What is your end of video process (i.e. what do you keep)?

[basketkase345]

I just finished my first major AMV and want to start working on the next one but I'm not sure what files to get rid of. Do most of you erase the source avi's when you're done with them or do you keep them on your hard drive? The movie is currently taking up a good 21gb so I'm anxious to get rid of it, but i feel like my music video will never really be complete so I feel a little cautious to remove the source files. Just for FYI, i made the video using the all the software recommended in the tutorial and using the exact process.

What does everyone else do? Do you remove the source files and just keep the .avs file?

[LenWidleheyt]

So far, I haven't felt compelled to keep working on a video after I've finished it, so I haven't put too much thought into it. However, I always keep all the small files related to the project on a CD (avs, notes, storyboards, still images, masks, etc). Also, like it says in the guides, you can often recreate the footage you used by ripping the DVD's again in just the same way (so be sure to keep notes on how you did it the first time).

[Farlo]

wav audio, project file, huffy avi clips used

[trythil]

What does everyone else do? Do you remove the source files and just keep the .avs file?

I usually kill everything except a high-bitrate MPEG-2. It's difficult to keep 40-80 GB of stuff around, especially since I tend to forget the dependency chains between it all after about a week.

[Gallup]

What I do is burn my source files to a CD as well as the music that I use. I also have a special folder for my final project file in case I decide to go back to it and alter it. Doing this does take up quite a number of CD's but I would find it annoying to have to go back and reprepare my footage each time I wanted to make a change.

[Qyot27]

Convert source AVIs to Lagarith, zip and burn to CD(s). Zip project files and notepad files and burn as well. Make a master Lagarith-FLAC encode, a Quantizer 1 DivX encode (which is now being replaced by XviD or AVC), an MPEG-1 VCD file, an MPEG-2 SVCD file, an MPEG-2 DVD file (with AC3 audio), XviD encode for 'net distribution, and lately I've done a few test encodes for AVC distribution with AAC audio. All the encodes get packed up in a zip file (unless the Lagarith master doesn't fit; then I burn that to a seperate CD). I usually keep the XviD distro encode and the DivX Quant 1 on my computer, burn the MPEG-1 file to a VCD and delete the rest.

Makes me wish I had a DVD burner.

[Herbert West]

My ripped MP2 files have names like nge_ep1_chap_3.m2v, when i'm finished i replace the actual m2v file with a 0kb dummy file and backup the whole project folder. If i ever feel to restore it, i just have to re-rip the DVD and replace the dummy files with the real m2vs.

[Zarxrax]

Like trythil, I just keep a high quality mpeg2, or a high quality xvid, then i delete the rest. Although I tend to keep all the files around as long as I can though... but once I really need the space, its gone.

[VegettoEX]

We keep our HuffyUV masters on either two hard-drives or a hard-drive and a DVD... and also a full-bitrate MPEG-2 of everything (which is usually for submitting to cons, anyway).

Anything else we need can be made from the above.

[FurryCurry]

A huffyuv or uncompressed master with pcm audio is the main thing, but I usually end up throwing a folder with avs scripts, mattes, stills, extremely effected footage on the DVD too. Basically, tghe harder it would be to recreate, the more likely I am to save it.

I figure anything I'm willing to release publically is at least worth a DVD or two to back up.