Blackmagic Forum

Hi. New to DaVinci Resolve here. I have enough hard drive room to work on a project on my computer. However, once I'm done with said project, how can I move those large media files to an external hard drive in order to save space, but, still be able to access and edit said project in the future?

Thanks!

I favor copying the media from the cards to my "backup" location (removable drive) as a very first step. Then I copy it to the internal Media drive. So when I'm done, I can just delete it.

This also gives me protection in the event the Media drive fails.

Yes. That sounds exactly what I'm looking to do. And if I have to revisit that project in the future, I'm assuming, I would just have to re-link the media to the project.
Thanks!

BronxJay25 wrote:Yes. That sounds exactly what I'm looking to do. And if I have to revisit that project in the future, I'm assuming, I would just have to re-link the media to the project.

Another option is to export a DRA (DaVinci Resolve Archive) file, which includes the session files, all the source files, and I believe all the associated cache files as well. You also have the option to Media Manage the session so that only the used media files are included, and you can trim them with many source file and camera file formats.

With Media Management you can do a copy and relink to the new files. I wonder why very few people consider this helpful tool.

Uli Plank wrote:With Media Management you can do a copy and relink to the new files. I wonder why very few people consider this helpful tool.

We use it all the time, but the reality is that Media Management breaks with certain kinds of files, particularly H.264, PNG, TIFF, and JPG's without embedded timecode. If you do a Compound Clip and then Render in Place, THEN it will Media Manage successfully. There are also issues with slo-mo and similar kinds of files where timecode is no longer valid, requiring manual relinking and other issues.

Trimming files is also problematic with spanned clips. I think it's gotten better over the years, but we still run into it from time to time. I'm in the process of Media Managing a 10-episode documentary series, and I have to use a whip, a chair, and hammer to get everything transcoded and linked up in the same place. It's doable, but it's a multi-step process. You can't just hit "Media Manage" and walk away.

Sure, TC is essential and speed changes are critical.

The alternative is archive exporting and re-linking, which is not so hard to do.

Thanks for all the suggestions and options! I'll definitely try some of these out and see which works best for me.

Uli Plank wrote:I wonder why very few people consider this helpful tool.

I have a "right tool for the job" mindset.

The right tool for file management is...a file manager. (Not an NLE.)