Archiving Footage at DVinfo.net

Lloyd Ubshura · September 2nd, 2009, 10:10 PM

Martyn Hull wrote a message about how to store tapes on disc for the long run, which refreshed a question I've been trying to discover myself for a while:

What is the best way to archive hundreds and thousands of self made "stock footage"? I always hate dishing out $300 for 30 seconds of stock footage from a website, so I've been slowing getting my own clips of all kinds of shots every time I'm out shooting.

But now I have thousands of clips of everything ranging from golfcourse shots (mowers running, sprinklers on, flag blowing on the green, golf carts driving by, etc. etc.) to the hot-air balloons near my house, etc.

I might not ever use some of the shots, but when the time comes that I in fact DO need the shot of the golf ball going in to the hole, I have a dickens of a time finding the shot.

It was OK when I had a hundred +/- clips, but now with 1000+ it's like pulling teeth finding it.

I've been using Adobe Bridge and adding metadata tags, but I'm starting to see some limitations with the program (like if I have a harddrive offline, I'd still like to be able to access a low-res copy of it with a drive that's online).

I'd love to know if there's a local equivalent of a stock-image website, where you can search by tags, like "grass; golf; hole" to narrow down your files and see a low-res copy of it then and there. Then if it's the right clip, you can find out the physical location of it to import it to your project.

Sorry for the long post. THANKS!

Stuart Robinson · September 7th, 2009, 02:42 PM

I'd like a "proper" library application for video footage too!

You can try Microsoft Expression Media - http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/ex...2/default.aspx - but I found it didn't support all formats (but then, I don't have QuickTime installed on that particular machine).

I actually use Adobe Lightroom - Adobe - Photo Management Software - Photoshop Lightroom - (yes, I know that's designed for images) with Jeffrey Friedl's Video Asset Management plug-in: Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog Jeffrey’s “Video-Asset Management” Lightroom Plugin

It doesn't actually tag the video files themselves, but the associate thumbnails it generates. However, the tagging options are only limited by Lightroom itself, and the thumbnails are available when the media is off-line.

Try both and see if one or the other works out.

Lloyd Ubshura · September 10th, 2009, 08:59 PM

Hmm... Thanks. I've actually tried both of those (but not the plugin). Not overly satisfied with them yet. Hoping someone else can chime in.

Christopher Brown · September 17th, 2009, 06:50 AM

You don't say what kind of footage you're storing, but it may be possible to use software such as Sony's Clip Browser. It's not really a searching/sorting program, but it does allow one to label clips and then sort them. It also stores a cache of all clips for quick access.

Just a thought.

Bob Thompson · September 17th, 2009, 04:50 PM

Microsoft Expression Media maybe the way to go. You can download a free trial version. I have found it is satisfactory for stills and digital video.

September 2nd, 2009, 10:10 PM	#1
Lloyd Ubshura Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 204	Archiving Footage Martyn Hull wrote a message about how to store tapes on disc for the long run, which refreshed a question I've been trying to discover myself for a while: What is the best way to archive hundreds and thousands of self made "stock footage"? I always hate dishing out $300 for 30 seconds of stock footage from a website, so I've been slowing getting my own clips of all kinds of shots every time I'm out shooting. But now I have thousands of clips of everything ranging from golfcourse shots (mowers running, sprinklers on, flag blowing on the green, golf carts driving by, etc. etc.) to the hot-air balloons near my house, etc. I might not ever use some of the shots, but when the time comes that I in fact DO need the shot of the golf ball going in to the hole, I have a dickens of a time finding the shot. It was OK when I had a hundred +/- clips, but now with 1000+ it's like pulling teeth finding it. I've been using Adobe Bridge and adding metadata tags, but I'm starting to see some limitations with the program (like if I have a harddrive offline, I'd still like to be able to access a low-res copy of it with a drive that's online). I'd love to know if there's a local equivalent of a stock-image website, where you can search by tags, like "grass; golf; hole" to narrow down your files and see a low-res copy of it then and there. Then if it's the right clip, you can find out the physical location of it to import it to your project. Sorry for the long post. THANKS!

September 17th, 2009, 06:50 AM	#4
Christopher Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 32	You don't say what kind of footage you're storing, but it may be possible to use software such as Sony's Clip Browser. It's not really a searching/sorting program, but it does allow one to label clips and then sort them. It also stores a cache of all clips for quick access. Just a thought. __________________ ~ CB

September 7th, 2009, 02:42 PM	#2
Stuart Robinson Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chester, UK Posts: 48	I'd like a "proper" library application for video footage too! You can try Microsoft Expression Media - http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/ex...2/default.aspx - but I found it didn't support all formats (but then, I don't have QuickTime installed on that particular machine). I actually use Adobe Lightroom - Adobe - Photo Management Software - Photoshop Lightroom - (yes, I know that's designed for images) with Jeffrey Friedl's Video Asset Management plug-in: Jeffrey Friedl’s Blog Jeffrey’s “Video-Asset Management” Lightroom Plugin It doesn't actually tag the video files themselves, but the associate thumbnails it generates. However, the tagging options are only limited by Lightroom itself, and the thumbnails are available when the media is off-line. Try both and see if one or the other works out.

September 10th, 2009, 08:59 PM	#3
Lloyd Ubshura Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 204	Hmm... Thanks. I've actually tried both of those (but not the plugin). Not overly satisfied with them yet. Hoping someone else can chime in.

September 17th, 2009, 04:50 PM	#5
Bob Thompson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 340	Microsoft Expression Media maybe the way to go. You can download a free trial version. I have found it is satisfactory for stills and digital video.