The most valuable resource you have, besides your stellar post production skills, is your raw materials. Whether it’s video shot on location or original audio of an actor's performance, these things are irreplaceable. That’s why backing up all those invaluable assets is an essential part of any post production workflow. Even a properly set up raid system can’t offer you protection if your directory fails. There are numerous ways to back up your assets, including hard drives, linear tape, and uploading to the cloud. The linear tape option has a fairly steep entry price, so we’ll focus on the two other methods. In a perfect world, a dual asset backup system is ideal. This means having both a drive and cloud backup system for redundancy. Backing up to a drive allows you fast access in case of a drive failure, while the cloud backup gives you the safety of offsite storage. Unlimited cloud backup is very affordable, and can be configured to backup each night, or even consistently as you work. This not only protects your assets, but your progress as well. However, due to the file sizes of video, the initial backup can take weeks, so creating your local hard drive backup before you start is a good idea. The bottom line is, more layers of protection means more recovery options if disaster strikes, and creating a viable backup system is an essential step in any post production workflow.
