setting directory?

[Walter Soyka]

[Dave LaRonde] “Do it the same way every time so it becomes a habit.”

Here’s a shortcut: make a blank project folder with your entire sub-folder structure as Dave has outlined above. Duplicate the blank project folder every time you start a new project to ensure that your file structure is consistent from one project to another.

It’s invaluable when you have to re-visit a project later.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Brian Deviteri]

Just to add to this, if you’re working with multiple applications accessing the same media pool, this is even more important, especially if you’re going to use FCP and AE.

Find a structure and organizational method that WORKS for you, makes sense, and is repeatable.

Also need to plan out your workflow. If you work on multiple small projects vs. just one or two large projects at a time, it can change your organizational structure a little bit. If you work on episodic stuff that reuses the same footage frequently it can slightly alter your approach as well.

[Eric Patrick]

Thanks for the responses, but apparently I wasn’t clear in my question. My after effects projects are very well organized in file structure. I have a master folder, and within that, have folders for background elements, footage/jpeg sequences (each sequence also in its own folder), projects, renders, etc. The problem I’m having is that I may import something from my background folder and after effects will after this dump me in my background folder every time I go to import. I may be continually importing from my footage folders dozens of times, but after effects will still keep dumping me in my background folder so that each time I import, I need to re-navigate back to the footage folder. Is there a way to “tell” after effects where you want it to put you in situations like this? If I’m going to be spending all day importing from various footage folders, I would love to be able to tell after effects to start me in my master footage folder rather than just putting me in some random place (like my background folder) so that I have to navigate back to the footage folder every single time.

[Walter Soyka]

I use Default Folder X [link] by St. Clair Software on my Macs to quickly navigate recently- and frequently-used folders.

Buzz Folders [link] for Windows seems to have some similar functionality, but I’ve never used it.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Jim Medcraft]

Structure I have designed

[Marcel Joyce]

I was having the same annoying issue now in AE CC 2014, and I found out the reason was I was importing folders.

At least in my case, AE seems to remember my last used folder as long as the last imported item was an element (footage, image, audio file…) but not when it was a whole folder.

I don’t know if that helps.

Cheers.