• Adobe Premiere Pro

  Best practices in organizing projects with dynamic linking

  Posted by Jim Bachalo on August 19, 2011 at 2:40 am

  Hi
  Working on a project that is quickly getting out of hand because of the number of files involved and because I am doing all my color correction and grading in after effects.

  What are the best practices in organizing larger projects?

  One global project, or many smaller ones?
  Bins, how many and what should their names be?
  Sequences, how to name?
  Raw footage, is it really necessary to rename your raw footage with unique and-or descriptive names?
  Dynamic linked projects, should you name your AE projects the same as the corresponding PPro projects?
  Linked comps, rename them to match sequence names?

  Local is the new global

  Tom Daigon replied 14 years, 11 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  Vince Becquiot

  August 19, 2011 at 2:57 am

  Small, small small. The more AE files I see the better.

  I keep each project in its own folder which includes the name of the comp used. Otherwise, things can get messing if you ever need to relink. That also avoids an ugly mess coming out of duplicated precomps (I’m sure you know what I’m talking about… ooops, did that little change affect every other comps I’ve worked on so far!!!!)

  I also like to get everything rendered out to a file as they are approved. So when the project is getting close to the end, small changes don’t require rendering every AE sequences. These days, I spend a huge amount of time organizing, and that can drive a sitting client crazy, but they’ll thank you later…

  Vince Becquiot

  Kaptis Studios
  San Francisco – Bay Area
• 

  Tom Daigon

  August 19, 2011 at 3:17 am

  Jim , I think it really depends on your work flow.

  1. If you are doing a lot of dynamic link of clips from PrP to AE
  a. A Global AE project file with lots of comps seems the only way to do it since it avoids the pitfalls of several same named projects and comps screwing things on your timeline up.

  2. If you just build in AE then render out files to be imported to PrP, I have a separate AE project for each thing I build. And organized into folders that make identification easy when rebuilding is needed.

  Whatever fits your creative style.

  Tom Daigon
  Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
  http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
  Mac Pro 3,1
  8 core
  10.6.8
  Nvidia Quadro 4000
  24 gigs ram
  Maxx Digita / Areca 8tb. raid
• 

  Jim Bachalo

  August 19, 2011 at 3:56 pm

  Thanks
  One problem is that currently I have several PPro projects each dynamically linked to different AE projects.

  Consolidating them all in just one PPro and one AE project is my goal but thinking it might not be possible.

  Local is the new global
• 

  Tom Daigon

  August 19, 2011 at 6:56 pm

  That could be a challenge due to naming conventions and the way PrP identifies its dynamically linked elements. Please let me know how it goes.

  Tom Daigon
  Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
  http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
  Mac Pro 3,1
  8 core
  10.6.8
  Nvidia Quadro 4000
  24 gigs ram
  Maxx Digita / Areca 8tb. raid

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