Hi John,

Thanks for that detailed description of your backup system and workflow. A very different method to mine, but I see its advantages.

Terry

Hi, I wrote a long message, using my tablet. I never get logged out but this time I did. I did do a copy to clipboard before saving the comment but it was gone when I logged in. Oh well.

We're out camping again. Going fishing all day tomorrow.

Regards,

John CB

Hi John,

Been there...greatly frustrating. With longish compositions I do as you did, in my case with a hot key macro, pasting to a text file. Still need to assemble screenshots etc again though.

Ah, fishing - an obsession in my 20s/30s. Still have much of my gear. Passing rivers or lakes ** during country walks inevitably stirs longings and half-hearted vows to get into it again, but I never do....

** I was going to abbreviate those two nouns to the single 'water', but happily thought better of it!

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Terry:

FWIW, here is my arrangement. I worked with other video editors before coming to Magix, so my project folder arrangement is historic and does not follow any of the Magix assumptions!

Each new project begins with me copying and pasting a copy of my template of folders into the work area (see diagram). The first thing I do is to rename the top level folder to something unambiguous to identify the project uniquely (see later). The sources are brought into the appropriate folders as required.  The DTP folder is for the disc label print and jewel case insert work.

When editing begins, the project files go in their sub-folder.

So throughout work on the project everything I need is in that pack of folders. The most demanding of the various work that I do is recording concerts in 1080p/50, and with four cameras involved a project can easily be over 100 GB.

I run "BvckUp2" on a periodic (6 hour) basis to keep a working copy on a RAIDed NAS. [https://www.bvckup2.com, an elegantly coded software which runs efficiently with minimum impact and is highly recommended]. Call me paranoid but every fortnight I also copy all work to a disconnected non-RAID disc as an anti-ransomware protection (via  bvckup2 again).

Clearly as an amateur I cannot afford to carry this sort of data burden for ever, so once I am satisfied with the project, I preserve only a set of tracked WAVs for the CD, an ISO for the DVD version, and these days a decently high bit-rate H.265 version. Then I take a deep breath and dump everything else, except the DTP necessary to create more discs if required.  The slimmed down project remnant (perhaps 20 GB for a 2 hour concert) is then 'moved' to an archive area on the RAIDed NAS.

I suppose the big difference between our ways of working is that I have made a knowing decision that a job is a job, and when it's done, my source material is largely abandoned. With my "customers", I know they won't want a new variant x months down the line!

Incidentally, I rarely if ever have two jobs recorded on the same date. So my shorthand way of telling what files belong to what is to use a 5-numeric code YYMDD; for last Saturday's concert, for example, the source from camera 1 when imported into MEP was named 17708Cam#1, the project file like 17708.MVP, and so forth. Those of you who are still awake at this stage will wonder how I deal with October, November and December - I lapse into hex, so Dec 08 this year becomes 17C08.

I hope this was helpful, or if not, at least interesting.

Best Wishes  - Mike -

Thanks Mike, much appreciate that detailed description of your workflow and structure.

I reckon any ten of us would have ten different approaches to backup, but here are the key aspects of mine.

- My projects are mainly family-based. These days mainly holidays, usually walking. So lots of map stuff complementing the...

- Photos and movie clips, currently largely from iPhone 6S+

- I horde that stuff as I'm never sure that I'll never need it again. So it's on my 4TB HD in folders separate from my projects. And gets backed up nightly and weekly, as do all my data and Program Data, to three external USB HDs, total capacity 6 GB. Actually that's not quite accurate; periodically I delete massive chunks of old MOV files.

- Some data is in my Dropbox folder, on my 256 GB SSD, so accessible on iPad and iPhone. And providing a further level of backup and earlier file versions. But as DB capacity is 'only' 100 GB, my photos, videos and MEP projects are on the HD.

- When a project is finished I keep an MP4, a DVD folder, and sometimes these days an MEP backup of the project and its media. I then delete all the project except my Notes.txt and a folder called DVD inserts, similar to yours. An Excel spreadsheet includes details of all projects, with hyperlinks to: the project folder; the MP4 video, if there is one, for wireless streaming to lounge TV downstairs; the DVD folder; the DVD front/rear cover images; and an image of the DVD menu.

- So the project gets mostly deleted, but photos, videos, and all GPS/GPX/KML data etc used in it remains on my PC - until storage limitations dictate otherwise!

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

 

I reckon any ten of us would have ten different approaches to backup

Definitely - any ten would more like have fifteen or more! - Mike -

Arrrgh! I just lost another long message getting booted out. The forum must not like long messages made on my BlackBerry tablet.

So, I will only say that I also copy all photos, videos and occasionally projects onto BluRay data disks.

John CB