On Set Footage Transfer
From Redhax
Contents |
[edit] Methods for Transferring Footage on set
Laptop
The best and most common method at this stage for on set data management is using a laptop computer connected to external drives.
The CF card or RED Drive from the camera is loaded into the laptop (using a USB, Firewire, CardBus or ExpressCard adapter) and the data copied to the attached drive(s) and, ideally, verified against the original camera data. This is an ad hoc process so far and no clear 'standard' for this has been established. Methods range from simple 'drag and drop' to more involved options with backup management software. You can easily Checksum R3d files against their Back-ups. Below is a guide for MAC OS X.
CF Reader Devices designed to backup CF cards to onboard or attached hard drives are another option for some people. Products like those from NextoDI allow for quick copies to be made of data from CF cards, however the lack of redundant storage of these devices means there still needs to be another backup process after the initial copy to ensure data security.
ShotWrangler SolidStore ShotWrangler has announced a product called the SolidStore, specifically designed to cater to the needs of on-set backup of data from the RED camera and similar file-based camera systems. It allows users to effortlessly create backups of data from CF cards or the RED Drive to two removable hard-drive cartridges. Presently it is still in development, but expected to be shipping my Q3 2008.
[edit] Checksumming Data against Original File, Under Mac OS X.
Open a Utility called Terminal, It will give you a Command Window, " X " Represents personal Drives and File Names.
type:
md5 "/Users/Desktop/TEST/A015_080509/A015_080509.RDM/A015_C001_080509.RDC/A015_C001_080509_001.R3D"
After you type % md5 , drag the R3d file that you want to checksum into terminal Window, It will add the directory into the command.
A number will appear on the next few lines. It'll look like this (simplified example)...
% MD5 "(/Users/Desktop/TEST/A015_080509/A015_080509.RDM/A015_C001_080509.RDC/A015_C001_080509_001.R3D)
= 02e76a2a429014b1f5d42ddf4df7e48b"
Now, copy that number into a blank text document or e-mail so that you can refer back to it.
Then copy the r3d media file to a safe location,
Once copied, perform another checksum on the "NEW" & "Transferred" R3d File.
md5 "/Volumes/XXX/TEST/A015_080509/A015_080509.RDM/A015_C001_080509.RDC/A015_C001_080509_001.R3D"
Then Copy the number it gives you into the same text document to compare. If they match then your footage is Backed up correctly. Save it to have a log of transferred and checksummed footage.
You can also use the R3D Data Manager to automate this process. It will create any variety of MD5, SHA1 and SHA256 checksums, copy the files to up to four destinations and verify each destination via the checksums. And once setup, it will do all that with one click. A 30 day trial of that software is available on its website.
[edit] The Procedure
This is a procedure from my experience as a DIT, others can change if they feel its necessary. My suggestions are based on 1) Data Safety 2) Power Requirements 3) Speed 4) Options 5) Functionality.
[edit] Tools of a Digitech or DAM
[edit] The External Enclosure & Other Storage Options
Quad interface SATA Enclosure -
Able to Hold up to 1TB Drives and Data can be transferred over two types of High Speed Connections, FW800 or E-Sata, E-sata is a newer connection and can aid in Duplicating Drives over different Busses. The transfer of 200GB from a FW800 Drive to a E-sata drive will be exponentially faster than going from a FW800 to another daisy-chained FW800 / 400 or USB Drive. This is also MANDATORY when Backing up from Red Drive. the Red Drive is FireWire, So copying from the Red Drive to another Firewire Drive WILL BE SLOW!!! So the correct Procedure is to Use Expresscard adapters that give you extra busses, whether its a FW800 to expresscard adapter or an E-sata to expresscard adapter. This is so you have full bandwidth while copying from one drive to another, the benefits of faster transfers are too great to list...
Fire Wire 800 Bus Powered 2.5" External Hard Drive
These enclosures can hold 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM SATA 2.5" Hard Drives, from 20GB to 500GB, these can come in really handy when you are in situations where you dont have access to electricity / AC power
E-SATA Bus Powered 2.5" SATA External Enclosures
These are great for Transferring from one Bus Powered Drive to another for a 2nd Back-up, Having one drive hooked to FW800 Port and another to E-sata Express card Adapter will greatly increase data transfer and save Macbook Pro battery time. This enclosure powers from USB Cable and transfers Data over E-Sata.
[edit] MacBook Pro Accessories
MacBook Pro Extra Batteries + External Macbook Battery Charger
These are vital when you havn't seen electricity all day and you need to Backup Footage to Bus Powered Drives.
FireWire 800 Express card Adapter
This is a must have for Transfers to other Firewire Drives, Using Daisy-chained Devices will Lower your bandwidth and will definitely create bottlenecks, So to save Mac Book Battery life and Complete Back ups in half the time use the proper tools.
Sata 3 gb/s Express card adapter
These Adapters are great when you are settled and are transferring Data from Back up Drives to 2nd and 3rd Back up Drives. The Quad Interface Enclosures are Key to using all the technology at hand to your advantage. You can transfer Data at much greater speeds from one drive to another, Copying Files to Daisy-chained Hard Drives is the speed-slayer in Data transfer. DONT DO IT, Its true... it will only cost you time to transfer all that data, might as well do it faster...
Fire Wire 800 Compact Flash Reader
This is very Important Tool regarding speed of Back up Transfers, The Key of Data transfer is to have options, and have plenty of Overhead. You will never want to transfer from a Firewire Drive to another Daisy-Chained Firewire Drive. That is why the Quad interface Enclosure is necessary, you can have the same drive hooked up over several different connections. Copy R3d from Firewire Adapter to E-sata Drives, then remove Compact Flash Card and Hook up second Quad Interface drive and Transfer Data with full Bandwidth. One Drive on E-sata the other on FW800.
Compact Flash to Expresscard Adapter
This is another option, It is good to have tools that help each other or perform in Different ways. Say one day a certain CF card does not mount over USB or Firewire? But it does Mount over this adapter... Would you then re-consider how important having one can be? Also its much faster than any other adapter available.
[edit] MacPro Accessories (IN Progress or whenever I get time between layoffs)
E-SATA PCI-e Card for MAC Pro
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