How to Organize Your Files

Introduction

The worst thing when starting a new project is not knowing where anything is. That is why I am going to show you a file structure I have been using for years to always know where everything I need for a project is. So without further a due, let’s dive right in.

Folder Structure

So the first thing you will notice is that I have 3 folders to organize my projects:

1. Client Projects

2. Video Projects

3. Library

Client projects is any project that I am doing for someone else or spec pieces that I make from time to time. I like to treat spec pieces as client work because it makes the project feel more special and important.

The second folder is Video Projects, this is just a folder for all my YouTube projects.

The last folder is Library. This folder is for any footage that I took but is not being used for any project.

So in both the Client Projects and Video Projects Folder, I have a Project Template I use every time I have a new project.

So let’s say I create a new project on How to Create New Videos, I would first duplicate my project template and rename it to what I want:

Inside the Project Template are 3 folders:

1. Assets

2. Project Files

3. Renders

Lets take a look at Assets first.

You will see here we have 4 folders:

1. Videos

2. Sound

3. Graphics

4. Photos

In the Videos folder, I will have the names of the cameras I used and drag in the corresponding clips:

1. Canon EOS R8

2. DJI Mini 2

3. iPhone XS

In the Sound Folder, I have folders for:

1. Music

2. Sound Effects

3. Voiceovers

In the Graphics folder, I have:

1. Motion Graphics

   1. These are things like title or text animations, transitions

2. Still Graphics

   1. These are things like logos, emojis, arrows

Then I have my Photos folders where I dump all my RAW images I may have shot. I organize this folder by camera as well:

Moving on to our Project Files folder, we have 4 different folders:

1. After Effects

2. Lightroom

3. Photoshop

4. Premiere Pro

In each of these folders, I have a project template that I have setup so I can easily drag my assets in and get started on editing. I will be going over these templates in another video.

Then finally, we have Renders:

This is where I put all my exported photos and videos in.

Conclusion

Well, hopefully you learned something new on how you can manage your files better. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Make sure to stay tuned for the next episode where I show you how to set up your workspace in Premiere and I’ll see you in the next one.