Documenting and Archiving File-Based Video

Documenting and Archiving File-Based Video

WITNESS invites you to use, remix and share this curriculum. All materials are under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

You can also find more video advocacy training materials at www.witness.org.

Objective

• Familiarize participants with the importance of documentation and archiving.

• Outline how to best document, organize, and manage media from production, through post-production, and beyond.

04/10/23 WITNESS.org 2

Overview

• Documentation and archiving: what and why• Documentation

– Set up, on-camera, and post-production

• Offloading media & making back ups• Organizing your media• Exporting outputs & derivatives• Rights & re-use• Inventory & cataloging• Storage & retention• Working with an external archive


What is Documentation?


Why Document Your Video?

• To record contextual information, necessary to make sense of raw footage.

• To record any security restrictions on content.

• To enable verification, which increases the reliability, credibility & trustworthiness of your footage.


What is Archiving?

• Related to documentation, archiving means:

– Collecting your documentation

– Arranging or organizing your files

– Describing your footage in a catalog

– Preserving your footage

– Providing access to your footage


Why Archive?

• To safeguard your content in a controlled environment to ensure the integrity and authenticity (i.e. evidential value) of your footage.

• To keep track of media folders, files and related documentation, including security/rights information, over time.


Why Archive?

• To allow you to identify and retrieve your content.

• To ensure technological usability of your footage.


Why Archive?


On-Camera Documentation

• Set the accurate Date and Time on your camera. This information will be embedded in your media files.

04/10/23

WITNESS.org

10


• Optional: Some cameras also allow you to set/retrieve geographic location, but keep in mind potential safety and security issues.

• Disable this feature if security is a concern.



• Informed consent: Document interview subjects giving informed consent.



• Identities: Unless there are security risks, subjects should identify themselves on camera by name (including spelling).

The interviewer/camera operator should also identify themselves.



• Context: The interviewer/camera operator should provide a detailed on-camera description of the event, including the date and location.


“This is Ray Ibarra. The date is July 17, 2005. I am at the Arizona border 25 miles southwest of Tombstone, Arizona, working as a legal observer to monitor and deter vigilante activity against migrants.”

Offloading Media

• The process for offloading media will depend on the camera, computer operating system, and software you use. Familiarize yourself with the specifications for each.


Offloading Media

• Depending on what editing software you are using, you may need to transcode (i.e. change the format) your footage before you can edit.

• If you transcode, keep a copy of your original files.


Back Ups

• Always have a back up copy of your footage!

• When offloading and re-organizing media on a drive, for example, keep the original footage on the camera.

• Delete from camera only after you have created a back up elsewhere.


Back Ups

• After you have organized your files, create a back up separate from your editing drive.

• Back ups can be stored on less expensive media such as external hard drives. DVDs can also be used, but they are less reliable.


Organizing Media - Files

• Re-naming files: You may need to rename files to avoid having duplicate filenames in your project (e.g. two files named VID0001)

• Tip: you can rename files in batches using a third-party application or editing software.



• Keep the original filename in the new filename. Add the date shot (and location and creator, if necessary).



Tips:

• Be consistent in how you do your re-naming.

• Do not use any special characters (e.g. @#$%&*:”’<>?/) in your filenames

• Use yyyymmdd or yyyy-mm-dd format for dates


Organizing Media - Folders

• Organizing Folders: Organize media files into folders.

• Use a system that retains the original order and makes sense for your project, such as by date, location, and creator.



• Tip: Original order preserves the contextual meaning of the footage and its value as evidence.



• Naming Folders: Name folders in a consistent way based on how you have organized the files, e.g. Date_Location


Documentation - Summary

• Create a Media Summary for each folder.

• Media Summary - written documentation that includes:– Background / context – Detailed description of purpose– Names and affiliations of subjects– Security or safety restrictions




• Create a Summary form. - Example: Media Summary Template

• Even if you do not have a standard form, record the information somewhere (handwritten note, email, etc.)

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B31Q0aTOMZ3pOTlkMWNhZWMtNjU3Ny00MTgwLTgxODktOGIzYTc5ZDI4NzM2&hl=en


Essential information to include in a Media Summary:

• Date - The exact date – or dates – on which the video was shot.

• Locations - The exact location or locations in which the video was shot. Be as specific as possible.



• Camera Operator/Organization – The source of the footage.

• This information allows you to:– Establish the chain of custody – Contact for further information about the

footage if necessary– Testify to the accuracy or credibility of the

footage



• Description – A complete summary of the footage both visually and in terms of what it is about.

• Highlight any significant content or quality issues.

• Include the names of any people or groups being interviewed or shown.



• Security Restrictions - Is any of the footage restricted in any way? Should any names, faces, or locations be disguised?

• Consents - Consent forms or on-camera consent should be obtained for all interviews and subjects and submitted with the footage.


Documentation – Log

• Create logs of your video files/clips.• Log: A detailed, often shot-by-shot or

verbatim description of the footage contents. Also called a “transcript.”

• If you do not have time to log everything, just log the most important footage or interviews.


Documentation – Log

• Create a log form.• Example: Log Template

• Basic elements: – Clip Name– Time Code– Visual Description– Audio / Transcription– Image / Sound Quality– Restrictions


https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B31Q0aTOMZ3pYjU1YjFhZDYtMmEzYy00ZjY3LWFjZjQtYTdkNWM1NGM3N2Ri&hl=en

Documentation - Log

• Time Code: an electronic signal that identifies each video frame. Used to synchronize and for reference throughout post-production process.


