1. Keep the camera card intact until transfer is verified
After filming, preserve the original folder structure. Some formats rely on metadata or relationships between files, so dragging only the visible video clips into a new folder can remove useful information. Label the camera and card clearly, especially when several cameras generate the same filenames.
A sensible ingest procedure records source, destination and transfer result. Reformatting cards should happen only after the production’s verified-copy requirement has been met. A progress bar reaching 100% is not, by itself, proof that every file transferred correctly.
2. Check that the copy matches
A checksum is a value calculated from file data. Comparing the source and destination values helps detect an altered or incomplete copy. Verification software can record the comparison in a transfer report.
That check answers a narrow question: do these bytes match? It does not prove the lens was in focus, the microphone was connected, or that the camera recorded the intended event. Playback and content checks remain necessary. Open representative clips, including long takes and material from each camera, and investigate warnings before releasing cards for reuse.
3. Keep recovery copies independent
The CISA-hosted guide to backup options describes the familiar 3-2-1 principle: three copies, two media types and one offsite copy. It is a useful starting point for thinking about shared failure risks, not a certification that a project cannot be lost.
Two drives in the same bag can both disappear. Two folders on the same disk are exposed to the same hardware failure. An online sync service can propagate a deletion to the other copy. The practical questions are which failures a copy survives, whether earlier versions remain recoverable, and how restoration is tested.
4. Edit from working storage, preserve originals
Editors may create proxies: smaller versions that make demanding footage easier to work with. The final output is normally reconnected to the appropriate original media. Clear filenames and a stable folder structure make that reconnection reliable.
Keep original recordings separate from exports and temporary files. Save successive project versions so an accidental change does not overwrite the only usable edit. Back up the project file and supporting assets as well as the video: losing a week of editorial decisions is a different loss from losing a camera card, but still costly.
RAID, backup and sync are not interchangeable
| Tool | Useful role | What still needs planning |
|---|---|---|
| RAID storage | Capacity, performance or tolerance of specified disk failures, depending on configuration | Deletion, corruption, theft and failure beyond its tolerance |
| Synchronisation | Keeping working locations aligned | Version history and propagated mistakes |
| Backup | Recovering from a separate copy or earlier state | Verification, access and a successful restore |
| Archive | Retaining selected project material for future use | Retention purpose, indexing, readable formats and retrieval |
5. Close the project with a manifest
An archive should explain itself. Include a reference export, the final project version, relevant media and sound, captions, approved graphics and a note identifying exclusions or licensed items. A simple manifest can list project title, dates, cameras, folder contents and intended review date.
Record whether the package is complete enough for a new editor to rebuild the film or merely sufficient to retrieve final exports. Those are different service levels. Retaining files also does not extend permissions to use contributors or licensed material indefinitely.
6. Test recovery, not just storage capacity
A restore test retrieves material from the recovery copy and checks that it opens. For a video project, that may include relinking a project, playing representative originals and checking a final export with sound. A drive being visible in a file browser does not establish that the project can be recovered.
Storage media and software change, so long-term archives need review and sometimes migration. No responsible workflow treats a drive placed on a shelf as a permanent guarantee.
What to ask your producer
Ask how transfers are verified, whether recovery copies are independent, how long agreed assets remain available and what a restore request costs. You do not need private network diagrams or device locations to understand the service.
For duration and handover terms, read our raw-footage retention guide. If you need future edits or a client-owned archive, tell us before the production so storage is planned around that use.
