In my last Video Update, I discussed my plans to record lots of short video clips and document the trip by producing short videos:
The tools I will use to do this are the Filmic Pro app on my iPhone 6 and the Pinnacle Studio Pro app on my iPad Mini 3. These two apps are very sophisticated ones that amaze me each time I start them up. To be able to have the video controls one gets using Filmic Pro on a smartphone is just unbelievable! And to be able use Pinnacle Studio Pro to edit video clips, add dynamic text and transitions, drop in B-Roll pieces, and end up with a video one could only do on a desktop/laptop computer only a few years ago blows my mind. For that reason, I do not plan to even take my laptop with me on our upcoming trip.
As I point out in the video, however, one of my biggest concerns is being able to store the video I record. I will use my iPhone 6 and my Olympus OM-D E-M1 to record the video. I have a 64GB iPhone with 22+ GB free and a 128GB iPad Mini with about 80GB free and I am taking my 1TB WD Wi-Fi hard drive with me. I can easily transfer video files from my E-M1 to the drive by inserting the SD card into the drive, but getting the video files from my mobile devices to free up space is an issue. Transferring video to the drive using wi-fi is just way too slow so I've been researching other options.
There are a number of flash drives with varying capacities (16, 32, 64, & 128GB) that are equipped with a Lightning plug and a standard USB plug that have promise. The least expensive one I found was the Omars 32GB Lightning Flash Drive for $40 US, so I ordered it. It arrived today and I think it's a winner! In order to plug the Omars Flash Drive into my iPad Mini or iPhone, I do, unfortunately, have to remove the cover in order to get the Lightning plug to seat securely in the Lightning port on these devices. Lightning extension cables are available from $8 to $25 but that is just one more cable to keep track of and I can remove my iPad Mini cover each time I use it without a lot of hassle. I anticipate using the Flash Drive mainly with my iPad and not the iPhone since I can use Air Drop to transfer video files from the iPhone to the iPad fairly efficiently. After more extensive experimentation of this Flash Drive, I will do a write up on how it is working for me.
I anticipate my workflow to go as follows: As I shoot video clips with my iPhone, I will transfer those clips to my iPad using Air Drop or simply let them transfer automatically with Apple’s Photostream utility. The latter doesn’t always transfer larger clips or does so rather slowly, so I will resort to Air Drop or the PhotoSync app if I need to do so. If I have taken any video clips using either my Olympus OM-D E-M1 or Olympus PEN E-PL6 camera, I will transfer those clips to my iPad using the Apple SD Card Connector. I am thinking of creating a daily video for each of the six days we will be underway, so if I am able to complete a daily video before returning home, I will use the Omars Flash Drive to remove the source files and completed MP4 video files from my iPad. If I’m not able to complete these daily projects and my iPad begins filling up, I will move the files to the Omars Flash Drive as well and work on producing the final videos when we get home.
I have a few weeks to practice this workflow, so that will give me a better idea as to whether or not it is a workable plan. However, I am glad that I bought this Flash Drive and now have a way to remove large files from my iPad and iPhone should I need to do that.
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