What Is the Best Way to Prepare Short Videos for Editing?

Hi, ​@glamorous_Canvasb5fa 

You’re asking some really good questions.

I create a separate folder for each short video. More or less, everything for each corresponding video goes into its corresponding folder. Inside of that are at least four more folders: “Camera Originals,” “Projects,” “Source Footage,” and “Exports.” Footage that was shot for the short video goes into “Camera Originals.” Depending on the format, this might get converted to something that’s better for editing. If so, the converted files go into “Source Footage.” Premiere project files and After Effects project files go into “Projects.” Additional folders that Premiere and After Effects create will also be in this folder. If Audition is being used, there will be a fifth folder named “Sessions” outside of the “Projects” folder. Any source footage ready for import into Premiere or After Effects goes into “Source Footage.” Rough cuts and later fine cuts get exported to the “Exports” folder.
Logging source footage usually happens inside of Premiere with the “Prelude” workspace. I place everything in a Sequence that has a descriptive name for the short video, the date, and base version number. For example, this Sequence for a short video about bees would be called “bees_2026-08-30_000.” Up to 24 hours of source footage can be inside a Sequence, and this Sequence can be opened in the Source panel to easily insert or overwrite source footage into the first edit Sequence.

Assembly takes place in a “001” Sequence with the “Assembly” Workspace or the “Editing” Workspace. In our example, it would be named “bees_2026-08-30_001.” For quick-turnaround projects, there may only be one Sequence for editing, but since editing is a recursive process where we review and revise how clips are assembled to best tell a story, there may be a few more Sequences or several more. Let’s say we review footage for a day or two and then start assembling the edit after that. Sequence 001 would have the date updated such that the name is “bees_2026-09-01_001.” We get a lot of editing done for that day (our first touch cut) and then continue on the next day. Before continuing, the 001 Sequence gets duplicated and renamed “bees_2026-09-02_002” (our second rough cut). That version gets exported for a client or stakeholder to review, named “bees_2026-09-02_002.mp4.” Three days later, after getting notes from the client, the 002 Sequence gets duplicated and renamed “bees_2026-09-05_003” (our find cut). The client notes are addressed, and that’s exported for review. If approved, that’s exported at the setting needed for delivery, and the “003” Sequence is the “published” version of the edit.

If the bees short video is being published for different regions (let’s say an English version for the United States, a Spanish version for Mexico, and a French version for France), for short videos this work can be done in this project. However, it’s common to export a textless version of the video with audio splits (something along the lines of English dialogue in one audio track, sound effects in another, and stereo music in two more) so that someone else can create the Spanish and French versions.

Since everything was in the same organized folder for the bees short video, archiving is simply a matter of copying that folder to the location for archived projects.
 

 - Warren