I recently almost lost a client project due to a hard drive failure and it scared me straight. I need to implement proper video backup strategies but I'm not sure where to start. What systems do professional editors use to protect their work? Should I follow the 3-2-1 rule, and if so, how do I implement it practically with video files? Also, how often should I be backing up active projects versus archived work?
What's the 3-2-1 rule? I keep hearing about it but I'm not sure what it actually means or how to implement it with video files that are so large. Also, how do you handle backing up active projects that you're still working on and changing daily?
The 3-2-1 rule means: 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy offsite. For video backup strategies, that might mean: original on your editing drive (SSD), backup on an external HDD, and another backup in the cloud or on a drive you keep elsewhere. For active projects, I use versioned backups - I save my project file with date and version number at the end of each editing session, and those get backed up too.
For large video files, cloud backup can get expensive and slow. I use Backblaze B2 for cold storage of completed projects - it's cheaper than services like Dropbox or Google Drive. For active projects, I use a RAID 1 setup (two drives mirroring each other) so if one fails, I have an immediate copy. Then weekly, I backup to an external drive that I rotate offsite.
Automate as much as possible. Use backup software that runs on a schedule. I use GoodSync for syncing between drives and Backblaze for cloud. Set it to run overnight so it doesn't interfere with editing. Also, test your backups periodically. There's nothing worse than needing to restore and discovering your backup is corrupt. I do a test restore every few months.
Don't forget about your project files! They're tiny compared to video footage but losing them means losing all your edit decisions. I back up project files separately and more frequently than the raw footage. Some editing software has auto-save and version history features - make sure those are enabled and that those backup locations are included in your overall backup strategy.
For client work, I add an extra layer: I keep a copy of the final delivered files on a separate drive that only gets written to, never overwritten. That way if a client comes back years later asking for changes, I have the exact files I delivered. Also, consider keeping a log of what's backed up where. A simple spreadsheet can save hours of searching when you need to find something.