Entire Media Workflow! BEST external Harddrives/Raids for Video Editing

[@Levi_Allen]

Woohoo! you guys are awesome. Thanks for sharing thoughts on your personal workflows, love it. Some additional thoughts from me, - People are asking about offsite. Yes, the field drive goes offsite once back at the studio. - I don't back up to the cloud, because my ISP in canada can't manage the TB/s I produce weekly. - It technically is still risky with only two copies for archive. That is a risk I am willing to take once a project is complete. (when the project is active there is technically 4 copies of the data) - the best long term backup is LTO (it basically records to tape, almost 0 chance of failure)

Don't really know if you have done it already, but I would absolutely loooove an update on your current media management setup!

[@CalebWojcik]

Your open laptop on the sailboat stressed me out! Great video man.

[@Levi_Allen]

Is your workflow much different? Two copies on import, edit off a raid, then two copies on archive?

[@CalebWojcik]

Pretty similar yeah. Although now I send a third copy on a hard drive to my editor, Tim.

[@TimHalvorson]

@@Levi_Allen Do you or Caleb have videos that can talk to how RAID fits into the picture? My workflow is evolving beyond just a 5TB External SSD HD and trying to determine if investing in a RAID is necessary or if having a refined file management structure using Hedge / Carbon Copy can do the job. Still pretty new to this and having a difficult time finding a video on RAID tailored to independent filmmakers / KZbinrs since most results talk shop with IT professionals at an enterprise level. I was made aware of my potential need for it after watching Peter McKinnon's video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYOtdH99j9uti9U Thoughts?

[@harrydavies5167]

I've been working in media for 8 years after starting my own company when leaving university. This is by far one of the most helpful videos to do with work flow i've come across in those 8 years. Have you thought about going through an import/export work flow process to show how to get the best quality from card > edit > export > Delivery ... that'd be super helpful! thanks!

[@rustygates7551]

Watched this when it dropped 4 years ago (long before I was paid to make videos). Took a bunch of tips away from it back then. Just watched it again today as I'm at a place of stepping up my game. STILL a huge help. Thanks man!

The amount of work you're putting into these... Thank you!

[@jakebrown2656]

dude the production quality on these is amazing

[@tomcookphoto1990]

This is the best video! I have watched it multiple times and have started implementing the systems and practices and I'm loving it. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting so I didn't have to!

[@HighfalutinLowCarb]

This could not have come at a better time. I was JUST researching best external drives for video production. I've reached the point that my current amateur system of backing up and editing is no longer functional. Love your channel and advice. Found you through your FCPX switching video. Thanks for sharing your work flow!

[@RufusEatsCheese]

Really useful - thanks! I have extensive knowledge of the IT side but am still a newbie to video where we're dealing with bit-sensitive, massive files. I really like your workflow and your mindful attitude to redundancy. This is the best grow-with-your-business workflow I've seen. Thanks again.

[@rickmasters818]

Fantastic video the best & most comprehensive backup & storage system I have ever seen. I am not a working professional videographer but have been shooting video for years & have struggled with how best to store all my own personal home videos memories for the future. For the 8 TB of videos stored in random drives all over the place this seems to be a great answer to my problem. Thanks Midland, Ontario, Canada

[@OutbacksurveyPerth]

Hey Levi Your explanation of your backup tools was great. I ran a Mac Service business for 18 years. Nice to see a user with a methodical backup regime. I also use some of the same tools that you mention. Used Carbon Copy Cloner for years... great tool. My Raid box is a 4 bay Drobo (beyond raid). I have 2 of these with 16gb each at the moment. Started with 2x1tb drives in the Drobo... then just pop one out (live) and Drobo formats & re spreads the data to a newly inserted drive. Gradually Moved up to 4 x 4tb. It is so much easier to use than standard Raid. Will now try your Hedge backup sw as that looks useful. PS I have been following you since Pure Living FL. Just bought a Mavic Drone so your tips on moviemaking are helping me Cheers.... Trevor in West Australia (Formerly from Toronto)

[@sambryce4924]

This guy knows what he's talking about. Legit workflow Levi!

