That 8 AM edit session in Denver that went sideways
Last month I booked a rush wedding film for a couple in Denver, 3 hours of ceremony and reception footage, and I promised delivery in 10 days. Their coordinator kept texting me new must-have shots, so I was rewriting my timeline at 8 AM on a Saturday, which is fine, but then my external drive started clicking halfway through the export. I lost about 2 hours of color grading because my backup was from last Tuesday, and I had to redo skin tones on the entire first dance from memory. The client never knew, but I ate $150 in late fees to a stock music site for a track extension I had to pull last minute. Has anyone else had a drive fail right in the middle of a tight turnaround, and what do you actually keep on your desk for quick recovery?