How to Organize Footage Before You Start Editing
Set up a clean folder structure, rename and sort clips, and review footage so your editing goes faster and nothing goes missing.
Objective
Build a simple folder and bin system, name your clips usefully and review footage before you edit, so you can find anything quickly.
Before you start
- Footage copied from your camera, phone or recorder
- A drive with enough free space for the project
- An editing program (any one)
Overview
Editing speed depends less on how fast you click and more on how fast you find things. If you spend ten minutes hunting for a shot that you remember filming, the project slows and your attention drifts. A little organization before you start prevents that.
Good organization has three parts. First, a stable place on your drive for every file. Second, names and labels that tell you what a clip contains. Third, a pass through the footage where you decide what is worth using. Together, these turn a pile of files into material you can work with.
None of this needs special software. It is mostly folders, names and a bit of discipline. The system below works for a single short video or a long project with hundreds of clips. Adjust the details to the way you work, but keep the same structure every time.
Step-by-step
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Create one project folder per video
Make a main folder for each video, named with a short clear title and, if you like, the date. Everything for that video lives inside it. That includes footage, audio, images, graphics, project files and exports.
Keeping one folder per video means you can back it up, move it or delete it as a unit. It also makes it obvious which files belong to which project. Avoid scattering files across your desktop, downloads folder and camera card.
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Use a simple set of subfolders
Inside the project folder, create a small set of subfolders. A good starting layout is: footage, audio, music, graphics, project files and exports. If you shoot with more than one camera, split footage into subfolders per camera or per shoot day.
Keep the number of folders low. Too many layers make you click more and file less. The goal is that any file has one obvious place. Use the same layout in every project, so you stop having to think about it.
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Copy footage safely and keep the originals
Copy files from your camera card or phone to your drive. Do not drag them out one at a time and risk missing some. Copy the whole card folder. Then check that the file count and total size match before you clear anything.
Keep the untouched originals until the project is done, and ideally have a second copy on another drive. If your files come from several devices, copy each into its own folder first so you can tell them apart. Never edit or rename files on the card itself.
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Rename clips so they describe themselves
Camera file names are usually a code and a number. They tell you nothing about what is in the shot. Renaming every clip may be too much on a large project, but renaming the important ones pays off.
A useful pattern puts the date or scene first and a short description after it. For example, a name might read 03_kitchen_wide_take2. Keep names short, avoid special characters, and use the same order of words every time. If your files sort alphabetically, a number at the start keeps them in the right order.
Be careful when renaming. Do it in your computer's file manager before you import into the editor. Renaming files after import can break the project's links to them.
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Review footage and mark the good parts
Before you build anything, watch your footage once. Take quick notes: which clips are strong, which have problems and which are duplicates. Delete nothing at this point. You are only sorting.
Use your editor's tools to mark what you find. Many programs support ratings, flags, favorite markers or color labels on clips. Mark the best takes. Mark clips with a technical problem, like a blurry shot, so you do not use them by mistake. If a clip is long, set in and out points around the useful part, or add a marker with a note at the best moment.
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Mirror the folder structure in your editor
When you import, create bins in the editor that match your folders. For instance, one bin for interviews, one for B-roll, one for music and one for graphics. Many editors also let you make bins by scene, location or day.
Do this before you place anything on the timeline. Because the same logic exists in your folders and your bins, you can find a clip whether you are in the file manager or in the program. Keep bin names short and consistent. Use colors if your editor supports them.
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Build a selects bin
A selects bin is a place where you collect your best clips and sections. After your review, drag the strong takes into it. When you start editing, you work from that bin instead of the whole pile.
This step shrinks a huge amount of footage into a manageable set. You can also arrange selects by topic or by the order of the story. If you have an outline or script, make sub-bins for each part. Then building the rough cut becomes a matter of pulling from clearly labeled groups.
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Prepare for smooth playback and safe saving
If your footage is heavy, for example high-resolution or highly compressed files, playback may stutter. Many editors can create proxies, which are lighter copies used while you edit. Set these up at the beginning rather than when the project is already slow. The guide on fixing laggy playback explains this.
Also choose where the project file and cache will be saved, and make sure that drive has free space. Save the project into the project folder, not the default location, so it travels with the rest. Then make a habit of saving versions, and read the guide on backup and versioning when you are ready for more.
Examples
A weekend vlog
You filmed on a phone and a small camera. You create a folder named with the trip and date. Inside, the footage folder has two subfolders, phone and camera. After copying, you check the file counts. In the editor you make bins for places you visited, plus music and graphics. You favorite your best clip from each place, and then you assemble from the favorites.
A two-person interview
You recorded two cameras and a separate microphone. Each source has its own subfolder and clip names include the speaker and the question number. You label the best answers with a color. The B-roll is in a separate bin. When you start cutting, you can jump straight to question four, speaker two, take one.
A tutorial with screen recordings
Your tutorial has a screen recording for each step, a voice recording and a few images. You number the screen recordings in step order. The voice file goes in the audio folder. You keep all logos and images in graphics. Because every file has an obvious home, you can rebuild the project on another computer by copying one folder.
Common mistakes
- Editing from the camera card. Cards can fail or be erased by accident. Copy to your drive first, verify the copy and work from there.
- Renaming or moving files after import. The editor links to the original paths. Changing them can create missing media. Organize first, then import.
- Keeping everything in one flat folder. A folder with hundreds of unsorted files is hard to search. Split by type and, when needed, by day or camera.
- Skipping the review pass. If you do not watch your footage first, you will review it during the edit, which is slower and breaks your focus. Review once and mark what matters.
- Deleting footage too early. A clip that seems useless today can fill a gap tomorrow. Keep the originals until the project is complete and archived.
- Using a different system on every project. A changing layout means you must think each time. One reusable template folder removes the choice.
Best practices
- Create a blank template folder with your standard subfolders and copy it for every new project.
- Name files so they sort in the order you want when listed alphabetically.
- Mark the best take of each shot as soon as you review it.
- Record a few seconds of silence in each location. It helps with room tone later.
- Check free disk space before you import. Video projects use more space than most people expect.
Key takeaways
- One project folder, with a small and consistent set of subfolders.
- Copy and verify footage before you touch it, and keep the originals.
- Rename clips and organize files before importing them into the editor.
- Review your footage once and build a selects bin.
- Mirror your folders as bins in the editor so you can find anything fast.