Is it advisable to record over your original dv shoots?

[mw01908]

By this I mean the following: I've transferred the original tapes to pc, edited and edited, got everything how I liked it and cut out all the bad bits of the shoot. Now I have an edited master that I want to put back to dv tape for achieving.

Is it best to use a fresh new tape for this, or would you just record over the original? I'm tempted to record over the original so I'm never tempted to watch the unedited version again, so that I'll never think.. 'oh I should have left that bit in' etc. Do you get rid of your originals? Would like peoples opinions on either keeping on chucking them please. Would be appreciated!

[senu]

No .. unless you don't really think the footage is worth keeping, however your edits may represent all you need

Tape is cheap enough to keep as "permanent" archive of your original recordings

As it happens, with the HDD models, there is no such advantage!

However if you ever have a "flash of inspiration " later on in the future you lose the chance to do so

[redsox_mark]

Personally - I keep the original tapes, and use a new tape for the edited master. Tapes are small and cheap... and I may want to go back to those originals in future... (e.g. to pull out a deleted scene).

[richard plumb]

do you fill the tapes up, or keep them as one per edited movie for simpler filing/reference?

[redsox_mark]

Normally just one edited movie per tape....

[mw01908]

Thanks for the replies so far. I've started recording the edit to 2 fresh DV tapes. However I'm still not decided if to eventually record over the originals. I have 5 DV tapes of original shooting. The edited version of these are now only 100 mins worth.

If I have a short video I do put more than one thing on one tape, but usually only if it is the same sort of subject.

BTW I'm finding that video editing is becoming an almost never ending task that I just want to get finished once and for all! I have a backlog of holiday vids from 2003 that I never seem to be able to finish off. I'm scared if I keep originals i will then watch them again and want to redo the whole editing thing again.!! Plus most of the cut stuff was really worth cutting.

[senu]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

do you fill the tapes up, or keep them as one per edited movie for simpler filing/reference?

Whist it is generally better to keep them as one tape per event, sometimes it is pragmatic to put 2
The important thing is simply labelling them for easy access
Using one tape for more than one edit/Event may become messy if the second event runs over to another tape but if tape one is say Wedding / Karaoke night 1
Tape 2 could be Karaoke night 2..ect

This simple act of labelling right away and having an index system ( and where needed specific time code for a particular scene) is immensely invaluable by the time your tape collection builds up ( and it can fairly quickly)
Is it easier said than done.?. absolutely ..
But it is worth getting into the habit of doing

[senu]

Originally Posted by mw01908

BTW I'm finding that video editing is becoming an almost never ending task that I just want to get finished once and for all! I have a backlog of holiday vids from 2003 that I never seem to be able to finish off. I'm scared if I keep originals i will then watch them again and want to redo the whole editing thing again.!! Plus most of the cut stuff was really worth cutting.

The thing with I find with editing is that one often never thinks its good enough.

However looking at TV program edits which are done relatively quickly but done well is a bit of reality check, As such "never ending" : is a mind set which can be broken. It never gets "perfect"
You have to draw the line somewhere. If your intended audience are friends family or colleagues they'll usually be more than happy with the first edit

I think we find ourselves getting picky because we have the technology and the possibilities are endless. Time , however is very finite

For simple material, I transfer from DV tape to HDD of a settop DVD recorder, do a few trims and voila.. Minimal editing. HDD even allows you to rearrange clips in an order different to how you shot before assembling to DVD.. It is far less involving than using the PC and you don't get the feeling " when will I ever get all this done?"! once the DVD is being written to

Another method requires "editing on the fly" while shooting...not ideal, and not possible ( or desirable) in all situations but it is by no means an unheard of method.

By all means reuse your originals if you feel youll never need them again but do so with care .. some events cannot be recaptured.
I find that when Im doing a Video montage of various events, footage that was never used in the original edit get used and can be evocative.. but to be fair, video montages are not an everyday project