Sorting the Footage Dump

Before photos and videos are put into individual training topic folders, they are all placed into the footage dump folder. Essentially, after a video or photo shoot, we would return to the office and put all of the photos into this folder until we have a few minutes to sort through them and get them in their forever homes in the drives.

Important: The faster these videos and photos are sorted into the training topic folders where they belong, the sooner they can be used. Never let the footage dump folder become too large with a never-ending amount of content that is left unsorted. It is good to get in the habit of sorting photos and videos when you get back to the office. If that isn't possible, all footage should be sorted at most three days after it is taken. 

As you sort photos from recent photo or video shoots into their proper folders, you should also look for low-quality photos/videos or duplicates that can be moved to the archive. This keeps the topic folders from becoming overly cluttered. You should archive photos that have one or more of the following problems: 

Image Dimensions

To display image dimensions in File Explorer, right-click the column header row at the top of the window and select "More..." Scroll down the list to the the Dimensions detail check the box next to it, then click OK.

• For horizontal images: no less than 1920 x 1080 for both dimensions
• For vertical images: no less than 1080 x 1920 for both dimensions 

 Image File Types
All images need to be converted to JPGs. The converted JPG files go into the training topic folder, and the PNGs, CR2s, or RAWs can be placed in the coordinating folder in the 06_archive.

Note: You can use Adobe Photoshop to convert images. It is a very simple process 1. Go to File > Scripts > Image Processor  2. Select the images you would like to convert  3. Select the folder you would like to save them too  4. Choose the file type you want them exported as  5. Press "Run"

Image Quality and Relevance

Ensure you are placing the photos in the correct training topic folder. Then view each image, looking for:

• Blurriness, graininess
• Cheesy, overly-staged images, or images that look like stock photos
• Subjects that are too far away or obstructed. If the objects in the video or photo are far in the distance, and cropping the image would result in poor resolution, you can archive them. 
• No subject - photos that are unintentional, like in between others or of the ground accidentally should be archived. Essentially, if there is no specific subject matter the photo should be archived. 

If you end up with a batch of photos that are only slightly problematic, you are welcome to do a batch edit or a few individual edits in Lightroom to touch up the lighting or focus or other small problems before exporting them into the correct training topic folder.

Duplicate Content

Look for groups of photos that feature the same subject in identical or very similar positions. Most duplicate photos are of a high enough level of quality to be used in our training materials, but we archive them because we only need one copy. Select the best image out of all the duplicates to keep in the training topic folder, then archive the rest.  Images with the following elements in common could be considered duplicates:

• Zoom
• Tilt/angle
• Lighting

Essentially, using the principles mentioned above, you should do a short "eye test" for all of the photos in the footage dump folder and archive any that are unfit for use. There may be other instances beyond those points where photos or videos are deleted, just be sure to use good judgement.