Production · corporate video shoot cards and drives
corporate video shoot: repair an incomplete ingest workflow
How do I investigate an incomplete ingest from the corporate video shoot?
Short answer
First compare, then copy again: an incomplete corporate ingest usually has a traceable cause, such as a filter that skipped audio or proxy files, a duplicate file name or a stopped transfer. Keep the cards untouched, compare the destination with the card and production log, and copy missing files again directly from the card.
The situation
The destination contains only part of the material from the corporate video shoot.
Only part of the shoot reached the project drive. Before anything is recovered, the ingest itself needs auditing: filters, duplicate names and an aborted transfer each produce a folder that looks plausible but is missing exactly the files nobody checked afterwards.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Corporate ingests are usually run with a filter, because the deliverable is video and the rest looks like clutter. That filter is the most common reason audio from the separate recorder, proxy files, XML metadata or the camera's sidecar folders never arrive. Interrupted copies and clips with identical camera-generated names overwriting each other account for most of the remainder.
A copy interruption, filter, duplicate name or delete-after-import action can leave gaps. For corporate video shoot, this matters because the corporate video shoot combines several sources, takes and handoff steps that must be reconciled as a set
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Keep every card from the shoot out of any camera and out of any reader that mounts it with write access.
- 2
Compare the destination with each card and the production log, listing file names and sizes per camera, recorder and sidecar folder.
- 3
Repeat the transfer for the missing items with all filters switched off, copying complete card folders instead of selected file types.
- 4
Scan read-only only those cards where a file is truly gone, and export what it finds to the project drive, not the card.
Do not enable delete after import for the second attempt, and do not reformat a card because its contents appear to be at the destination. Appearances are what caused the gap in the first place, and the client footage exists only once until the copy is verified.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
Most gaps here close by copying again, without any recovery tool. Where a scan is needed, it covers exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 sources on macOS and Windows; Linux volumes, ext4 and encrypted cards are outside what File Recovery Hero can read.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
Complete means the destination lists the same number of items as the card for every folder, sidecars included, with matching byte sizes. Then check the edit: the separate audio for each interview is present, the proxies relink, and the longest clip plays to its final frame.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can corporate video shoot cards and drives be recovered in this situation?+
Only part of the shoot reached the project drive. Before anything is recovered, the ingest itself needs auditing: filters, duplicate names and an aborted transfer each produce a folder that looks plausible but is missing exactly the files nobody checked afterwards. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not enable delete after import for the second attempt, and do not reformat a card because its contents appear to be at the destination.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
Complete means the destination lists the same number of items as the card for every folder, sidecars included, with matching byte sizes.