editing .
However , copying and moving files around raised another issue : data loss . Most people were just dragging and dropping from the camera card into Finder or Explorer without realizing the importance of capturing and maintaining the file structure — all the folders , files , and camera metadata . As a result , there was a lot of angst and heartache downstream when people realized they had discarded some of the metadata necessary to reconstruct the video . Data handlers learned that they had to keep files intact when offloading from the camera or copying from one place to another to ensure no data got lost in transition / translation .
Today ’ s Big Problem : Keeping Track of All That Data
With the proliferation of digital came the proliferation of file formats and massive and evergrowing amounts of data to wrangle and track . That means we ’ re now at a point where the process of copying and managing files has gotten infinitely more complex than it was back in the analog days .
How do we keep track of it all ? How do we move it around in a way that ensures all copies match the original on the camera card before we erase it forever ? How do we make sure we don ’ t lose some critical piece of data , considering there ’ s no tape to redigitize if something goes wrong during copying or transcoding ? Those are the key questions when looking at today ’ s digital video workflows . And they require new tools and a new workflow for offloading from the camera , copying to storage , and transcoding for editing .
Nowadays , with computing power and compression more or less figured out , and higher-capacity , lower-cost storage options and hierarchies readily available to accommodate video , there are plenty of ways to store and manage the data once it gets transferred from the camera cards . But until that point , it all comes down to the efficacy of the data-handling operation . Data handlers have a liability and a responsibility from the moment of capture onward to keep track of every bit of a data file .
Building a Digital Data-Wrangling Workflow
The critical consideration for any data-wrangling workflow is how to offload the media from the camera into the storage system and copy it from place to place so that not a single byte is lost .
There are many methods for offloading video and many applications that will help , but the best way to do it is to use a tool dedicated to copying video . Even better , one that uses checksum technology to ensure the accuracy of every copy . Considering most major production companies have insurance policies that require checksumming to avoid data loss , it pays to use a dedicated tool designed to keep copies intact .
Applications that are focused primarily on copying and checksumming will yield better security and long-term results than relying on an operating system ’ s copy functions . Not only do operating systems and hard disks fail , they are not optimized for copying . Dragging and dropping is simply not good enough . It might appear that the move was successful only to find out later , when it ’ s too late , that something got lost or corrupted . The drag-and-drop method leaves far too much room for error and leaves the company vulnerable to liability .
What ’ s Next ?
This year , as Imagine Products celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its ShotPut Pro offloading application , I find myself looking back at just how much has changed in that time ... and forecasting how things will look another decade from now . In the coming years , the industry will continue to pursue the holy grail of a perfectly streamlined workflow . The advent of the cloud has opened a new world of possibilities , and production companies are constantly weighing the cost and practicality of cloud storage against the cloud ’ s collaborative benefits . But within that ever-changing landscape , cameras will still be the main source of video . That means we ’ ll still need to offload video files quickly and accurately so that the shoot can keep moving . And we ’ ll still need to move files from place to place once they ’ re in the system .
The bottom line : The act of copying video is here to stay , and so is the need for a well-thought data-handling strategy that ensures accuracy .
Broadcast Beat Magazine • www . broadcastbeat . com • 61
editing.
However, copying and moving files around raised
another issue: data loss. Most people were just
dragging and dropping from the camera card into
Finder or Explorer without realizing the impor-
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