I’ve lost original video files before, and sometimes even the compressed versions. I’ve had to rip my own video from Revver so that I could own some version, and it’s a horrible pixelation relative to the original file (or even the compressed low-rez version). Now I have a few simple rules to save you from this agony:
1) Whenever you finish a video, export it as a FULL digital file and stick it on a backup drive (they’re down to .20 cents per gig so there’s no excuse here… don’t buy a 1 terabite drive- get a few cheap 500-750 Gigs… it’s a hassle, but the more drives you have the damage one crashed drive will inflict). Then kill the master edit file (too big) unless you think there’s a good chance you’ll have to rescore or condense the video (both are hard when the music becomes smooshed with the audio.
2) Upload the best version you can. It pains me that I was uploading 5-15 meg files (when the max on many sites were 100 megs) because it was easy… I could explort as “CD-ROM” in seconds. As a result, my old videos weren’t even taking advantage as the resolution of that time. Now I always upload larger files so they’ll look good as the potential delivery quality options evolve (YouTube feeding to Comcast or Verizon or AppleTV). Sometimes I even upload the full DV file if it’s within the 1 Gig limit.
3) Use the high-end uploader on TubeMogul (by the way, I don’t make money from TubeMogul but if you’re not using it you’re an idiot. You can upload to all the sites in one swoop. Who cares if nobody finds them on Yahoo Video or the dozen other sites. It’s worth a shot, and it helps you in search engines. The company is my favorite video startup and is always adding new features and tools. Well guess what they now allow you to do!? You can download your video in its native form (I believe). That’s huge. How many times have I ripped my own video because it was the best archive. Now I’ll always be able to at least retrieve the highest version I submitted.
I’ve learned the value of making backups the hard way. My professional video career involves making TV commercials. A long time ago, I had a client who asked me to produce a commercial for their company, and they loved the results. About a year and a half later, these guys give me a call. Apparently, their in-house guy who compsed the music bed had left the company rather unpleasantly, and was now demanding that they pull any content with his work in it. They still loved the commercial, but now wanted to swap the background music.
Minor problem: In the early 2000’s, hard disk space was still pricey, and a DV tape took just as much space back then as it does today. I had erased all the files as well as the Premiere file with the editing, and only kept the final product – with the music bed in it!
Fortunately, I never reuse clients’ tapes, and I keep a 7 year DV tape archive (no really – I have a filing cabinet with tapes going back to 2001 right now) so with some work I was able to recreate the commercial, but to avoid that headache today I take some different steps:
-Keep the premiere (or whatever editing software) file! It’s relatively small, and if you just reload your tapes to the same spot, the program will assume the new files are the same as the old ones, and boom, no re-editing.
-Save two copies of a file – one with any soundtrack, and one without. I save in DVD-compatible MPEG format. It will get mangled up if you try to edit it at all, but if you just need to add a new music bed, you’ll be fine.
-Backups! Like I said, I save all my “business” tapes for 7 years. This does take up a lot of space, but it’s saved my butt more than once. With YouTube stuff, I’m far more liberal, but I still have a 10 tape rotation going, so it takes about 15 hours of taping before I record over the footage I shot. (I always use LP mode on my cameras). I also put the files I mentioned earlier onto DVD’s, just in case a hard drive crashes.
Anyway, I’m rambling. I could have summed all of this up with “Yup, I agree with Nalts!”
Wait. I can upload .dv files to YouTube!!? Dayum! Why didn’t anybody tell me?
Wait. Does ‘native form’ at Tubemogul mean I can upload .dv there, too?
The only format I’ve ever been able to upload is .avi files. But then, I am a video novice and don’t really know what I am doing.
But I am an excellent speller.
Eh, YouTube is getting more and more handy since google sucked out there soul, er I mean, acquired them. Heck, you could upload mdj’s momma directly into the site if she would fit into the 1Gig limit.
Lately I use DVD quality MPEGs for most of my videos, unless they’re short enough, when I’ll upload a “raw” dv25 formatted (the same format you get out of your camcorder-only slightly compressed) footage in .avi format. (Mac users can do this in .mov format)
But I know people who claim to have uploaded weird formats like .fla an even .wmv and had them work, though I am a skeptic. Bottom line, YouTube is more or less compatible, as long as you stick to fairly normal format sizes.
Oh great… now I need to go buy ANOTHER harddrive to add to my collection.
helpful
Is smooshed a technical term?
As newly joined user i just wanted to say hi to everybody, even though i know that noone really gives a damn 🙂
We love newbies! Welcome!
Hello,
Yes this is me ranting but with the cost of my season ticket going up this year (again), ginormous sums of money being tossed around by Arabian oil magnates and American insurance salesmen in an attempt to buy the title / Champions League and Sky’s nauseating coverage, it seemed to me that the guys behind this site have got a decent idea.
It’s a campaign to see a salary cap introduced in European football and to be honest, I think it makes some very good points.
The argument is put forward very well, it’s got support from some pretty high-profile corners and it seems to be a campaign that has the game as a whole at heart.
Put simply, there are too many clubs running up ridiculous amounts of debts to pay unsustainably large salaries to players whilst at the same time, the top names are able to cream the best of the talent to the detriment of the competition.
The site is Footballers Wages and personally, I agree with the idea of having a salary cap. It works in other sports and not only will it save some clubs from themselves, but it might at least bring footy back to being a contest decided on the pitch, rather than in the boardroom.
Thx