[@Levi_Allen]

I need a fancy server one day like you guys. I still remember the early days when you had a raid corrupt in like 2012 and how scary that all was. 😱

[@lyndonalvarez2684]

You sir, are awesome. Thanks so much for the detailed and professional way of organizing and backing up your footage. Too often videos like this fall short. You sir just became one of the standards.

[@erikwsince1981]

A video about your download link to clients for project delivery would be awesome Levi. Great video once again!

[@SkyRideProductions]

love to hear all the details about your workflow! I'm interested in your delivery details too.

[@terenceriley1375]

I was going to mention cloud, but you stated Dropbox in the video. Online, maybe AWS? But like you posted when it's all said and done technically you have four copies! I think thank is enough. Especially at least one copy off-site. I tell ya I learn something new after every video. Still working towards getting a camera! lol. Thanks Levi, take care.

[@EliFleming]

Good workflow demo. FWIW I've been using Hedge for about a year on commercial shoots backing up data from a range of cameras. The developer is actively engaged in the refinement of the product. The licensed version uses an advanced checksum algorithm that seems much faster than the usual MD5 algorithm. Definitely gets me off set earlier and thats always a plus after a long day. (I have no affiliation with the company other than being a user.)

[@technovangelist]

this is super useful. been doing videos for work and stepping that up for personal stuff. This is one of those areas I need to get better at. thanks.

[@felixmartell2816]

Matttte!!! Thank you so much for this video!!! I've been looking to creat a work flow as I beginn in video making and editing and you are straight what my I needed. Your desk is sick!! Great job!! I'm carpenter and I also create custom furnitures!

[@classicurt]

let's see the other video on sending download links etc to your clients.. this makes me feel like such a nerd but man is it fun watching other people's workflows.

[@LuisBazan]

Very informative video! I would like to hear about your process for deliveries and archiving finished projects.

[@kineticvillagemedia]

I use blazeback up to another physical location on top of keeping 2 local copies. Gigbit internet helps it happen fast but I started the process when I had a slower ISP. I don't delete the SD cards until its in the cloud. For me a 1tb takes about a day. Its about a week at 100mbs so keep that in mind when planning how much media you need to have on hand for production.

[@DevonFlair]

Been getting increasingly worried about my commercial projects growing in production value (and, therefore, cost to them) but still using my half-assed media management workflow with limited backups etc. I can’t charge decent money and then lose/corrupt footage!!! Will be checking out Hedge and Carbon Copy asap 🤙🏼 thanks for the code!

[@QualityAntics]

haha me too man!

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

You might want to consider Backblaze.com for your cloud based backups. Unlimited data for $60/yr. Assuming your ISP doesn't have data caps like mine (Comcast).

[@DevonFlair]

GlueFactoryBJJ ah nice one - I’ll check it out. I bought Hedge the other day so next step is additional storage.

[@skymakai]

I miss your videos like this.

[@Levi_Allen]

This is one video in a sea of videos that are all different. I never made "just videos like this" and I will continue to make videos of all sorts in the future too

[@f-tech2790]

I ordered with your link! Needed this after a scary raid failure. Luckily it was a 12TB raid 5.

[@GriffinConway]

Great video! I love the workflow videos. Great to look in to the organization of creativity! Subscribed after this one 👍🏼

[@sky.london]

Dude. That was crazy well explaining. Not thought of using Hedge before, really cool. 👍

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

FYI about folder naming. So long as you group your project folders by year (e.g. 2017, 2018, 2019, etc.) naming the projects in the mm-dd-yyyy format will not cause you too many problems. In other words, you will have all the January (01) month folders mixed with ALL years. However, if you have them mixed up with multiple years, you may want to consider changing your naming method to yyyy-mm-dd so that all projects are sorted by name properly in chronological order. I used to date my folders like you do, but then changed when I started archiving all of my completed projects in one folder for ease of searching. All my folders were sorted by month, not year and I had to go back and change them (this wasn't just my video projects, but also ALL folders I dated this way and moved into a common archive folder. It will cost you some time now, but, IMO, will help you avoid problems down the road. PS. I noticed that you did have some folders in the yyyy-mm-dd format, though you also indicated that you now use mm-dd-yyyy. I'm curious as to the change (if it actually is one).

