How to Store and Backup Your Video Files
As we start to create more and more videos for our business, we’re going to quickly notice that we’re running out of storage space on our hard drive.
And from here, it becomes a slippery slope in to un-backed-up, disorganised files.
So in today’s article, we’re talking about what we do at GINGERBEARD Media to store and back up our files - and how this might relate to your small business’ video files.
After all - there is nothing worse than creating great videos and then loosing them if you have some form of data loss.
As a video production company that’s been around since 2012, having created over 1,300 client videos, not to mention our own, and Bruce’s increase stash of passion projects - we’ve obviously created a large amount of video footage.
And all that footage needs to be backed up - so that 1) should we lose an active project, we don’t drop our clients in it and 2) if clients return to us, we can dig out their footage to be used again on a new project.
What GINGERBEARD Media does
In 97% of projects, our data protection starts when we return from a shoot. At this point we load all the footage shot onto our main editing computer, from this point on the data remains backed up.
We recognise that there an obvious gap in our system is that we don’t shoot on dual cards and so should the shoot cards be lost or become corrupted, then we would have lost that footage. That said, the remaining 3% projects are becked up as we go - and this is because these are multiday shoots like our conference project for HLB Mann Judd where we shot over 2 days, or shoots where we travelled - like where we travelled to NSW for Westrac.
An overview of our backup process, explained further below
Main Editing Computer
Once we return from our shoot, we’ll transfer all files to our main editing computer. From this point on, the files are always backed up.
The way that we manage this is through setting up a RAID system. There’s plenty to read up on if you’re thinking about setting something up - but a good place to start is actually wiki.
RAIDs come in a lot of different varieties, but in essence, they all use multiple hard drives, linked together to help store and back up data.
We use a RAID 1 - which means that we have two drives mirroring the data on the other. This means that if one drive goes down we can have the data replicate itself across from the drive that wasn’t affected, back to the one that was.
It is not the speediest system, but it is an effective use of space that ensures backup.
Files remain on this computer until a project is complete at which point the archive process starts.
Archiving (Part A)
Once a project is complete, we’ll look to archive the files. Ideally, we want as much space on our main editing computer as possible.
So from here, files are transferred to another RAID system - we use a 4-bay drive.
The first two drives are again RAID 1 and provide around 6 months worth of space for us to archive to. The other two drive spaces are used to hot-swap in and out old drives and specific client drives - so essentially we can have up to one and a half years of work accessible at one time.
Why do we only keep 6 months worth of files?
Often we find that clients wil return to us shortly after their project is complete. They’ve missed something, need further editing completed and sometimes they need their files re-sent through. And we typically find that these client returns are within the first 6 months of their project being archived. So for that reason we keep these files accessible.
Additionally, we’ve found that what files we generate in size in about 6 months, tends to be about the price point as some of the larger hard drives.
Archiving (Part B)
After 6 months, it’s likely that this drive is now full and clients aren’t returning for additional work - so at this point, it’s time to archive again.
At this point we differ our methodology. We use two hard drives, but they are not RAID’ed - they are just set up as normal hard drives.
From there hard drive A is sent to offsite location 1 and hard drive b is sent to offsite location 2.
Why?
By not RAID’ing the drives it means they are more independent of each other - so we can unarchive 1 drive without worrying about the other. We can also use other devices to access the drives. They are still mirrored and backed up - they just arent as linked as our other systems.
The Challenge for the Future
The challenge for the future will really be around space and data connection speeds.
Video files are only going to get bigger as we get more and more high-res images from cameras. Shooting in 4k over 1080p makes a massive difference, and we’re already seeing 6k cameras becoming more affordable in the next few months and years.
So the challenge is really going to be space - can we keep up with what we’re creating?
What Can You Do About Your Back-Ups?
So firstly - please don’t see backups as a waste of time and money. It’s a really easy view to have, and sure, you’ll be ok 99% of the time. But that 1% something happens, that’s when you’ll kick yourself. Hard drives are so so cheap there really isn’t an excuse not to grab a drive and back up your video data… or any data for that matter.
Get a Plan
The next step is to make a plan - Take a look at how much data you’re creating and work out what your plan for it is.
This could be as simple as grabbing a small portable hard drive and creating a copy of what you have on your main computer. You’re likely to find that hard drive space on your computer will run out if you’re constantly creating videos - so perhaps you need a couple of external drives that mirror each other. Or you could be heading towards where we sit - that you need a RAID storage system to help hold everything.
My advice would be to edit off fast hard drives - which are usually located in your computer, and then archive to slower ones. There is no point in paying for speedy hard drives if you don’t put that speed to use. Slow hard drives make for a cheaper solution if you’re just backing up.
What About The Cloud?
The cloud is a potential solution, especially going forward as tech improves, but it will be very much down to your circumstances.
The cloud means things are backed up and they’re accessible from anywhere and everywhere.
But unless you have an amazing data connection, you’re unlikely to have the ability to edit from it - so for the moment, it’s storage only. It also costs more than hard drives. This will come down, but unless you’re always adding to it, it’s monthly cost is likely to exceed the one-off cost. But it could be worth investigating as everyone’s data requirements are going to be different.
Can’t I just ‘cheat’ backing up all my files?
So look, I’ve heard about plenty of business owners who try to cut down on space by only keeping specific files when the project is compete. They’ll delete their editing files, hell, some will delete all their raw footage and only keep the final video.
I opely admit that I’m a data hoarder - I keep everything…. but I’d definitely advise against this rampant deleting method. Keep your raw footage, you’ll never know when you might need it again. Deleting everything just locks you into so much - there is just no wiggle room to change, alter, or use again. It’s a horrible job to download something from youtube just for a bit of b-roll/cutaway….. only to find out that it’s a couple of seconds short. Youll kick yourself.
Let’s wrap this up
So there you have it - what we do for data storage and back up at GINGERBEARD Media, and what you could look into for your business.
As ever, I hope you’ve enjoyed the episode. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch.
Until next time,
Beard Out
