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Organizing footage

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L_Ahrens
Posts: 79 - Karma: 1,009
Lookin to see how other people who film a lot organize their footage...

I am constantly filming everything so I have a ton of footage from skiing and other stuff like skating, climbing, ect.


I can't decided what is the best way to organize all of my footage. I usually film groups of footage (of multiple people) that go together for one edits but I also want to be able to grab all of one persons footage for a season edit or something similar. I also need to have folders for ranking A+, B, C shots and B Roll. On top of that I need a place to store all my Final Cut and After Effects files with the groups of footage for each edit. Also to make things really complicated I usually deal with footage from multiple cameras.

I have no idea what to do. Any suggestions?

-Leo

Sep 13 2011 1:35AM
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I.B
Posts: 8137 - Karma: 24,363
threads for the awnser.
Sep 13 2011 1:50AM
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Downtofilm
Posts: 6896 - Karma: 20,395
Usually I log and transfer but in & out every clip, anything that sucks I name "Z" so I dont have to capture it. If there is angle 1 & angle 2 usually I would write beside the clip, Cam A or Cam B.

open Log & Transfer > In & out everyclip > name every clip within the L&T > Select all named > Transfer them.

Sep 13 2011 1:57AM
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eheath
Posts: 61841 - Karma: 125,568
My footage is organized by day in my capture scratch folder then i label every shot when i import with log and transfer. To separate good shots from ok shots ill write at the end of a clip "okay" "good" dope" "sketch" "$$$" etc to distinguish shots from each other cause normally ill have multiple clips of different shots or scenes.

Organizing within final cut can be good for big projects, but for just editing a couple days of footage you don't really need to. That's how I do it.
Sep 13 2011 1:58AM
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1337
Posts: 31073 - Karma: 29,599
I usually copy all my raw footage from my camera to my hard drive and put it in a folder by day/event. So for example, when I went to whaleback, I have a footage folder called "whaleback_8-27-11". Then from there, its usually all in FCP where i rename stuff (never rename your raw files is what I learned in a film class I took), then when I need to find it I right click the file in FCP and hit "reveal in finder"
Sep 13 2011 11:18AM
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eheath
Posts: 61841 - Karma: 125,568
i think this is a stupid "film class" rule. There is nothing wrong with renaming your raw files. You should be creating a backup of your entire card on a different HD if it really matters that much to you.
Sep 13 2011 12:15PM
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EC-Skier
Posts: 3899 - Karma: 668
i upload all footage from my camera to a hard drive, then put it into a folder named after the event. Then i rename all my raw footage the persons name, then the trick. then import it to software. This also allows you to see which shots are bad and which are edit worthy before you start your edit. making it easier to make an edit.
Sep 13 2011 12:37PM
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1337
Posts: 31073 - Karma: 29,599
i think what they meant by this was not to rename them once they are in FCP, otherwise you'll have to "reconnect media"
Sep 13 2011 12:43PM
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eheath
Posts: 61841 - Karma: 125,568
Oh well, i guess that makes sense but you should be labeling when you import/right after you import.
Sep 13 2011 12:48PM
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DGski
Posts: 3491 - Karma: 2,328
i'm gonna start doing this.

but i basically just do what EC_skier does.
Sep 13 2011 7:20PM
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blatt
Posts: 5584 - Karma: 3,097
I just leave everything in chronological order, I seem to be fine just importing and remembering when I shot something in relation to other clips.


But some people in this thread happen to be pro at importing
Sep 13 2011 8:06PM
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
you could use bridge if you're into adobe.
Sep 13 2011 9:12PM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
The correct nomenclature is whichever works for you.

I personally do everything by "event," which is a term I use loosely. For instance: "K2 Ad," "AK Spring 2009," "College," etc.

I don't rename any of my video files in finder, nor do I do it in FCP. I use the highlight feature in finder to highlight the shots I like. Simple as that.

What works for you could be wildly different.
Sep 14 2011 4:18AM
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jibbinc.
Posts: 3355 - Karma: 2,497
i usually make a folder named the edit im making, then place all the clips i plan to use in it. then i watch each one, and rename it acordingly so like " andrew switch backflip 2nd jump" or "bail blahblah" or "filler blahlah with the type of shot/name first. find it makes it really easy to put together segment once i organized them, and then sort them alphabetically.
Sep 14 2011 2:31PM
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KellyK
Posts: 1782 - Karma: 715
When organizing all year, I use a folder for each location I shot at.

Then within that folder I label each clip as "rider_trick_angle(if multiple)_location"

Example: austin_2 pretz 2_bottom_london road

That way you can do a quick search for "austin" or "london" or whatever it is you're looking for.
Sep 14 2011 3:00PM
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Vino
Posts: 2939 - Karma: 1,115
threads for ideas
Sep 14 2011 5:07PM
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