[@waynelast1685]

Very organized! But maybe I do not understand something....you said you clone your edit drive media to "two separate hard drives in a raid" .... so there are two distinct copies? do you locate one drive off-site for safekeeping? Where do you keep your project edit data in case your edit site burns down? thanks

[@noah_english.199]

Very helpful! I was at the presentation that you did in Calgary and LOVED IT! Thanks for coming to Calgary to do that, it was very helpful!

[@portsidepro]

Love this!!! Thnks for breaking it down. Would love to see that client delivery process.

[@EZMotoTim]

Thank you for mentioning Hedge. I hadn't heard of it. Take a look at CrashPlan Pro. I've been using it for about 5 years. It's an affordable subscription-based cloud storage service with unlimited space. (I'm not affiliated with them other than as a customer.)

[@ShonteDarby]

This video made me reevaluate my whole life lol! I was about to invest in more gear and toys, but I think I’m gonna invest in better memory storage because I don’t have a solid system! Good vid!

[@JackSarcone]

I'd be really interested in seeing a video of how you upgraded that old MacBook and how you like it in the field!

[@ctenche]

Great tutorial Levi. Thank you for sharing that. Question regarding the archival drives. Do you have two drives per project or keep adding projects to the archival drives until they’re full? If the later, how do you keep track of what projects are on what drives?

[@46ace]

Thanks Levi Awesome! Jus trevisited your "build a desk" video... Good stuff!

[@RobertWedderburn]

Thank you very much for sharing this Levi!

[@jordanparkour3084]

Cheers for this. It was very helpful. I'd definitely be interested in a stills and time lapse video. I've hit the notification bell to stay updated 👍

[@jonjoy-gaba9832]

wow this is so awesome. THANK YOU for making this video and I'm definitely going to buy hedge. can't tell you how much anxiety I hope that alleviates

[@brian-fourwheeldriven4881]

Great stuff. Very helpful as I'm setting this up. Have you looked at using Amazon Glacier for your offsite archival at all? I'm currently using it on one of my NAS and its built into the OS natively. Very affordable per GB bc its meant for archival and the retrieval times aren't great. That said I've not had to retrieve anything quite yet so cant speak to that process personally.

[@mid_nowhere]

Very interesting and useful. What do you do if you want to go back to an archived project? Do you copy it back onto the edit raid? Then if you copy it back to the archive will you have 2 copies of it on there? Thanks Jacob.

[@TomWylie]

Awesome! Thanks Levi for this very thorough walk-through.

[@ChrysGringo]

Thanks for sharing! What's the min read/write external disk speed you need to edit 4k footage with your old iMac? Cheers from Squamish =D

Thanks! Love the logic you apply to backup solutions!

[@joshbotzenhart]

Hey! Great video, and thanks so much for the in depth breakdown. Quick question - Are you using the Macbook only, or in conjunction with a desktop when you get back to the studio?

[@ChadRHembree]

This was great, helped me get some things in order on my hard drives. Im so bad at being organized through a whole project

[@BPed]

So helpful! V reassuring to see others as OCD as me. When you import to FCPX, do you copy files to library or leave files in place?

[@TokyoCraftsman]

Fantastic, I'm going to have to watch this again to absorb it all. Thanks Friend!

[@mississippiapple1078]

I wish I could give you a hug... thank you

[@drdorn1]

Oh yah thanks for reminding me to back my stuff up, I lost a lot of files a few months back when I updated to High Sierra my iMac would not reboot had to try and save some files and format the hard drive what a pain - Lesson Learned.

[@borisdunand]

woh it gives such a good inside look of one of the many things you have to manage in this hugely complexe creative process, thanks for the free tips ! impressed by all the work there is just in this video..

