Codecs, Cards and On-Set Data: Protecting Footage on a Miami Shoot

Updated: July 27, 2026

The only part of a shoot that cannot be redone is the initial setup.

You can relight a scene or reshoot a specific line. If a shot is soft, you can simply reshoot it. However, there is one failure during a video shoot that is truly unrecoverable: losing the media.

Everything else is a matter of time and money. A corrupted card, a wiped drive, or a card that was reformatted by someone who thought it had been backed up: any of these can consume an entire day. The client cannot retrieve the lost data at any price, because the moment it recorded no longer exists.

This is why data handling on set is not just an administrative detail. It is the one link in the chain with no redundancy, unless you specifically build some.

Codec first, because it sets the foundation for everything else.

What the camera captures determines the amount of data generated, the number of memory cards needed, the duration of offloading processes, and the nature of the editing process. Deciding these factors on the morning of the shoot is essentially leaving the entire day's logistics to chance.

The broad families:

• Raw. Sensor data with minimal processing. Maximum flexibility later, largest files by a wide margin, heaviest to work with.
• Log. A gamma curve preserving a wide range of highlight and shadow information in a normal codec. Most of the grading latitude, a fraction of the size.
• Intermediate codecs. Designed to be edited smoothly. Larger than delivery formats, far lighter than raw.
• Compressed delivery formats. Small, efficient, harder to grade and harder on the edit machine than their size implies.

That last point often surprises people. A heavily compressed file may be small on the card, but it is computationally expensive to decode. This is because the compression process involves sophisticated work. In contrast, a larger intermediate file can playback more smoothly than a smaller compressed one. Therefore, small does not necessarily mean fast.

Choosing honestly

The right approach follows the job, not the ego. A corporate interview that will be edited with modest color correction does not require raw footage. Shooting in raw format means you have tripled the storage requirements, doubled the offload time, and slowed down the editing process for latitude that nobody used.

Conversely, a brand piece with a real grade, mixed lighting and a client who will ask for changes benefits from log at minimum. The extra data is buying options you will actually spend. Our note on colour grading basics covers what that latitude is for.

Do the arithmetic before the day

Every codec has a data rate, and multiplying this data rate by the running time gives you the storage needed. This calculation is not an estimate; it involves simple multiplication, providing you with an exact figure for the number of cards and the amount of drive space you will need.

The number of people who often forget is that running time is not the same as screen time. For example, a shoot that produces a two-minute video might roll for three hours. Interviews tend to roll for much longer than the final cut. Multi-camera setups double or even triple the amount of footage captured simultaneously. Additionally, B-roll footage accumulates quietly, often unnoticed by those on set.

Then double whatever you calculated, because you need space to back up your data. If your total footage fills your only drive exactly, you have only one copy of an irreplaceable thing.

The 3-2-1 rule, adapted for a shoot day

The standard backup principle involves three copies, stored on two different types of media, with one copy kept off-site. On set, the practical backup process is simpler and non-negotiable: nothing gets reformatted until it exists in at least two places.

The working method:

• The card is removed from the camera and taken to the data station, rather than being put in a pocket.
• Offload the data to drive one. Verify the copy rather than trusting it.
• Copy to drive two. Verify again.
• The card is placed in the "full" pouch, which is distinct from the "empty" pouch, and remains there.
• At the end of the day, the two drives travel separately.

Verification matters and gets skipped because it consumes time. A file copy operation that reports success only indicates that the files were written, not that they are identical to the source. It is only when software performs checksums on both sides that true confirmation is achieved. This distinction is what separates the confidence of having a backup from actually having one.

The two-pouch discipline

Almost every card disaster is caused by human error. Someone might grab a card, assume it has been offloaded, and format it in the camera. It only takes two seconds, but the results are irreversible.

Full cards and empty cards are stored in physically separate locations, and only one person is responsible for moving cards between them. On a small crew, this person is whoever is handling the data. If no one is doing this, it becomes the issue. The rule is not that people are careless. The rule is that by the eleventh hour, everyone is.

Format in camera, always

A small but important technical point: format the memory cards directly in the camera. Do not format them on a computer.

Cameras write specific file structures, and a card formatted by an operating system might work, but it could also carry stray files or have a subtly different arrangement. This is a known source of intermittent problems, which can appear as a corrupted clip in the middle of a good take.

Related habits worth maintaining: never delete individual clips in-camera, as this fragments the card. Do not fill a card to the last megabyte. Retire memory cards after a few years rather than running them until they fail, because they are consumables with a finite life, and the failure will happen on the day it matters most.

Miami adds heat and salt

Local conditions have a greater impact on this than people realize. Cameras recording high data rates generate a lot of heat, and the ambient heat here only exacerbates the issue. A camera that throttles or shuts down in the middle of a recording is a data-rate decision influenced by the climate.

Humidity and salt air can be detrimental to connectors and drives. Transitioning equipment from cold, air-conditioned environments to humid outdoor conditions can cause condensation. Condensation inside a drive enclosure poses a significant risk. It is advisable to let the equipment acclimate rather than immediately opening it.

And do not leave drives in a car. A parked car here reaches temperatures that are outside the operating range of the thing holding the only copy of your client's shoot. Our note on gear rental checklists covers what to bring for this.

Decide it in pre-production

We finalize the codec, card count, and backup workflow before the shoot, as these are logistical decisions rather than personal preferences.

If your day involves using two cameras and conducting lengthy interviews, we will explain what this means in terms of storage and the time it takes to wrap up. Nobody on our sets formats a card until it has been backed up twice. This rule adds a few minutes, but it is the reason we have never had to make the other phone call.

You can see how we work on our about page, or bring us your project through the contact page. Ask what codec we plan to shoot and why. There should be a reason.