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Naming conventions
Hi there.
I was wondering if you have ideas for a smart way to name the versions of you project as you go along.
I was at a SVFX seminar held by the Danish Film academy.
A German guy – Udo Smutny (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Alien vs. Predator and King Arthur) – talked about the ideas for the effects, and how they was realized.
Now during this seminar he mentioned that his company where using a naming convention for their projectfiles so genius, that other production companies (at least here in denmark) had him come and teach about this naming method.
Unfortunaly Udo didn’t mention how the method works, he only mentioned that they where using it to avoid confusion about which file is the latest.
Now I was wondering if you yourself are using some kind of naming convention for your files, so you don’t – like me – end up with project names like:
‘cow.aep’ – ‘cow 2 edit.aep’ – ‘cow 2 edit online.aep’ – ‘cow FINAL.aep’ – ‘cow FINAL FINAL.aep’ – ‘cow FINAL FINAL REALLY FINAL THIS TIME.aep’ – ‘cow FINAL FINAL REALLY FINAL THIS TIME 2.aep’ – ‘cow FINAL EXTRA.aep’ ect. ect.
Thank you.
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3 Replies
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Versioning:
test_0000.aep
test_0001.aepsub-versions:
test_0001_a.aep
language versions:
test_0001_b_DE.aep (Locale codes according to ISO)
per production number/ shot/ take:
234_s_345_t_03.aep
date:
22.09.2006_test_00.aep
Covers pretty much all options. The rest is a matter of finding the right one for yourself/ your company and pushing it thru, so everyone sticks with it. BTW, that naming convention thing is no magic and I think the guy is exaggerating. On films there are production managers that handle exactly this sort of number crunching all day and anyone can come up with a very clearly structured and understandable system.
Mylenium
[Pour Myl
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Daniel –
While this may not be the “perfect” way of doing things, it works for me:
When I start a project, I try my best to give it a name that will somewhat describe what the project is, for example…I’m currently doing a new on-air look for our Newscast, and I’ve got bump banners as part of the project, so my initial title is
Bump_Banner_1.aep
As I do versioning of the idea that I’m coming up with (no outside input yet) I add a lower case letter to each version that’s roughly based on the original idea, for example…
Bump_Banner_1a.aep – this might be a version with the original idea, but I’ve added a light flare to it.
Bump_Banner_1b.aep – this might be a version with the original idea, but I’ve dropped the light flare, and added a hot 3D stroke to the background.
Recently, if I find that it’s an idea I like and want to pursue further, I make the letter after the number in caps, so I know it’s something I want to look back at as the project moves on.
If I do a new bump banner that’s a complete departure from the base idea, I will change the number after the title incrementally, for example…
Bump_Banner_2.aep
Once I’m happy with a version/versions of the bump banner, I will show it to our Promo Manager, and any subsequent changes that come from the outside (GM, News Director, Promo Mgr, etc.) will add REV# to the file name, to indicate that there’s outside input on the project, for example…
Bump_Banner_2_REV1.aep – this name immediately lets me know that it’s version 2 of my own ideas, with the first revision based on outside input.
Once the project nears the final approval stages, I add FINAL to the project title, for example…
Bump_Banner_2_REV3_FINAL.aep – I will also use a different folder for the FINAL versions of the project, as it gets finalized, to cut down on the clutter for searching revisions. Folder name would be a sub-folder of the original project.
Oftentimes (most often) the project will go into more revisions after the final approval (managers love to tweak, don’t they?), so I will create a sub-folder called REVISIONS to keep all the final stuff in one place. I also keep notes on a yellow pad with the general content of the particular version, plus meeting notes, so I don’t go totally crazy. Anyone who tells you you don’t have to take notes during a complex project (or even a simple one, for that matter) is lazy, or totally new to the industry.
I don’t know whether this would work for you, but it works beautifully for me…if I’ve got lots of versions of revisions, I will also do a directory sort of the files, so as to get the latest version on top. It cuts the clutter, once again. When the project is revised, approved, and on the air, I’ll burn a DVD or CD, depending on the project size, which collects all of the media files (I use Collect in the Files menu of AE, which puts all the media in one place, and generates a log with files used, plugins used, etc.) so that if the project gets revisited, or I had an idea I want to use elsewhere, I can find it. I also use a free utility called Catfish (free on the web), that catalogs disks, CDs, and DVDs, so you can find a file or project without having to search through dozens of disks. It will also print out logs so I can put them with the disks.
Overly organized, you say? Not when you’ve got management that wants to revisit a project from eight months ago and can’t even remember what we called it. Sorry to be so wordy, but I wanted to outline my whole procedure for you. Good luck, and you may come up with a better way, having seen mine.
Joe Bourke
Art Director / WMUR-TV -
Thank you. I think I’ll make a system of a mix of yours.
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