The Workflow Bible

[paramita]

Hi, the objective of this post is to try and define a series of guidelines and general tips in order to enhance and simplify the workflow for ourselves and our colleagues picking up from our work.
The idea is to know where things are, to understand what they are from their names, to minimise loss and to avoid storing unnecessary data.

Here’s a compilation of my tips and I’d love to read yours 🙂

1) Folders conventions:

Each project is different, but the following structure may be a good starting point:

xxx – project name

– Design & Graphics
– 3D modelling
– Pdfs
– Pictures
montage.psd

– DVD files
– Menus
– Menu Assets
projectName_menu01.psd
projectNameDVD.ncor

– Video Editing
– Exports
– Rushes
– Titles
projectName.pproj

Now it is down to the user to try and adapt this to each individual situation. For example, with a project with many different graphics and pictures it might be a good idea to separate them in different folders and sub-folders. It is always best to try and keep things organised from the start and this might require a little thinking before dropping files all over the place in one big folder.
For example, exported files need their own folder, and if there are a lot of them they could even be sub-folders by date, type or sections of the project.

2) Naming conventions:

As with the folder conventions, it is important to try and keep things clear and relevant here.
The project number and client name might be used there, for example with the Colgate stand design: Col1234_stand_v1
I try and use _v# to define versions for two reasons. First it stands out more with the underscore and second there are some programs who don’t like file names with spaces so I try not to use them (some serious people even recommend not to use them in folders names…)

Also if you are making slight variations on the same thing, you might want to name the files like this: projectExport_v1, projectExport_v1a, projectExport_v1b …
I think this helps understand that there might only be minor alternative differences between the files and this leaves the number increments (v1, v2 …) for more important changes.

If your project is going on for a while and you find yourself accumulating a lot of versions, it might be a good idea to create an “Old Versions” sub-folder where you can move your previous work to. Then once the project progresses you might start deleting some of the really old versions, then all of them once you have finished the project (and got the final approval!).

Another tip is to ensure that if you make different versions of the same file, that they have different names even if they are in a different folder (avoiding any possible confusion).
For example if you resize: “pictures_Aimage1.jpg”
then you might rename it: “pictures_A_rimage1_r.jpg”

Other tips:

* It is a good idea to create a simple text file at the root of complex projects, where to write down information such as: fonts, colors, logins, render settings … or anything else that’s specific and that is not necessarily obvious or easy to remember…

[bnw]

One thing that seems to be a good idea when passing work down the pipline: include the version number of your script/scene/project in the render file name, like blahfilm_vfx03_wireremoval_v08.shk renders to blahfilm_vfx03_wireremoval_v08.001.dpx and so on. If you’re working with film or gated video, burn the shot version in the corner of the picture. Then, as soon as you’ve sent the shot to render, make that revision of the project/script/scene read-only, so you can’t change it, and if you’re carrying on working, start a new revision, _v08. This way you always know exactly what each render came from, and when someone comes back with “so and so problem on so and so frame” you can say “yup, I can see what’s causing that, I have/have not changed it since that render”, not “hmmm, doesn’t seem to be doing that here, maybe I’ve fixed it since then… let me check the file dates… oh my clock is set wrong… how weird… I seem to remember working on that part of the shot but I’m not sure… I guess I’ll render it again and see if it’s better?” 🙂

Curious: who organises things by shot, with subfolders for scripts, renders, elements, versus all scripts for one project in one place, all renders somewhere else near the render farm, all elements on a fast RAID?

[suresh k]

This is how I organise my projects.

xxxx (Projectnummer) – Title = Main/project folder.
Usually contain 3-6 subfolders depending on the project.

– Art (subfolders PSD And TIFF – Files named after what they are. Main menu etc)
– Media (coded media)
– Comp (workspaces, scripts etc)
– C4Ds (subfolders to diffrent renders named after date + c4d workspaces and materials)
– Subtitels

This structure is used in almost (depending on project) every single dvd I produce

When I edit I simply use Final Cut pros structure. Just save the scratch disk to a new folder called: “xxxx – Titel”. I just add a “graphics” and a “Final” folder.
So when im done editing the media I save the file to the “Final” Folder. Drag the whole folder to one of my raids and start the coding process.

I don’t have to worrie about not having enough space (we buy 7tb raids every 5-6 months depending on need) so everything is saved on my raids. So if i did screw something up i just need to drag the folders back to my computer and correct the error!

[Author]

Posts