Bright Lights, Big Data

The importance (and value) of a protected video archive.

An often underappreciated part of the creation process is data management. Our guess is that data backup, storage, access, and security are probably not the first things that come to mind when thinking about your video marketing strategy and assets.

Over the years we have proudly established a robust data system that allows for easy accessibility and transfers while offering a high level of security and protection. Our current capacity can safely store over 1,300 hours of raw uncompressed 4k video.

Why?

You can’t build a strong structure on a weak foundation. The way we collect, manage, store, and secure data reflects the same commitment we have to every facet of our business. Storage and security of video files are vital to our ability to make your films, which means it’s the foundation of our business.

So we wanted to take a moment to share just how important data security is to our company and the many ways we protect it.

About Chispa House Data System

We employ network storage devices that use disk drives set up in RAID with hot-swappable drives that ensure drive failure will not cause a loss of data. A backup to a secure cloud environment prevents against any data loss due to fire, flood, etc.

Here’s a scary statistic: according to research, 93% of data breaches happen within minutes, and 83% aren’t discovered for weeks. To address this, our data security is provided by secure network storage devices, a secure network and physical security of the location.

We’ve designed our system such that:
– Only approved users can access our data
– Accounts are password protected and on a per-project basis
– User access requires company leadership approval
– Only three key people have access to the backups.

We have a firewall-protected network. This critical step keeps unauthorized traffic and devices from accessing the network and WiFi. We update all company devices a regular basis to prevent against new threats and address any newly-found vulnerabilities. Our storage devices are in a locked, climate-controlled room that is under video surveillance 24 hours a day. Finally, the entire office is alarm protected with continual video surveillance.

Fiber Internet powers the entire system to ensure efficient transfer of information and is constantly monitored by our IT guru, Rob.

How is data an issue for a filmmaking company?

The file size of 4k resolution, cinema-quality video is extremely large and the storage space, security, and maintenance requirements for these files continue to grow exponentially. This presents a challenge for all film companies.

And we have a lot of it. We are currently storing and protecting over 100TB of video files!

Why do we keep so much?

A lot of reasons, actually. First and foremost, we’re filmmakers. What this means is when we’re on our way to a shoot, on a shoot, or leaving a shoot, we’re always looking for opportunities to capture amazing content.

Secondly, your data is important to us. Our partners often ask us to repurpose some of the footage we’ve captured on previous shoots to use for company overviews, trade show loops, social media content, or other as-needed videos. We are able to extend efficient pricing for these projects because of our system.

Lastly, we focus on the long term. The interviews and b-roll captured today will have immense value as time goes on. We can only imagine the value of the first Coca-Cola being bottled or an interview of young Mark Zuckerberg sharing his dreams from high school. Historical footage preserves history — and adds depth and richness to the films we create.

What does the future hold?

We’re in the process of rolling out some important changes to the video data storage options at Chispa House. In an effort to deliver the best customer experience possible for all clients, we will soon be introducing a Data Service plan for the raw footage we are storing on our clients’ behalf.

Beginning this fall, we’ll be offering the following data options:

Option 1: DATA SERVICE PLAN
Chispa House will continue to store your data and maintain security and access. Triple back up and ready to use at a moment’s notice, this managed service option is completely turnkey and worry-free. We will be offering this service for a nominal annual or monthly fee.

Option 2: DATA TRANSFER
Chispa House will transfer the raw data from our servers to yours. With this option, we will assist in porting the data to you with a one-time transfer fee. After the data delivery, it will be permanently deleted from our servers.

Option 3: DATA REMOVAL
If you do not select the Data Service plan nor want your data transferred, your data will automatically be deleted from our servers. After this happens, it will no longer be accessible.

If you’re a current or former client, you’ll be hearing more about this over the next several weeks. If not, we should talk about your video needs!

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