Dec
Last week we started a series of tutorials with the first one talking about organization in our project (you can watch it here). This week it’s the turn of clip names.
Probably naming our clips is one of the most important things to do before we sit down to edit. If we’re already talking about finding “that shot I need right now”, having a good name is EVERYTHING.
There are many ways to name our files within the editing system, but the main thing to keep in mind is to establish a consistent nomenclature.
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
In fiction, the most common way to do this is as follows:
Sequence – Shot – Shot
Inside our organized bins, we will name the clips one by one (if we are in the capture tool we can do it from there, instead of waiting to have them all inside).
Let’s assume that the sequence we are going to name is 52, the shot is 1 and we have several takes. According to this nomenclature, our clips would look like this:
52 – 01 – 01
52 – 01 – 02
52 – 01 – 03
There are also several common acronyms for naming shots internationally. For example, MS for Medium Shot; or WS for Wide-Shot.
In both Avid and Final Cut Pro, columns are a very useful place to insert small notes. Custom columns can be created:
– Type of plan
– Location
– Subject/Personage
– Keywords
In Avid you simply click on an empty space (with the Text view) and start typing.
There are also some already created ones that are quite good. In Final Cut there is one called Good, which allows you to mark with a “tick” those that are good takes. You can write over a bunch of columns like Log Note, Comment A, Comment B, etc.
All these metadata entries become search tags when we want to find a plan, so the more the better. With the search tool (Edit menu – Find) we can type the word we want and search through the bins, sequences, keywords and more thanks to this metadata.
INTERVIEWS, DOCUMENTARIES
But what if we are not doing fiction? If our project is a documentary, an interview, or something similar, we can apply other names taking into account the person interviewed, the location, keywords, etc.
It could be worth something like this:
Name of the individual or B-Roll* – Action or keyword – Duration of the shot
*B-Roll is the complementary material that alternates with the main material.
Placing the duration of the shot after the action or keyword will help us if we want to sort the clips by name. When placed in alphabetical order, all shots containing the same name or keyword will follow each other, regardless of their location or duration.
TV SERIES
In TV series it is especially important to name everything well, because we do not only have the sequences shots and takes. Most of them are recorded with several cameras, so we will have several tapes (or cards) in each shot. In addition, we can also have blocks (for parts of the conversation) or retakes (a shot is taken from a certain point, it is incomplete). And not only that, but they are recorded by chapters, so if we need to find a clip we will have to know exactly all these data and, therefore, name it taking them into account.
A possible nomenclature would be this:
Chapter – Sequence / Block / Take / Tape or Card
SOUND
We also have to take into account the sound files. If they are delivered to us in a single file we can make subclips and rename them in the same way as the video clips.
It may not all belong to the action audio, but we may also have wildtracks or effects. In that case we can name them as WT or FX (respectively) and add the sequence (if it is intended for one) and a short description.
TRICKS
“Each master has his own book,” and that is why each assembler then uses certain tricks to help him organize himself.
If for example you find a * at the beginning of the name, it means that it is a good shot. The editors put it so that when sorting the files with the Name column, all those marked with an * appear together.
You can also find the letters “M”, when it is a silent take, or “CF” if it has a final clapperboard.
In addition, there are different ways to edit: adding shots or deleting them. If, for example, we want to work on sequence 52, we will create a first sequence in Avid or Final Cut that we will call 52-00. This will be a viewing-only sequence with all the shots and takes one after the other.
In 52-01 we will remove the bad takes.
In 52-02 we will make a first cut.
In 52-03 the first retouches; and so on.
This technique may seem a bit slow, slow and unnecessary, but on certain occasions when we have a lot of material, it is very useful to help us make selections. This way you can see all the shots at once, instead of selecting in the Browser clip by clip.
I hope this information has been useful for you to remember or to start having your projects more organized 🙂