[@EmilStarlight]

HEDGE!! Whoa! I did't know you lose information when you transfer from an SD Card to Hard Drive?!?! Holeee Crow!! Thanks for this Levi!

[@ScottBell]

Awesome walk through man! Funny that you posted this today. Just today I've been making plans for my next youtube video tutorial and it just happens to be my backup workflow. Mine is not nearly as sophisticated as yours (lacking some redundancy) but I hope folks can glean some stuff nonetheless. I find it super interesting to see how everyone goes through this process as it can be a pretty daunting task at first. Thanks for this.

[@Levi_Allen]

Thanks for the comment Scott!

[@VisualAnthony]

pretty interested in your process for supplying download links to clients. typically i just either upload to dropbox and supply them with that link or upload to my site's ftp in a designated ClientName/Project/Video.mp4 location

[@AriintheAir]

Ignorance is bliss and you just exploded my ignorant and cheap system. Damn you! Thank you!

[@Levi_Allen]

🤯

[@FunForChu]

Perfect! Haha Recently started to record in 4K and can only work on two video projects at a time on my 2015 MacBook Pro with a 500gb SSD. This is really helpful. Thank you! 😊

[@soxvt13]

Dude we’ve got an old MacBook Pro and an old LaCie hard drive for storage. I feel like I need a full month long class on what to buy and how to use all of it. I’ll fly out to BC, what’s the charge for this soup to nuts class? Checks in the mail.

[@NielsiePielsie2.0]

Hey dude! I'm about to watch the video, already stoked!

[@wesleykboone4936]

By FAR, the best video on media workflow. I still have a question though. I have a new shiny MacBook, that is faster than my older iMac. I have been trying to figure out where the project and contents goes for fastest editing (budget for one external for media, and another one for backups). When I put my project and media on the MacBook, the editing is much faster (obviously) the problem is I only paid for a 500Gb hard drive, which fills extremely fast while editing/proxy/optimized, on the other hand when I place all of the contents on my external, it's much ssllloooowwwwwer editing. (obviously) My question is.. Is there a way to edit the project on my MacBook, while all the big files reside on my external... While I save for a RAID system.

[@hiddenlimits]

Whoa is that a Sean Wes sticker?! I have a few of his as well, love em.

[@akbarhussain422]

I love your glasses plz links of the glasses

[@nathanrathsamdp]

Hey man, super duper quick question about your rig, what's the name of that Sony npf battery dock that you're running straight into the GH? Thanks heaps dude, love your work!

[@ryannowicki]

My work flow is very similar but I also have backblaze running for the fire/flood concern. I look forward to your client delivery video ;-)

[@Levi_Allen]

My ISP can't keep up with the amount of data I am creating

[@thatsaloadofcrap]

Cool! Thanks Does Hedge let you add Metadata? Eg. Tags

[@thehumanstoryfilms4007]

Great video man! Noticed the atomos shogun, how often do you shoot with it? What are your thoughts on it compared to the 400mb internal codec of the gh5?

[@Levi_Allen]

It's new for me. So far I love the 7' display. Still testing everything else

[@thehumanstoryfilms4007]

Yeah I'm guessing it would be rad, I'm still using the SmallHD Focus. Whats the weight like run and gun?

[@GabrielSwift]

Super helpful! Thanks Levi, I've been looking into changing my backup workflow for some time now! I would also be really interested in hearing about the client link, and maybe what you think of Google drive vs Dropbox vs frame.io etc

[@matthewjamesmiller]

Nice job on this! Really well done.

[@fathereisenhower]

What is your laptop specs and processor situation? I'm trying to figure out a way to edit video on a Macbook pro mid 2012 (AKA avoiding buying a laptop with a touch bar)

[@eirjordan337]

Can you explain how the hourly backup works? Does it back up even when you’re working in the project, like editing in premier?

[@adamjohnson8773]

Thank you for this. Needed this so much!!

