pat kay’s “slightly overkill” framing is the honest version of most storage workflow content. the right amount of system is the minimum that protects against real data loss and enables fast retrieval — not the maximum that demonstrates thoroughness. this is applicable to both the seeksophie footage management problem and the vault’s note organisation.
- “slightly overkill” honesty — the title acknowledges that the creator went further than necessary. useful calibration: what’s the minimum viable storage system for seeksophie footage?
- 3-2-1 backup principle — same as anthony gugliotta: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite. the standard.
- ingest naming system — consistent naming at ingest prevents downstream confusion.
the “overkill” label is useful. before setting up a complex storage workflow, the honest question is: what’s the simplest system that prevents real data loss and enables retrieval? start there before adding complexity.
practical reference. the “slightly overkill” framing makes it a useful benchmark for what “thorough” looks like rather than a minimum viable standard. ★★★☆☆
- what is the minimum viable seeksophie footage storage system that protects against loss and enables retrieval within 2 weeks of a shoot?
- is the current system — whatever it is — actually protecting against the failure modes that would be most costly?
- videos — companion video already in vault
- ingestion-day backup — all footage backed up on the same day it’s shot, before any editing happens.
- N/A
- design the minimum viable seeksophie footage ingest and backup workflow in under 30 minutes
- implement it on the next shoot and note what the process actually takes