Media Workflow Series / No. 4: Transferring Media

Copy of Media Workflow Series

Now that you’ve completed your video shoot,  you’re going to need to transfer and store your media. This post will give you a brief overview of the different options you have:

Transferring your media from an SD card:

SD card
SD card

If you saved your video to an SD card, you can easily take it out of your camera and insert it into an SD card slot in your computer.  If your computer doesn’t have an SD card slot, you’re in luck: our loanable tech desk has them available for checkout!

SD card reader
SD card reader

Transferring your media directly from the camera:

Another option is to transfer your media directly from your camera to your computer using the USB cable that came with your camera.  This is necessary if you used your camera’s built-in memory instead of a SD card.  Each camera has different steps required for this, so take a look at your owner’s manual for more information.

USB transfer cable
USB transfer cable

Storing your media:

There are a few different options for storing your media project, including an external hard drive, flash drive, and directly on your computer. We recommend storing your media at least two places to keep it safe!

  • Flash Drives 

If you plan on storing your media on a flash drive, it is important to check the size of your media and see how much the flash drive holds.  Many flash drives don’t have enough to store large media files, but they work well for small projects.

If you have a larger project that is under 64GB, we recommend purchasing this flashdrive from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Flash-Drive-SDCZ80-064G-G46/dp/B00DZPUOUI

  • Hard Drives

Hard drives are a great option for storing large media files, however they usually cost more money than flash drives. If you don’t have one available, stop by the loanable tech desk. We have a limited number available for check out: http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/mc/lt/ltdata.html

External Hard Drive
External Hard Drive