[@Brian-Hansen]

I use an almost identical workflow, and it has done me right for years! Follow this advice, and make clones! Simple rule you can enable is to ALWAYS buy hard drives in pairs. NEVER buy just a single hard drive. It's as simple as that, and you will always have a clone.

[@LudovicoBettarello]

interest for client link ....

[@Digital.Done.Right.]

YES how do you create download links for clients? I at times use G-Drive, also Dropbox but all a bit amateur feeling

[@joonajks]

Your MacBook Pro is a beast, are you currently still utilizing that MacBook Pro?

[@hellogandara]

Which video lens did you recommend for a interviews, sitting talking to the camera, never more than 2metres far. ? Thanks!!! ps.i have and GH5

[@OpinionatedNerdzEntertainment]

I did have a quick question. So it's better to edit the project and save the files to a different hard drive opposed to the one in the computer? If so why?

[@iComplainer]

Holy shit! I've never seen a discount on Hedge. You are the man buying it now through your link

[@PlushPosse]

Awesome tips Levi! Love it. Thanks

[@satinderdhindsa835]

You can use a software called "Post Haste" to automatically make the folders for your projects. It can even make the premiere project files for you too. Its free as well.

[@NisseNr1]

Great video a lot of value! I would love to know more about your workflow for google drive and dropbox. Thanks for always sharing great content:)

[@LuisRamirez-ry5pi]

nice vid. great info! so whats the sd cards you use most?? your videos are so great and so helpful. i hope our paths cross one day! p.s. whats your process for duplicates? (unwanted multiple files) or am i the only one with this problem

[@Holtenstein]

I have a workflow with 2 raid setups as well. One is Raid 0 and the other is raid 1. The raid 0 array is all Samsung SSD's and both are thunderbolt for speed. I had to figure this out the hard way. I've definitely lost footage before. So when you finish a film do you keep a large master copy and then export/covert that file to whatever format you need?

[@SamuelElling]

Hi, Nice vid Levi. Thx. About managing client vid, do you know Frame.io ? I'm using it since a year now and it has changed my relation with my client in the best way. So easy to use. I love it.

[@jamesborsheim9382]

Levi ... thanx, much appreciated. So what happens should your desk with all the archive drives inside goes up in flames? Did I miss an off site, geographical different location for duplicate archive drives? TIA

[@Levi_Allen]

Field drive is off location

[@DanWhitehead]

just re visited this one man super helpful thanks!

[@thesixco]

How do you keep track of where your projects are located once they've been archived onto the 8TB drive pairs?

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

Spinrite from GRC.com has been an essential too for verifying the safety of data on hard drives for me for over 25 years. With improvements, it is as useful today as it was over 20 years ago. Highly recommended!

[@musicelect]

GlueFactoryBJJ I haven't seen a website design that bad since the early 2000s. If it is any indication of their software design, I'd stay far far away. Also, Windows only.

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

Mark O'Russa - Yeah, the design sucks, but Steve Gibson is one of the best programmers and security experts I know of. His site epitomizes the phrase, "don't judge a book by its cover". As does his software. I guess that's what you get when you mainly program in assembly... Of course, you may not want to try it and that is up to you, but like I've said it is great software and has saved a few crashed drives for me both on the job and personally. BTW, you can also listen to Steve's podcast on the Security Now channel on KZbin. It is sponsored by TWIT TV.

[@TheTechnoPilot]

Mark O'Russa That's because the website is from pre-2000, its function over form. Also do your research, it is not OS or format dependent, the software works at the bit level on the drive using underlying drive commands that are only exposed usually at a bios level. It could be an drive from an encrypted RAID array, it doesn't care and can do its job.

