{"id":64635,"date":"2015-10-22T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T16:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=64635"},"modified":"2015-10-22T11:11:28","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T16:11:28","slug":"how-to-properly-dump-camera-footage-to-protect-your-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/how-to-properly-dump-camera-footage-to-protect-your-assets\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Properly Dump Camera Footage to Protect Your Assets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learn to properly dump camera footage like a professional Digital Imaging Technician. It’s the best way to verify that all your footage copied correctly.<\/h2>\n

If you don’t have the luxury of having a Digital Imaging Technician<\/a>\u00a0on set to manage your footage, or if you’re a DIT yourself, here are some great programs to verify that all of the camera footage is copied correctly.<\/p>\n

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So many users simply drag and drop their footage and never think twice about it. The problem with that is that there is no way to verify that footage is properly dumped<\/strong>. You may at least check to see the the file size of the folder matches the original memory card. If so, you are already way ahead of some users. The problem with going off of file size only is that there are still vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

To properly dump footage, you are going to need\u00a0a program that performs a\u00a0checksum verification<\/a>. A checksum ensures that a file has been properly transferred<\/strong> from one storage device to another. The process will generate a string of numbers and letters, usually\u00a0a MD5<\/a> or SHA-1<\/a>. Essentially those numbers and letters act as a fingerprint of sorts.<\/p>\n

\"Dump<\/p>\n

If the footage was properly transferred, the checksum will match the original file with the duplicate<\/strong>. If the series of numbers and letters perfectly match, then the footage is verified to be a true copy. If there is any variation, you may have a file that didn’t transfer correctly or a corrupt one.<\/p>\n

While the checksum verification<\/strong> may take slightly longer than a simple drag and drop, having documented proof of your data transfers will be crucial when something does go wrong. Here are some programs that will properly monitor your data transfers and give you a checksum verification.<\/p>\n

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DaVinci Resolve 12<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Dump
\nImage via Blackmagic Design<\/em><\/p>\n

We have previously discussed\u00a0backing up your footage with DaVinci Resolve<\/a>, and a lot of us at PremiumBeat are actually using Resolve now to dump our footage because of the checksum verification feature.<\/p>\n

While originally a color grading platform, DaVinci Resolve 12 is turning into an all in one production software. The latest version (12<\/a>) added an NLE and the awesome clone media tool<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Dump
\nImage via Blackmagic Design<\/em><\/p>\n

To use the clone media tool, you just need to:<\/p>\n

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  1. Go to the Media Page, click the \u201cClone\u201d button on the left of the Media Pool tool bar.<\/li>\n
  2. The Clone Palette will pop up and you can create a new job by clicking the \u201cAdd Job\u201d button.<\/li>\n
  3. Now just drag the memory\u00a0card icon to the \u201cDrop source here\u201d hot spot.<\/li>\n
  4. Drag and drop the destination drives to the \u201cDrop destination here\u201d hot spots to set them up as the targets.<\/li>\n
  5. Click the \u201cClone\u201d button.\u00a0Resolve will automatically make bit-for-bit checksum verified copies of your card.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Lite version of DaVinci Resolve 12 is available for free <\/strong>and compatible with Mac and Windows. The Studio version is available for $995 and is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux.<\/p>\n

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    ShotPut Pro<\/a><\/h3>\n

    \"ShotPut<\/p>\n

    ShotPut Pro is an\u00a0industry-standard software. It allows you to easily offload media cards and disc recorders. Take a look at this intro video to see how easy it is to use the program.<\/p>\n