can recreate instantly. Elaborate menus, yes.

>(I don't need to know HOW at this point; just knowing it can be done is enough for me to
>delete without fear.)

At this point, you SHOULD know how to do it, especially if you are the one archiving the project. Do short tests. Most issues relating to recapture/reconnection of clips is a result of bad logging practices.



www.strypesinpost.com

Answering part of the questions, because there are others more qualified than I-

You will want to back up 2 different kinds of things-
1. Everything necessary to work on the project again. (So if the client needs to tweak a phone number, you won't need to recreate the whole project again. This means the .fcp, as well as any graphics or other media used. Also, you'll want the DVD studio pro project file, so if there's a typo on there, or if you want to change the source media, it's easy)
2. A DVD image, as is, so you can easily burn more copies. I recently started doing this, and I've found it to be very useful. I make a .img file, which I can then use to make copies in Disk Utility. This is completely self-sufficient, so you can do it on any computer. A tutorial can be found here-



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www.strypesinpost.com

you have to ask yourself:

1. how likely is it that the client will come back and want the project revisited?
2. how much work (time) would be required to re-batch capture from the source tapes IF the client does want to revisit?

i have found that with the low price of drives, unless your project is several terrabytes, it may well save you time in the long run to just back up everything as-is, to a couple of externals just in case.

Quote

When one finishes a project and sends off the goods, what do you do with all the original files taking up space on the hard drive?

When one FINISHES? You mean you haven't been backing up all along? Jamie - Jamie - Jamie. When you START a project you should have your backup plan already in effect. It is just as important as the edit itself. Guestimate the size of your project data and multiply it times 3 - that's the size backup you should have. I use a CalDigit Firewire VR set to RAID "1" for mirrored protection. You can unplug the drive sleds and put them in a storage box (that comes with the unit), label the box and store it. You can purchase (quite reasonably) new drive sleds, plug them in and you are ready for the next project (up to 2 TB of mirrored storage = 1 TB total backup).

I don't think in terms of "what IF the client wants to revisit...", I always anticipate the client calling me a few years down the road saying "remember that project we did? Boy would it be great to have that footage to use again" and you simply plug the drives back in and watch your client drool.

BTW...you charge back the client for the sleds - add it to the estimate

That's what I would do.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

> I always anticipate the client calling me a few years down the road

Good point, Joey. I've seen quite a few cases at various houses where clients come calling and the project/back ups are no where to be found. You really don't want to be stuck in those scenarios, and witness Murphy's law in action.

Edit, deliver, archive.



www.strypesinpost.com

You might want to consider your backup plan prior to pricing the job. I always build the cost of backup media into the price of the job. In my case that tends to removable hard drives, tho there is an element of russian roulette in that.

Another issue is who is responsible for storing and maintaing the backup. Over time running a years long archive of your clients materials can become expensive. You need space and administration time to keep track of all that material. You might consider making the backup drives part of the client deliverable. That way if they want a change they need to return to you with the material. Or you bill them to recapture. Time is money.

-Vance

Indeed. And a client shouldn't have unlimited freedom to get you to revisit that project five years down the line. S/he has to pay for that privilege. In the short run archival is your responsibility; in the long run, it's theirs (although I'd consider it part of your responsibilty to develop an archival strategy for them and convince them to stick to it). Keeping an active project with all its media over two years with no activity is not good business sense to me.

Unfortunately, with all the inexperienced producers, directors and clients out there who want to be "hands on", especially when you're not looking, you won't be able to safeguard them against all eventualities. For example, one director I worked with tried to mount a Mac-formatted drive with P2 media on it and watch it on a PC. On an earlier project, her clueless first editor organized all her shots by shot type (CU, Medium etc.) and locations ("Int. Store". So Scenes 7 and 19 and 28 were in one bin and Scenes 1, 30 and 40 were in another. So much fun when I took over the project to try to rescue it. People these days try to do it all despite not having the necessary experience.


www.derekmok.com

Quote

Indeed. And a client shouldn't have unlimited freedom to get you to revisit that project five years down the line. S/he has to pay for that privilege.

C'mon, D...that goes without saying. Nowhere in my post did it say "FREE UNLIMITED REFILLS". We will agree to disagree about it not being good business sense to hold something for more than 2 years because it has GENERATED WORK for me to have that material on hand and accessible when an old client called.

Moral of the story = BACK UP REGULARLY...and NOT JUST WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

> We will agree to disagree about it not being good business sense to hold something for more
> than 2 years because it has GENERATED WORK for me to have that material on hand and
> accessible when an old client called.

I don't think we're necessarily disagreeing here.
I always archive things indefinitely -- I still have project files for actors' reels from eight years ago and I can re-create those projects if necessary. That is good business sense. I think my maxim would be: Be prepared to give it to them. Don't make them expect it as a freebie. Because there's a great "wow factor" when you have a comprehensive backup system -- such as when a project is corrupted right in front of the client's eyes and it takes you all of five minutes to whip it right back up with no problems. I think keeping all media files for years, even from timecoded tapes, would fall in the realm of "bending over backwards". If you can afford to do it, okay, but it's pretty wasteful in most cases.

I also tend to include an external drive for storage as part of the budget, and the drive belongs to the client. I decline to hold on to it if the project is on indefinite hiatus.

> Moral of the story = BACK UP REGULARLY...and NOT JUST WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED.

One issue with backups that isn't commonly thought of is that backups can also bite you, albeit in a smaller way than total data loss. If you don't backup often enough, and if you don't backup the files clearly in such a way that you know which version you're going back to, then the backup isn't complete. Plus there's the danger that if you're doing your backup, you might drag a file or folder the wrong direction and end up killing your current project by replacing it with an older version.

I've seen many an assistant editor and editor do a backup just by dragging the folders to an external drive. No, no, no. Accurate date/time stamps are absolutely essential. Which is also why I have that archival system where archived copies of project files have date/time stamps but the current one doesn't, and the current one is always dead identical to the last date/time-stamped copy.

Archiving routines are real works of art. Gotta think them through, improve them constantly, and be willing to adapt them to different projects and situations.


www.derekmok.com