[@GlueFactoryBJJ]

TheTechnoPilot - Yep! And Steve programmed his own web server, in assembly, which, if I remember correctly, is less than 1MB in size (not a typo). Of course, GRC.com runs off that server software, though that is not the reason it looks so dated. Oh, he also wrote the ecommerce software the site uses... in assembly. Heck, Spinrite is even used by some data recovery services as their first pass, depending on the type of damage to the drive. Anyway, next time you have a harddrive that is throwing errors, seems to randomly corrupt files, or even slowing down for no reason, it is worth the ~80 dollars to use it. Note that if Spinrite shows a bunch of errors, you should replace the drive even if it appears to be working normally again because the drive is probably failing, but Spinrite has made it work again so you can replace the drive. Especially if there are a bunch of S.M.A.R.T. errors. Spinrite also works on SSDs. Even, as you noted, those in raid arrays. I use it on every drive I put into service. It can take awhile to work on these multi terabyte drives (about 6 hours per terabyte) and must be run off a boot CD/DVD or USB stick. So you will have to dedicate an old PC to the task, but if you want to save a drive it can be priceless. Spinrite 6.1 will hopefully be released this year. It will be a free upgrade and will increase the testing speed to about 1TB per hour (repairs can take much longer). All "dot" releases are free. Spinrite 7 is not supposed to require you dedicate your PC to the process. Both updates have been waiting on Steve to finish his SQRL token based user authentication protocol/software. You can read about it on his site and on various Security Now podcasts. It is practically done now and will be available for almost every OS available, both server and client. I definitely hope it is rapidly adopted. Anyway, my $0.02 (or so)... Disclaimer: I don't have any financial interest in GRC, I'm just a big fan of their products. I have been using Spinrite since Spinrite II (v2). I still have the original 3.5" floppy disk. Darn I'm getting old...

[@offgridsweden]

Awesome video. Greetings from Andreas on Off Grid Sweden

[@helenegeyser]

Do you keep all your drives in the same location (in your home/office)?

[@TheJumpChronicle]

"And the client work that you use to pay for the other two things..." Dude I laughed so hard at that. That's totally my life.

[@NowyKurs]

How is the workflow with WD passport? is this good enough to use as a working disc 💿 or its just for the storage?

[@jacobsutton1995]

Do you use carbon copy or hedge to transfer the offload drive to the main edit raid? Thanks!

[@killianbayer]

So, what I don't understand - because I've seen a few people do this - if you have an automatic backup going from your editing RAID to two other Backups, what happens when your editing RAID gets corrupted and Carbon Copy Cloner transfers the corrupted files onto your backups. Wouldn't that mess everything up? Thanks for your content, your channel is a great inspiration to me. Cheers, Killian

[@Levi_Allen]

Carbon Copy has what’s called a safety net, it keeps previous versions and you can set how much of previous versions to keep. I don’t ever have files corrupt on a raid, it just normally has a drive fail, that’s to more common issue

[@killianbayer]

Thanks for your reply Levi, I appreciate it!

[@NatesEscape]

I've been waiting for this video!

[@zzkeokizz]

I use two or more card carriers. First one for empty cards, second for used. If I can afford it, I buy new cards for a new project. And they are different brands like Kingston for some SanDisk for others or different kind a sanDisk so it looks visually different. Personally I stay away from PNY cards - or maybe I was unlucky. But the only fail I've had was with a PNY. I had to reshoot an interview. I MISS LEXAR! After I get done filming, I'll rename the files in the card to something I can recognize so I know what it is when I import - HawaiiDay2 or ClaireInterview1 something like that.

[@ichigokurosaki318]

that video was very interesting and helpful thanks for sharing!

[@strictoaster]

Hey man, really dig your videos! Quick question: Is there any way you can start uploading in 4K (or at least 1440p), even if you shoot 1080p, just to get some extra bitrate out of YT? Thanks! keep it up :)

[@Levi_Allen]

This file was 3840x1920 at a 2:1 ratio. Surprised it’s only showing up as 1080.

[@strictoaster]

Ohh, I see it now. I guess it wasn't fully processed when I watched it :(

[@shadaiperez]

Holy crap that was a great explanation. I'm glad I'm doing a lot of the same things as you except I'm definitely going to get Hedge.

[@Levi_Allen]

Is very handy

[@memoryim]

What about your editing workflow? And all the software you use for video and audio editing? A video on this would be awesome.

[@Levi_Allen]

It's in the works, but might not be coming any time soon.