With the recent posts and discussions on the importance of BackUp its worth mentioning some efficient and free ways to backup project files remotely. Its one thing to have your NLE Project Files, EDL’s and XML files, not to mention screenplays, treatments and outlines backed-up in multiple periodic versions on your hard drive but what if your hard drive is stolen? Dropped in a swimming pool? Eaten by piranah?

The only sure solution is to have a secondary backup to a remote location – ie. in a different city/state/country. There are number of very simple ways you can do this. The first, best and simplest is CELTX.

You’re all using Celtx for your screenwriting, project management, breakdown and scheduling of productions but many of you may not have yet used the Online Hosting and Collaboration features. In simple terms this allows you to upload your Celtx project to the Celtx server (which is deep in the wilds of Canada in an underground silo protected by polar bears and very fierce moose). This upload can be viewed online from the Celtx Project Central site (http://pc.celtx.com) 

The Project Central service allows for both public or private hosting of your project and is built for collaboration and exchange between writers and filmmakers remotely. But Project Central has some hidden gem features. By being a remote host for your project it is also a secure remote backup of your project should your house burn down taking your creative life with it.

But thats not all. Within the local Celtx Project you can not only create screenplays and various text documents but you can also Attach outside documents as well – this is most often Word or Xcel documents, PDF, videos, pictures and sound files. These files are zipped up inside the Celtx file and are uploaded along with the rest of the bundle to Project Central. So it shouldn’t take a genius to work out that this is a perfect way to backup your editing software project files (Premiere *.pproj or Final Cut *.fcp), EDL’s, XML, AAF and OMF files. All these can be attached as outside files to a Celtx Project and subsequently backed-up remotely with a click of a button, and retrieved at will by simply downloading your Celtx file from Project Central if you need to restore lost project files.

As if you needed any more reasons to love CELTX…?!

That said, if you want more dedicated online remote storage there are a number of services that provide free storage. Size limitations and bandwidth constraints make this kind of storage not suitable for full-res video media itself but if you have large amounts of document data – scripts, writings, project files and so on – an online hosted remote back-up might be a very good idea.

One of the best setup free services of this kind is X-Drive which offers 5gb of free storage and a very efficient local application that enables you to drag and drop form your desktop directly to the online server. 

Ok, so now you have absolutely NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER for EVER having a crash or technology meltdown cause the end of the world! Between periodic project file backups, EDL backups, XML and AAF backups, and remote server backups to Celtx or Xdrive, there really is no excuse.

Take a professional approach to your work, manage your workflow carefully, plan your process and backup daily.