In TV & content production, protecting footage and safely wrangling data in an organised fashion is essential for several key reasons:

• 1. Footage is irreplaceable

• Once a scene is shot, especially on location or with a tight schedule, there may not be a chance to re-record it. If the data is lost, corrupted, or overwritten, the entire shoot might be compromised—wasting time, money, and resources.

• 2. Post-production depends on clear organisation

• Editors and post-production teams need access to well-labelled, properly sorted footage. Organised file structures, naming conventions, and metadata ensure that everyone can find the correct takes quickly, avoiding delays and confusion during editing.

• 3. Backups prevent disasters

• Data wrangling includes backing up the footage—often in multiple places (on-set hard drives, cloud storage, etc.). This process helps protect against hardware failure, accidental deletion, or corruption. Without backup protocols, a single error could result in losing days of work.

• 4. Legal and professional responsibility

• Many productions are bound by contracts and client expectations. Losing footage can lead to financial penalties, damage to reputation, or even legal action. Proper data wrangling is a professional standard that protects both the production company and the individuals involved.

• 5. Smooth workflow from shoot to screen

• Well-managed data allows for a seamless handover between departments—DOPs, editors, colourists, sound designers, and so on. If footage is mislabelled or misplaced, it creates bottlenecks and impacts the final delivery deadline.

• In short, data wrangling is as critical as the shooting itself—it's the glue that holds the production workflow together.

A 'wrangler' or DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) is a crucial crew member in digital TV and film production, responsible for managing, backing up, and organising the footage captured on set.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Backing up footage

The DIT ensures all media cards from the camera are copied to at least two separate locations—typically a master drive and a backup. This protects against data loss and ensures footage is safely stored.

2. Data wrangling

They name, sort, and organise the files using a clear and consistent system. This might involve creating folders for each shoot day, camera, or scene, and applying metadata or colour labels to help the post-production team later.

3. Quality checks

DIT's often check the footage for issues like corrupted files, exposure problems, or continuity errors. They may use professional software to view and analyse files before the production continues.

4. Transcoding and colour work

In some cases, the DIT will create lower-resolution proxy files for editing and may apply a basic colour grade (or LUT) so that the footage reflects the intended look while the project is still in production.

Why they're important:

• They act as a bridge between the camera crew and the post-production team.

• They protect valuable footage from loss or damage.

• They help maintain a smooth, professional workflow on set.

In essence, a DIT or wrangler is like the digital guardian of your production—making sure nothing gets lost and everything is ready for editing.

When you are wrangling your own footage after each shoot, there are simple techniques you can use to help reduce the risk of losing footage, corrupting files or only being able to edit on one particular laptop in the college.  This workflow is a good starting point that can be improved upon as you become more comfortable with the process. 

1. Backing up footage

• Once you have recorded your footage on your SD card, you need to 'wrangle' it and save two versions. In the industry this would usually be on two robust, external hard drives so that if one is damaged, the other can be used. You should all have your own external hard drives where at least one backup can be saved but Google Drive could be used as an alternative. 

• A second back up can also be made via college computers using your OneDrive accounts which generally have a capacity of 1TB (1 Terabyte). This process will also allow you to edit on multiple computers around the college if set up properly. 

• Before moving files, create a series of folders that contain your projects and space for individual cards. This is vital because across a project, your camera may accidentally generate files with the same names and it is possible to overwrite footage without realising.

• In Mike's OneDrive, he has used numbered folders to organise all files by topic. In '04. EDIT PROJECTS' he has created a file structure before adding any material so that he knows in advance where he is going to put it. This also allows him to add footage as he goes: 

• The same file structure should also be used on the second drive - ideally the external hard drive.  

Process: 

• Plug your SD card in to a reader and insert it in to your computer. Using File Explorer, go to the SD card to check that you can see all of the files. 

• This is the same process for any type of file whether it's video, stills, audio, docx, etc. 

• Highlight all of the files and press CTRL+C to copy the files.

• Go to the folder that you want to save the files and press CTRL+V to past them in there. 

• Repeat the full process and copy the files in to the equivalent folder on your back up drive (external hard drive, Google Drive, Etc.).  

NOTE: 

• Never drag and drop these files as errors are more likely to occur. 

• Even though it's the same footage, still use CTRL+C and copy the files properly when creating a back up. It's easier to press CTRL+C and then copy the same files to two different locations, but if something was wrong the first time you copy the files, you may accidentally be copying a fault to two different places.  

Software is available that will help you to back up footage and verify that everything has been moved from one folder to another without error (e.g. Shotput Pro). However if you don't have access, use FILE PROPERTIES to ensure that you have the same number of files and that they take up the same amount of disc space. 

• On the  original card, the footage is in a folder called '105Canon'. 

• Right click on the folder to see the PROPERTIES.

• The PROPERTIES page for '105Canon' shows that there are '12 Files, 0 Folders' inside the original folder. It also shows the total size of that folder as 55.6 MB / 58, 323, 708 bytes.   

• Then repeat the process for the folder you have copied the files to which in this case is: 403. Day 2 - Card 1 - 220425. 

• You should see the same information: '12 Files, 0 Folders' inside the original folder. 

• And the total size of that folder as 55.6 MB / 58, 323, 708 bytes.   

• This is a good indication that your files have copied successfully but it may not show that you have any corrupt or problematic files. 

• Storing a copy of the footage on OneDrive will help your workflow as it will connect to Premiere Pro, link to you project and allow you to move from computer to computer whenever you need to edit rather than only being able to use one particular PC.