File Naming for Graphics Files

I have been editing not for 22 years, since I started on The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition Behind the Scenes in 1999 or 2000. And even that far back I was also working with Assistant Editors and figuring out best practices to work in a company and with multiple editors and graphics people. And on Lord of the Rings in between the editing gigs, I oversaw the Assistant Department who were logging the thousands of hours of footage to make it searchable.

The pandemic and remote editing has made it more important, and I have helped the company I am working with develop some methodologies, though they didn’t follow all of my ideas (some of which I think are a big mistake). And example is that I break each project into 3 major categories, the project, renders and exports and this is for Backup purposes, as it is easier to back up the project and exports separately from renders, but they have combined all into a single folder making backups more difficult, especially when using software to do it (which you should always do so that you can have Checksum’s checked on copy).

Another huge issue is graphics files. We have managed to get sequences to include dates and editors initials so you can track files back to their creators, but the graphics guys have not done that at all. And it is one thing to be given graphics files and use them, but most of them have a name and maybe a version number at best, and the problem is that while we use an after effects project that has a basic look, each of us are doing variations on graphics, but there is almost no set nomenclature for anything, So there is basically no way to track anything!

I am being given a timeline like above in after effects, for a completely spot, which each graphic pre-composed in it’s own sequence, and while I have blurred the project so you can’t see it, the individual graphics projects are named text 1 and so forth, WTF!

And we have even been given footage lately straight from the set, without an assistant conforming anything so even project names are up to editors.

This could so easily be fixed with job numbers, even if they aren’t final job numbers, but just within the post department, Or even client_jobnumber_Initials. So say a 2 letter abbreviation of product name and 4 digit job number then 2 or 3 letter initials of the person working on it. And you name your project this, or at least the start of it, I think it should also have a year for the After Effects version number in there (so 2022 or 2023). And every graphic file should start the same, so client_jobnumber_initlals, I would then add a description, and a date and version number.

So for example, a FedEx commercial, job one with my initals JLW would have a project name of FE_0001_JLW_2023.aep, and my main logo animation would be called FE_0001_JLW_MainLogo_22-11-03-V01. And at the end of every job the projects should be uploaded to a central repository, so if anyone needs to modify one of those graphics you know exactly which project it is, and who did it.

If you don’t implement something like this, it is going to be such a mess finding stuff, even without freelance editors who might not be available to make changes.

And I know graphics people might complain at first, but everything will be so much easier in the future that it doesn’t matter. They are easy changes to make and implement and it will quickly so many future problems.

File Naming Conventions, my two cents

OK, so not always the most thrilling subject, but after arguing with a post super about this, I wanted to give my 2 cents on file and sequence naming conventions, and for some of the reasons behind why I think the way I do.

So first off is spaces, and I am a firm believer that there should be no spaces in your file/sequence names. I know that modern computers mostly deal fine with spaces, but to be on the safe size I think you should use underscores instead of spaces.

Now file names should start with the job identification and name that your company specifies that you should figure out, and as much identifying info as you need.

So lets say you are doing a short Star Wars commercial that is 2 minutes long and is job 040477, and it is titled Millennium Falcon Kessel Run in so I would say it should be SW_040477_120_MFKR_ to start. And a quick note, 120 for 120 seconds, and you would do 060 for a 60 second.

And then as shown in my earlier posts about using PostHaste to set up sequences, I use STRINGOUTS, ROUGHCUT, OFFLINE and ONLINE as the nomenclature for the sequence.

Now I have been told by a post super from television that they only use the job name, info and title and a version number, nothing else, but at least for commercial work, bts works and short films I have worked on, I totally don’t agree.

Personally I think if you can do it, ROUGHCUTS are for internal distribution mostly and the OFFLINE is when it starts going to the client, and should be much more finished, and have a decent audio mix, color correct, graphics, as much as you can get so you don’t end up with the I don’t know how to watch a rough cut lady.

And I think you need ONLINE to designate the final exports, so you can keep track of them, as sometimes you go back to Ofllines and keep working then make new ones, and just version numbers can be confusing. Honestly I have had 3 or 4 Onlines at times, because you can’t guarantee the client won’t come back.

Now this is something else that I think should be in your filenames, especially with remote work, and that is Initials of the editor/graphics artist. And even more so because with the job I am on, we have a graphics guy, who has been doing the graphics, but not only is too busy, but the ProRES 4444 takes a long time to upload and download, so he has been handing off his After Effects Projects, and After Effects projects are big and unwieldy, and hard to break down into individual comps. This means different people are rendering out graphics, and to make changes, it would be easiest to have initials in the file name of the graphics. And our Online editor also prefers initials in the file name, so she can easily see who gave her the file in case there needs to be a change. So I think you should have the initials in the file name of all your files.

Then of course I think you should have the date in your file name, and you need the date to be automatically sort able by any computer. Problems will arise if you you go month day year and work from December to January, so you should do the date year month day. So for February first 2022 you would use 220201 instead of 020122 as the sorting works better between years (and believe me I know as I often work on jobs from December through January.

And of course a version number. Most people do V1, but I think you should have at least 1 proceeding 0 for many version numbers (I have had over 50 rough cuts before). Now at the company I am on the version number is after the job name, and identifying info, so it would be SW_040477_120_MFKR_V01_ROUGCUT_JLW_220201, though personally I always put the version number at the end. So SW_040477_120MFKR_ROUGHCUT_JLW_220201_V01, and the reason I do this is because of After Effects. When you duplicate a sequence in Premiere Pro it adds Copy at the end, but in after effects it duplicates and if there is a number at the end adds a digit to the number, so if it ends with V01 the copy will automatically be V02, now if it doesn’t have a digit at the end it adds a space and a number. This is why I have always had version number at the end, but obviously you should put it wherever your company wants it.

Honestly it is all about organization, and the more organized your file names, and the more info they can convey quickly the better. And it comes down to when the job is done and you go back to it.

If you need to make changes on a graphic that was in an old project, it is obviously going to be easier if you can tell which person did the original right from the filename and which version it is. With remote editing, sometimes only they will have the files, but if multiple people worked on graphics, the most efficient way to find something if to have the names right in the file.

And if you are on an easier job, with only one editor/graphics artist it may not matter as much, but still going back to that project after months and years, it will be easier to find things if the files have as much info as them as possible.