Project & Folder Name Structures – Pls Share

[Bret Williams]

On my hard drive, in my user folder is a folder called projects. Inside that folder are folders by client. In side each client folder are project folders. Inside a project foder things are setup as I see fit for each project. If it starts as a FCP edit, then there is a file for the FCP project. There would also be a folder called photoshop or simply stills. There would also be a folder that is called After Effects for after effects related projects and sources. If Illustrator is used there’d be a folder called illustrator. There may also be a folder called DVD where I would export all the DVD elements.

On the media drive I simply have the capture scratch folder and let FCP manage all the tc material. I also have other media folders there named by project for non-tc material that would play off the drive. Folders alled AE render files or LiveType render files, etc. They would have the project name in front. When the project is over I might back these up to a CD or DVD or leave them on the drive until I’m positive all is well.

It’s never perfect. Things get so mismatched as a big project grows. But I generally try to clean it up when it’s all over and make sure everything except timecoded material is in one nice folder. Time coded material can always be reloaded. No need to back that up.

[Todd Skougor]

As a freelancer, I work on several different systems.

Here’s the way I have survived for the last 5 years on FCP with 20 different clients.

On your internal HD create a PROJECTS folder. Only projects go in there, nothing else, nope not even that. You can make client specific folders inside the projects folder, but only project files go in there. No music, no graphics, nada.

I also create a folder for AUDIO (narration, music, sfx, etc.)in the mac HD. These files may be numerous but they are small in required storage space, so I’ve been told they can go here.

Then, I make an EDL/DIG LIST folder in here too.

On my largest storage drive I make 3 folders, one called IMPORTS (this is where you could put all of your still pictures for the video)another called EXPORTS (export a QT or MP3 or whatever) You can make client specific folders inside here as well. Many people think it’s ok to just slap’em on the desktop. Not really. The chaos of sorting through the mess later is only the smallest part. Here’s the best part. The third folder is called GRAPHIC ELEMENTS. This is where the graphics or show elements you always use go. Like your company logo graphic for your wedding videos. You put that here and nver delete these. You’ll never have to recapture these. They live here forever.

If you keep your media organized so many problems can be eliminated, or at least alleviated. It makes cleaning up you drives quick and easy. Relinking media is effortless, and if you have a system to follow, you have a system, not a box stuffed with disorganized random garbage.

Good luck,
Todd

[Tom Meegan]

My system is similar to Skougor’s, however in much of my work I have to pull a drive to work on another system in another location the next day. For this reason I keep the project and audio folders on my media drive. If I have have to run, everything I need is in one location.

At the end of the session I back up the projects folder to the boot drive in the documents folder.

I increment the project names daily. This has the side benefit of creating distinct folders for each day in the capture scratch folder. I back up my media to a firewire drive nightly, and the distinct folders allow me to keep track of new captures.

Incremented project names also provide me an added layer of protection against corruption. The Auto Save vault is good, but bad things happen to good people.

Tom