LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MEMORIES (PART ONE)
There are two types of people — those who have lost data... and those who WILL!
Author: Adam Hogan
Of course I am referring to the digital extension of your memory... more specifically this blog will discuss data management + digital hygiene. In our post digital world we continually generate large amounts data, traces and digital files. However as artists working with advanced tools and methodologies in moving image, sound, animation, DSP, etc.,. the amount of data (images, sounds, renders, footage) we consume and generate can be truly astronomical. Personally, I find myself fairly regularly filming projects that have over 15TB of footage. I can’t express how important it is to develop a solid data workflow and backup protocol early in your career.
Digital hygiene or organization is the first step in avoiding catastrophic data loss or forgetting where that one important file is, and ensuring that you can easily migrate/backup project critical information. There is not just one system, and honestly yours will evolve and grow as your research/projects scale and change,
Here is a simple folder structure example for a standard project:
If you use a project based root file method, you can simply move or copy the entire project and all its required data by simply moving or copying the root folder. This keeps everything clean and organized if you are floating between multiple workstations or collaborators. This also means backup and archiving projects can be done with just one click. Next blog will cover backups.