FCP Library Archive Question

[Doug Metz]

I would first delete the render files throughout the library to bring down the file size, then definitely zip. I don’t have experience with iDrive specifically, but those libraries are databases with a bunch of small files and links, and I’m risk averse.

I back up to HDD (stored offsite) and LTO for redundancy, but not many have that luxury.

[Jon Oshima]

Thank you Doug – for your reply and all of your contributions to The Cow.

I support being risk averse – it seems like being open to the harsh realities of drive failures. Now I’m working on adding off-site backup, and that’s where the iDrive service comes in. It seems very convenient, and semi-automated which is a plus. But an issue may be that the upload/download speeds are too slow to be useful with the kind of big files that FCP Libraries can become – to be determined…

[Doug Metz]

Hey Jon,

Glad to help! Out of curiosity, do you typically import your media into the library, or leave in place? I typically reuse media across projects, so always leave the media in a standardized folder structure outside the library. This vastly reduces library size, and once render files are removed, the zipped libraries should be relatively small and quick to upload.