Documentation - Log

• Not all cameras use time code. If there is no time code, simply use the time counter on your viewer to log.


Documentation - Log

• Shorthand for describing shots:


• ECU Extreme close-up• CU Close-up• MS Medium shot• LS Long shot• WSWide shot• VS Various shots• NAT Natural sound• EXT Exterior• INT Interior

Exporting Outputs

• Export a full quality file from your editing software for your Master.

• Create and export an additional full quality version without text or music.

• Save your edit project files. You will need them to re-edit or make changes to your video.


Outputs - Derivatives

• Derivatives: files derived from your Master for various uses (e.g. DVD, web upload, portable device)

• Refer to recommended specifications for your intended use.



Some specifications to look out for:

• Video encoding (codec) – E.g. AVC/H.264, divX, mpeg-2, DV

• File format– E.g. .mov, .mp4, .avi

• Bit rate– E.g. 8 Mb/sec

• SD or HD04/10/23 WITNESS.org 38


Some specifications to look out for:

• Aspect ratio • or• Frame size

– E.g. 480x720, 720x1080

• Frame rate– E.g. 25 fps, 29.97 fps


Repurposing Footage

Consider they ways that your footage can be re-used:

• To create alternate or updated versions of your video

• In your future video advocacy campaigns

• As evidence in legal proceedings

• By other human rights defenders

• By news organizations reporting on your issue

• As an educational or research resource; part of our historical memory.


Repurposing Footage - Rights

• Ensure that the possibility of re-use is included in the informed consents you obtain.

• Keep track of rights and security information so that you do not inadvertently re-use or share restricted materials.


Repurposing Footage - Sharing

• You can allow others to use your footage in a controlled way through:

– Co-ownership

– Traditional licensing

– Creative Commons or other open licensing


Co-ownership

• You co-own the footage with others.

• Decide whether co-owners can:– can modify and re-use footage– can distribute or provide copies to others– can allow others to modify and re-use footage– can license footage for revenue– need to credit the other when footage is re-

used– Etc.


Traditional Licensing

• You allow producers, filmmakers, or broadcasters to re-use your footage under strict conditions.

• You charge a fee (flat rate or per second) for what they use.– Example: WITNESS Media Archive rate card

• Licensees need to be able to search and preview your footage.


https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B31Q0aTOMZ3pZWZhZTczMjktMWM2Yi00MTgwLWIyM2UtNWEyNDg0MmYxZGFl&hl=en

Open Licensing

• You share footage more freely than with traditional licensing.

• You make content easily available and allow others to re-use it under certain conditions.


Open Licensing

• Creative Commons defines several types of open licenses that you can choose from:


http://creativecommons.org/

http://creativecommons.org/choose/

Inventory or Catalog

• Inventory: a list of all your media with some essential information (e.g. name, location, rights).

• Catalog: systematically arranged records that describe your media in detail. Enables you to identify and retrieve footage.



• At minimum, create an Inventory of your media. If you have more time, create a Catalog.

• Basic inventory example:



• Choose a medium that suits your organization and how you want to use the information (e.g. paper, index cards, Excel, Access, etc.).


Image: HURIDOCS


• Decide what information you want to keep, and structure it in a consistent manner.– Instead of free-text, use a form with fields.

• Record information in a standardized way.– Use consistent syntax.– Use a controlled list of terms.



• Record information that is accurate and reliable, or indicate clearly when it is not.– E.g. “Date: 2010-10-19 [Approximate date]”

• Keep it as simple as possible!


Storage and Retention

• Keep the highest quality copies of your footage.

• Make at least one back-up copy, and keep in a different location.

• Store media in a secure, clean, cool, relatively dry environment.


Storage and Retention

• Check your saved files periodically to make sure they are still readable.

• Create new copies in up-to-date formats every five years or when necessary.


Working with an Archive

• If you cannot archive your materials on your own, consider collaborating with an archive partner.



Potential local/national archive partners include:

• Formal archives (independent, national, university)

• Human Rights / Legal advocacy groups

• Research or educational institutions

• Media producers or distributors

• Cultural memory organizations



Potential international collaborators:

• Cultural or educational institutions like universities and museums

• International archiving organizations (e.g. ICA, Archivists Without Borders, HURIDOCS)

• Commercial managed storage services online



Considerations:• Trustworthiness• Collecting Focus• Ownership• Access / Restrictions• Staffing & Infrastructure (for storage,

preservation, access)• Deposit Logistics


Summary

• Documentation and archiving are important.

• Supplement video with on-camera documentation, a media summary, and logs/transcripts.

• Back up your video.

• Re-name your files if necessary.


Summary

• Organize your files into folders that reflect the original order.

• Export and save your masters.

• Create derivatives as needed.

• There are many ways to re-use your footage.

• You can share footage with others through co-ownership and licensing.


Summary

• Inventory or catalog your footage.

• Store and maintain your media properly.

• If you cannot archive yourself, work with an external archive partner.


Documenting and Archiving File-Based Video

WITNESS invites you to use, remix and share this curriculum. All materials are under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 License.

You can also find more video advocacy training materials at www.witness.org.

Documenting and Archiving File-Based Video

Education

media files

media files tips

reorganizing media

media files renaming

expensive media

media folders tip

camera documentation

track of media folders