Post-Production - Do you know how to structure video files?

Last updated by Tiago Araújo [SSW] 3 months ago.See history

Figuring out how your workflow operates is an essential part of the editing process. As such you should make sure to have an effective and consistent file/folder structure.

Video Project Organization

Things that go under each main folder:

  • YYYY-MM-DD-project-name

    • Assets
    • Contains all external files, and a copy of any files used from the server's 05-assets directory
    • Edit
    • Contains the active project files, e.g. Premire Pro .pproj files
    • Exports
    • Contains all edit exports & renders
    • Footage
    • Contains all captured media, e.g. video, screen captures, & audio that was recorded for the project

      • Use YYYY-MM-DD-description
      • Contains multi-day or multi-camera shoots
    • Graphics
    • Contains After Effect project files, e.g. .aep files

Data Server Organization

It is also very important to keep your shared resources and servers organized.

folders structure
Figure: An efficient way for a team to structure their server and common files/folders

Things that go under each folder:

  • 00-unsorted

    • Contains legacy folders that need to be sorted and put in an appropriate location.
  • 01-backlog

    • Contains all backlog video items to be processed.
    • The internal folder structure is YYYY-MM-DD-project-name
  • 02-in-progress

    • Contains all backlog video items currently in progress.
    • Each user should have their own personal folder named [Firstname]InProgress
    • Folders are moved to a user's InProgress folder from 01-backlog
  • 03-processed

    • Contains all video items that have been finished (archived).
    • The internal folder structure is YYYY-MM-DD-project-name
  • 04-masters

    • Contains final exports from videos that can be showcased – a copy of the video file only, to be sorted in folders by year.
    • The internal folder structure is YYYY | YYYY-MM-DD-project-name
  • 05-assets

    • Contains all the assets for video editing and graphics, including:
    • graphics
    • music
    • sound-effects
    • fonts
  • 06-marketing

    • Contains folders used by the marketing team, including the Photos folder
  • 07-user-folders

    • Contains user’s personal folders
  • 08-programs

    • Contains installation files for video production software, including:
    • drivers
    • plugins
  • 09-documents

    • Contains documents - to be synchronized to VIDEO-Videos
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