Folders Organization for Fixes

Was curious about editors' varying philosophies on folder organization. I'm working on an animated show where we receive multiple fixes on shots that I replace, and I'm trying to create a simple and consistent folder organization structure for those fixes. I'm sure each editor has their own methodology, but just curious about YOUR method. There are 3 main phases in this show:

1. Animatic with storyboards
2. Animation- lorez 3D without lighting or texture
3. Full Episode- Hirez 3D that's fully composited.

As you can see, I've created a new folder for 04A_HD-mov for every new fix that we've gotten and it goes all the way to 1,8.


But I was wondering whether to # fixes and just place them in 1 HD_mov folder.


I know this may seem like a simple and mundane question, but this is my first editing gig so I'm still trying to figure out a logical workflow. Any other advice on organization would be most appreciated! Which reminds me... I still gotta watch my copy of Shane's DVD on this subject :-p

Thanks,
Alex

Don't rely solely on folders and bins. Differentiate the files themselves. In cases like these where updates happen all the time, I would always put version numbers and dates right onto the file names. I always insist on using both, because effects often get updated more than once a day, so a date alone is insufficient:

"comp_101_v03_070510"
"comp_101_v03b_070510"
"comp_101_v06_070610"

Effects guys can be very careless about naming their exports -- missing leading zeroes, having no dates or version numbers, mis-naming files so that one thing has different names from day to day, etc. -- so it's part of editorial's job to cover for them. After all, you and your assistant(s) will be the ones wading through these files, and you have to have a way to translate the producer saying, "I liked this one better before" to your actual ability to find that exact version and implement it.

You shouldn't rely on folders (in OS) and bins (in the FCP project), because if anybody in the pipeline makes a mistake and puts a file in the wrong place, then you lose the ability to distinguish them. I'm not saying "don't use folders and bins"; I'm just saying "don't rely on only folders and bins". Use folders and bins to keep the length of file lists manageable; use file names to make sure every piece has a unique name which tells you where they came from.


www.derekmok.com

Thank you Derek for the detailed and interesting explanation!

I'm just wondering if you change filenames though, when doing the Online, doesn't that make things more complex during the reconnect stage?

> I'm just wondering if you change filenames though, when doing the Online, doesn't that make
> things more complex during the reconnect stage?

Not if you do it right. Ideally you'd want to tell your FX guys to give you file names that are suitable for editorial. If not, you should modify them before you do anything with them. Once the files are in a timeline, you shouldn't rename them unless you really know what you're doing. I reconnect files all the time while disabling the "Matched Name Only" feature, but that really doesn't work well if you have more than a dozen files or so. So, as in everything about being an assistant editor, you do it right at the beginning and then leave the system alone.

When FX people, or clients, give you file names that aren't viable, say "final-graphic_123897osfd8s", a good way to improve them is to add information to the file name rather than replacing the file name. For example, if a client gives me a file called "final1", that tells you absolutely nothing you need to know, but you may need to talk to the client later and be able to tell him what he had called the file. So I might do something like this:

"Wells Fargo Logo v101 060510__final1"

or, if you want things PC-friendly:

"wells_fargo_logo_v101_060510__final1"

The prefix allows you to organize things in a logical manner, while a double underscore can help "segregate" the original file name. So if the client asks you which one you're using, you can tell them at what date you were given the file, but if they have no idea which one that is, you can still provide them the original, insufficient file name.

Having too many folders can also cause reconnection problems. I know some people like to create date-time folders for media (060510). This system can backfire if you're working with a long-term project with lots of media. For example, if you have 120 days of shooting, and suddenly a file called "Benefit Concert Clip 01" goes missing, you now have to figure out which day that was to do the reconnection. And if your entire timeline is offline, you now need to navigate to 120 days worth of folders to find your media. In cases like that, adding the actual date to the name of the clip, at the logging stage, can help. If "Benefit Concert Clip 01" were called "040110 Benefit Concert CAM A Clip 01", then that file name immediately tells you where the clip would be, and could save you wading through 120 folders.


www.derekmok.com