“Save Early and Save Often” – These Are Important Words in Digital Video Production

One of the biggest issues that has plagued digital video production since its inception is safely storing video footage for the long-term. Part of this concern has to do with making sure critical data is not lost in an unexpected computer crash.

Processors are having a hard time keeping up with large file sizes, which most HD formats have these days. So, it is not uncommon to have your editing station freeze unexpectedly now and again when manipulating such massive files. The mantra of “save early and save often” should be repeated over and over in any aspiring editor’s mind.

The key to making sure all of your hard earned shots are safe is to rely on redundancy and to always have your data saved in multiple places that are independent of each other. This is to safeguard against one outside force wiping out everything that you have. For instance, if there is a power surge that fries your computer and external hard drive, then at least you still have your data recoverable from CD’s or some other non-mechanical storage format.

Hard drives are mechanical data storage devices that write data to plates. Like anything mechanical, it is bound to fail at some point, so ensuring that you have your data saved in a couple of locations is crucial. Figuring out how many locations you need is about weighing the worth of your files vs. the cost of multiple save locations. For some projects, it might be best to only use one extra save location, where as if a project is decidedly important then multiple extra save medium may be your best bet.

The most important thing that you can do as an editor and videographer is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. No one has ever thought back after a serious computer failure and was upset that they had prepared too much. Video data is the lifeblood of the entire operation. When that is lost then it requires a complete reshooting of just about everything.

At the Fairfax Video Studio we treat your data as if it were our own. If you are looking for a quality ultra-effective video that will market your company in a new and innovative way, give us a call at 1-877-477-STUDIO.