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Swandive stream
Swandive stream
Inspiring
May 5, 2023
Question

Any tips on organising within projects?

  • May 5, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1822 views

I find it quite easy to be swamped with compositions, assets, etc (within the AE project itself). I've been trying a file organisation system with folders but any other advice?

Thanks

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1 reply

R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 5, 2023

I have a standard filing system for all projects. It migrates to the After Effects Project panel. Folders for the appropriate assets, Folders for Nested comps (Pre-comps), folders for Footage, and the folders contain the same Project/Number/date/scene/ format I've been using since I shot my first documentary a very long time ago.  

Come up with your own filing system, make notes, and stick to it. 

 

Most importantly, if you have 90 effects shots in 20 scenes in a movie, make 20 AE projects and save them in the appropriate folder. Keep the projects simple, and use consistent folder structures for assets. Then you will be playing in the same game the major studios have been using for more than a hundred years. 

Swandive stream
Swandive streamAuthor
Inspiring
May 6, 2023
quote

I have a standard filing system for all projects. It migrates to the After Effects Project panel. Folders for the appropriate assets, Folders for Nested comps (Pre-comps), folders for Footage, and the folders contain the same Project/Number/date/scene/ format I've been using since I shot my first documentary a very long time ago.  

Come up with your own filing system, make notes, and stick to it. 

 

Most importantly, if you have 90 effects shots in 20 scenes in a movie, make 20 AE projects and save them in the appropriate folder. Keep the projects simple, and use consistent folder structures for assets. Then you will be playing in the same game the major studios have been using for more than a hundred years. 


By @Rick Gerard

What about the linking issue? When I used linked files Premiere needs to have the AE project opened at the time to be able to read it, if they're split across more than more AE project I won't be able to render. Is there a way to prevent needing a live link all the time? Feels like I'm missing a trick here.

R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 6, 2023

I don't seem to have that problem. I've had a dozen sequences in Premiere Pro (Scenes), and each scene has its own AE Project File.  I tend to edit scenes, then combine the scenes into a final movie. That's a habit I developed editing film on a Moviola where we were limited to 1000-foot (about 10 minutes) reels.  

 

I will spend a couple of minutes trying it out in the latest builds of AE and Premiere Pro with a simple project and report back in a few minutes.

 

BTW, if your Dynamic Link projects are mostly for graphics, I suggest that you spend some time learning about Extended Graphics. I have not used anything but MOGRTs for graphics in Premiere Pro for about eight or nine months. They save a ton of time and render much faster than a DL AEP file.

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