Blackmagic Forum

Hello,

DaVinci Resolve Studio user here. Totally new to the idea of backing up the actual DaVinci edit file but for this project I want to. What's the best practice?

Just save a .drp file. I'm in the habit of saving one after every day's work, or more frequently if I'm making big changes. I save my .drp files to Dropbox so they're in the cloud in case anything happens to my computer. While you're at it, back up your database file at the same time.

See the manual for instructions on how to export a .drp file (you'll also find instructions for how to import one); it's very simple.

Brad Hurley wrote:Just save a .drp file. I'm in the habit of saving one after every day's work, or more frequently if I'm making big changes. I save my .drp files to Dropbox so they're in the cloud in case anything happens to my computer. While you're at it, back up your database file at the same time.

See the manual for instructions on how to export a .drp file (you'll also find instructions for how to import one); it's very simple.

What about if something happens to the SSD that I'm editing the footage on and I need to use a different SSD with the same files in it to edit? Is there anything that can make my life easier if that were to happen or am I just plain screwed?

Also - what if I had to transfer to a totally different device ontop of that and had to go from Windows to Mac?

James McDonagh wrote:
What about if something happens to the SSD that I'm editing the footage on and I need to use a different SSD with the same files in it to edit? Is there anything that can make my life easier if that were to happen or am I just plain screwed?

Also - what if I had to transfer to a totally different device ontop of that and had to go from Windows to Mac?

You just have to relink the media. If you have a .drp file (which is cross-platform and can be read by Mac or Windows or Linux versions of Resolve) and the original media files, you import the .drp on your new machine and relink to the files on the different SSD. There are instructions for relinking in the manual as well.

Brad Hurley wrote:

James McDonagh wrote:
What about if something happens to the SSD that I'm editing the footage on and I need to use a different SSD with the same files in it to edit? Is there anything that can make my life easier if that were to happen or am I just plain screwed?

Also - what if I had to transfer to a totally different device ontop of that and had to go from Windows to Mac?

You just have to relink the media. If you have a .drp file (which is cross-platform and can be read by Mac or Windows or Linux versions of Resolve) and the original media files, you import the .drp on your new machine and relink to the files on the different SSD. There are instructions for relinking in the manual as well.

So you can relink media that was originally edited on one drive and then relinked on a totally different drive?

James McDonagh wrote:So you can relink media that was originally edited on one drive and then relinked on a totally different drive?

Yes: keep in mind that your original media is unaffected by edits. All the edits and other actions (color grades, etc.) you do in your project are kept in the .drp file. Resolve and other NLEs are nondestructive editors. You're not actually editing your original video and audio files, you're editing your project.

If you ever work with tutorial footage, this is exactly how it works: you download some media and a .drp file, import the media to your SSD or RAID or whatever, import the .drp file, relink, and you're in the project at whatever state it was saved at by the tutorial instructor.

Speaking of tutorials, if you want to get back up to speed on Resolve, check out the Resolve 17 tutorial on Ripple Training; it provides a good introduction and covers media management, project setup, etc.

I thought you had to put the database, cache folder, etc., in a place where you can easily find it, or in the same file then backup that entire thing to an external storage device?

Is that overkill?

It depends. If you are working on several projects at the same time, have a lot of power grades or other reusable stuff, you’re better off with a database backup.
But basically you can reconstruct a single project even on another computer with an empty database from the .drp file only and your original footage.

Yes, I backup my database and export a .drp after every editing or grading session. They don't take up much space, especially the .drp file. I save them to a Dropbox folder.

Brad Hurley wrote:Just save a .drp file. I'm in the habit of saving one after every day's work, or more frequently if I'm making big changes. I save my .drp files to Dropbox so they're in the cloud in case anything happens to my computer. While you're at it, back up your database file at the same time.

See the manual for instructions on how to export a .drp file (you'll also find instructions for how to import one); it's very simple.

Yeah I do that too. But I'm not exactly sure why I guess habit since the database is on pgsql and the db gets backed up every couple of hours.

But yeah I like having a project file with the project.

Brad Hurley wrote:Yes, I backup my database and export a .drp after every editing or grading session. They don't take up much space, especially the .drp file. I save them to a Dropbox folder.

What do you mean you "back up your database"? Do you mean the footage?

James McDonagh wrote:What do you mean you "back up your database"? Do you mean the footage?

No, the Resolve database file. It's important to backup your database file regularly, at the very least before upgrading to any newer version of Resolve. The database stores all your projects. There are lots of online resources to learn about this; here's one for starters: https://flavioggarcia.com/2020/08/03/fi ... -projects/

If you have the space to keep your database on an internal storage (as recommended anyway) and use a backup software like Time Machine (MacOS) or one of the counterparts for Windows, it's very easy.

I had one of my machines going down without warning. Just moved the complete backup to the other one and could continue my projects as if nothing had happened (apart from the hardware being slower).

Particularly for long-term projects (anything you're working on for more than a day or a week), I think it's a wise idea to manually export a backup at the end of each day. Create a "Color" folder in the source media folder of your project, and add the date at the end of the file name, like "client_project_episode_today's_date." As a double-secret backup, you can copy this file to a thumbdrive that goes in your pocket or to a Cloud backup. Over a period of time, you'll be able to check each version, in the (unlikely) event the client says, "hey, I prefer last Thursday's version to today's." You can backup sessions either with a Save-As, or with the Export function within the Project Database. In some cases, we'll do a "belt and suspenders" backup and save XMLs of each timeline edit list as well. In addition, Resolve 17 now has a new feature where you can export individual timelines in the "DRT" format.

Resolve's built-in Live Save and Backup features also can work, and both are covered at length in the v17 manual, Chapter 3: Managing Projects & Databases," starting on page 67.

I'm having problems even doing the basic DRP back-up. I'm struggling to find where the file is on my desktop....

As for the rest of the suggestions - forget it. I can't even figure DRP out

When right-clicking on any project in the Project Manager you can export the .drp to any attached storage.
Does that help?

Uli Plank wrote:When right-clicking on any project in the Project Manager you can export the .drp to any attached storage.
Does that help?

Yes thanking you