In short: An offload log records each camera card copied on set, the copies made, where they went and whether each copy matched the original. The data wrangler or DIT keeps it alongside the camera report. Log each card before it is formatted, and do not reuse a card until its copies are verified.
Footage that exists on one card is not footage yet. The offload log is the record that it has been copied, checked and stored somewhere else, and it is the first thing to check if a file goes missing.
What the offload log records
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For each card, the log holds the card label and serial number, the camera it came from, the date and the start and finish times, the number of files and their total size, the checksum method used, each destination drive, the verification result for each destination, the place the off-site copy went and the initials of the person who ran the offload.
How to run the offload, step by step
- Label the card before it leaves the camera, and enter the same label in the log.
- Copy the card to the first drive, using the offload method agreed with the production.
- Verify the copy with checksums. A checksum is a short code worked out from a file's contents, so a matching code shows the copy is identical to the original.
- Copy the card to a second drive, and verify that copy the same way.
- Log each destination, its checksum result and the time.
- Only then release the card to the camera department for formatting, and mark it as backed up in the log.
- Take the off-site copy as the production agrees, and log where it went.
A worked example
Card A014 from camera A, 212 files. Copied to drive 1 at 11:42 and verified. Copied to drive 2 at 11:58 and verified. Both results logged as matching. The card is released for formatting at 12:05. The off-site copy leaves the set with the producer at wrap, goes to storage elsewhere and is logged with its drive label.
Common mistakes
- Formatting a card after one copy, with no verified second copy.
- Logging a card as copied before the verification has finished.
- Giving two cards the same label, so the log cannot tell them apart.
- Keeping all the copies together on one desk. A theft can take the computer and a backup drive beside it.
- Skipping the log on a fast day, which is when mistakes are most likely.
The data wrangling checklist goes through the 3-2-1 approach in more detail, and the free tools list covers the software used to check files. The camera report template is the other half of the record.
Sources
- Production Expert, Back-up basics: the 3-2-1 backup rule, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
Questions we get asked
What should an offload log include?
The card label and serial number, the camera, the date and time, the file count and size, the checksum method and each destination with its result. Add the initials of the person who ran the offload.
Is an offload log the same as a camera report?
No. The camera report records what was shot. The offload log records what was copied and whether the copies match the originals.
How many copies should I keep?
Under the 3-2-1 approach, keep at least three copies of the data, on two different kinds of media, with one copy off-site. The log should show each copy and where it sits.
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