At first glance, the obvious topic: create folders, import sources into them and start the project, but in reality it is not so simple. Even on television, I met projects that had a media dump. I had to spend 5-10 minutes to figure out what was what, and the authors of these projects were not novices.
The structure is the foundation of the project.
Of course, the structure in the project does not affect the quality of editing, even the pros have creative clutter - it's normal. However, a convenient structure will allow you to concentrate on editing instead of searching through gigabytes of data for the right file.
Create and set up a new project
File → New → Project [Ctrl+Alt+N]
If you have an Nvidia graphics card with CUDA technology, select CUDA [1] in the Renderer item - this will speed up the renderer.
The Scratch Disk tab is responsible for setting the location of the temporary files.
- If you are not capturing the signal directly into the editing program, you can skip the first point.
- Audio and video previews are better stored on a separate disk from the source.
- I usually leave autosaves by default, but if your project is very important, you can save them to the cloud. Even if your hard drive dies, you will always have a copy of your project.
The Ingets tab contains settings for working with proxies. I discussed this topic in more detail here.
Create folders (bins)
There are three ways to do this:
- Click the folder icon
- File → New → Bin
- Shortcut Ctrl + B
Even this simple structure looks better than nothing. This is especially felt when a project has a lot of source code. Depending on the tasks, the structure can be upgraded. On the example of my recent project I will show what folders can be added.
AUDIO
MIX - variants of the sound from the sound designer
MIX_FINAL - final version of sound
MUSIC - folder with copyright free music
You can also add folders: SFX (sound effects), VoiceOver (voice-over).
GRAPH
Graphic sources: logos, titles, special effects, etc.
VIDEO
Folders can be broken down by shooting day, by location, and so on. The main thing is to stick to the following principle:
Organize the project so that anyone who has to open it will know where everything is without your help.
SEQ
EDIT - sequences with editing.
When I work on a project, I sign off on sequences by date and version. That way it's always easier to get back to work if a project is temporarily frozen. It can happen that a month after handing in, a director will call and ask for the version you were putting together on a Friday night in early April. If the sequences aren't dated, the search may drag on.
There are many situations, the solution is one - date the sequences and keep the chronology in the names.
STRING - sequences with selection.
In this project I made two sequences with selection by shooting days. Then I selected the best from the two days and copied it into the Sorted sequence. The most successful shots can be marked in color, the Label function is responsible for this.
Take the time to call the approved Edit_final edit.
I don't know how it works, but it fucking works. As soon as you name a final, it's immediately updated, which shouldn't be there anymore. As a result, the EDIT folder gets populated with new titles (screenshot above).
It's not easy to teach yourself to stick to a clear structure throughout a project. You can start out beautifully, but when the deadline comes, you end up in complete chaos. When there's not much time left before the broadcast, there's no room for structure. This will come with experience, the main thing is to begin to systematize each project.
Pedantic sorting of material into folders will take some time, but it will more than return to you in the editing process. Save a project template with a basic set of folders and use it in new projects. In addition, you can customize the display of metadata, which will also help optimize your workflow.
Recommendations:
- store each type of media in the appropriate folder;
- When making edits, make a copy of the sequence;
- Date the sequences;
- Observe the chronology in the names of the versions of the montage;
- Save the best of the selections in a separate sequence;
- Don't rush to call the approved edit_final;
- Systematize your project so that it is clear to anyone who opens your project.