Hedge Software for File Management
Hedge is a great tool for video production file management. The biggest advantage is that the file transfer from your card to the harddrive is faster through Hedge versus file manager. Because Hedge bypasses the bus on your computer. It also is able to verify the transfer, whereas File Manager doesn’t do that.
This short blog is to show you how to use the software. For learning about file management, visit our other instructionals:
Step 1
To begin, open Hedge. You will have the Connected Discs window, which shows you which hard drives you have connected. Make sure your primary and secondary harddrives are connected and show up in the center. Then connect the card you want to transfer. It will show up in this window as well.
Step 2
When the card shows up, drag it over to the left, the Sources column. Then drag your primary harddrive over to the right, the Destinations column. Drag the secondary drive over to destinations as well.
Hover the mouse over the primary harddrive in Destinations—you will see a green eject arrow but also, when you hover, you will see a grey down arrow above and to the right of the drive icon. Click that grey down arrow and Destination Folder and then Browse. You can navigate to your project folder, camera subfolder, and name the camera and card number. Then repeat the same procedure for the secondary drive. Note that when you change the destination, the drives switch on the right column. Make sure you get both drives pointing to the right folder.
One nice time-saving feature Hedge offers is the ability to create file paths on the second drive. After you point to the destination on the primary drive, when you select the secondary drive, you can do the most recent folder and Hedge will ask you if you want to create the path. Click yes and you don’t have to create folders in Finder or File Manager.
Also, it’s important to name the folder exactly the same on both drives. If you want to do this in Finder before copying over, that’s fine—just navigate to the correct folder through the grey down arrow.
Step 3
Once folder destinations have been done, click “Start Transfers.” Your camera card will be copied over. The next dialogue window will ask you if you want the incrementer to be adjusted. If this is the first card, have it start back at 001, then the next time, just let it increment. When Hedge finishes the transfer, it will say completed. If there were any problems, Hedge will inform you. Also, a text file is generated at your destination. You can check it over to see if there are any discrepancies. You’re ready to eject the card and start in on the next card.
The key to File Management is creating a system and following it. Trouble happens when you take shortcuts or don’t follow the system. It gets repetitive– don’t fall into the trap of complacency. Lost footage is a killer for the production.