What goes, what stays?
There’s no hard and fast rule on it, especially since your gut instinct will probably tell you whether or not the master will somehow become un-final and will have to be revised. My policy on this is to keep everything exactly as it is for about a month, after which I make a call or email to the producer to request permission to archive the project and delete the digitized media. It is actually important that you do this because if the producer gives you permission to unmount the project and its associated media, then he or she calls you back a day later and tells you they need to make a revision, you have a formal record that indicates that the project was released. This justifies you charging for the time to reload the project and its media to do the revision.
Archiving is the process of distilling everything down to only the relevant materials needed to rebuild the project to its original state. As I suggested in the Organizing chapter, I recommend having a dedicated project folder that contains all of the working elements (except the digitized media and FCP render files). The archiving process I describe here pertains to managing the contents of this folder since this is what will ultimately be saved on DVD-R or archival hard drive. Here is a checklist of how I archive a project:
What NOT to archive:
- Anything that could be redigitized from tapes that will be packed with all the other elements.
- Old rough cuts or works in progress that are no longer relevant.
- FCP render files. They can automatically be regenerated.
- Unused AfterEffects renders
Sometimes you will be given a tape to digitize but you must return it to the owner once you are done with it. I suggest saving the digitized media clip if possible since it is likely you won’t be given access to that exact tape again in the future. If the clip you used is too long to archive, make a layoff copy of the tape and include a note that references itself to the project – especially if the timecode of the layoff is different from the original (try not to do this).
When you delete old rough cuts, be sure to delete uncompressed, compressed and DVD files. If you feel it is worthwhile to save some kind of reference of the rough cuts, save the small compressed versions, like 320 x 240 Quicktime or Flash movies.
What you SHOULD archive:
- Make a copy of your final FCP project, name the copied project “[name]_FINAL”. Save the original unchanged.
- Open the Final project and simplify it so that there is nothing left but that which was needed to finish the approved rough cut and master. In the future, if you need access to any clips from the original project that weren’t part of the master, you can always open the original project and retrieve the bins.
- Sometimes I will combine the final elements from the Conform project into the same project with the approved rough cut, if there as an offline/online workflow.
- Do the same with any AfterEffects graphics projects if you were involved in it at all.
- Save any relevant AfterEffects render files, Illustrator, Photoshop, JPEG or sound files that cannot be re-digitized from a tape source.
- From the Final Cut Pro Docuents folder, copy over the Autosave Vault sub-folder pertaining to your project to your project folder.
- Burn a series of DVD-R discs and printout screen shots of the directory to put inside the jewel cases. If you REALLY want to be sure, mount your DVD-R disks and attempt to copy the data off onto a drive or computer just to be sure there isn’t a problem with the disk.
When it is feasible, I like to archive an uncompressed digital file of the master program, without bars/tone/slate. This will give you quick access to the master for any re-purpose of the program without having to digitize the master off tape, or rebuild in the FCP project.
I use an inexpensive archiving utility called CD Finder. Drag and drop any volume directory into the window and it will copy the directory information and volume name so that you can make a search inquiry later on. You can then enter a search inquiry and the results will tell you where the file is located. This eliminates the need to insert or mount volumes trying to hunt down a file.
Some tips on data storage: keep CDs and DVD-Rs safely stored in a zipper case away from heat, sunlight and moisture. More tips here. Remember that the data is stored on the shiny substrate, not the plastic surface. Some cheap disc stock leaves the “foil” part of the disc exposed on the top of the disc making it vulnerable to peeling, scratches or staining from using a marker. Don’t use cheap crap disc stock! I don’t like the dual layer or double sided discs because they are too susceptible to error while burning, and I am also weary of putting so much data on one disc. They’re also pretty expensive, and not all disc drives can read them. Do not put tape on a CD or DVD-R disc. It causes an imbalance on the disc that can cause read problems due to wobbling. Some optical drives are so compact that a label can get stuck inside against the interior of the drive and cause damage to the disc, or require the optical drive to be dismantled to retrieve te disc.
I have recently moved on to archiving onto raw hard disk drives and then mounting them as needed using a removable sled/chassis device. Macgurus makes a variety of products like this. You can bulk purchase inexpensive SATA or IDE/PATA drives, format them, then use them like a regular firewire drive. You can even edit off them if you use FW400 or FW800. When storing hard disk drives, however, you must contain them in a static-free wrapper, safely pad them, and store them in a slotted storage case or box. Through careless handling, I have had the misfortune of accidentally chipping off a tiny electronic component off of the logic board making the drive useless. Sometimes you can find or borrow a logic board from an identical hard disk drive and swap it on, but it doesn’t always work, so be careful!
As I stated earlier, keep HDDs away from magnetic fields, sunlight, heat and moisture.