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How to organize footage for editing

Your footage stays where it is, and one canvas shows every clip by scene, next to the edit.

About 20 minutesMac and WindowsNeeds Pro

To organize footage for editing, keep the camera files where they are and build a map on top of them: every clip findable by name, the selects grouped by scene, each scene tied to its edit tasks. In PrimeTask that map is a canvas linked to your footage folder, so nothing is copied or moved.

Updated · Checked with PrimeTask 1.0.5 · PrimeTask Team

PrimeTask

Your driveWhere the footage staysThe canvasOne per video, nothing copiedWhere you lookAnywhere in PrimeTaskShoot folderCameras, sound, proxiesFolder nodeEvery clip, by file nameSelectsTakes you can playScene groupsSelects in story orderEdit tasksRough cut, grade and mixFloating playerKeeps playing as you workTasks pageThe same edit tasks

How it fits together

Select a part, in the drawing or here, to see what it does and what it feeds.

What flows

The folder, as it is

Shoot folder to Folder node

A take, dragged out

Folder node to Selects

Sent to the player

Selects to Floating player

The same tasks

Edit tasks to Tasks page

Part ofLinkedShown on
Every connection, in words
  • Selects is part of Scene groups.
  • Folder node is linked to Shoot folder.
  • Selects is linked to Folder node.
  • Edit tasks is linked to Scene groups.
  • Selects is linked to Floating player.
  • Edit tasks is linked to Tasks page.
  • The folder, as it is: Shoot folder to Folder node.
  • A take, dragged out: Folder node to Selects.
  • Sent to the player: Selects to Floating player.
  • The same tasks: Edit tasks to Tasks page.

How the parts of a footage canvas connect, from the shoot folder on your drive to the edit

The problem

A shoot leaves you with hundreds of clips named C0012.MP4, spread across cards, drives and folders. The usual fix is renaming and nesting folders, which takes hours and still can't show which take belongs to which scene, or what's left to cut.

The files are fine where they are. What's missing is a map on top of them.

What it uses

Five parts, one connected system

Each card opens its docs article in a new tab, for the detail behind the steps.

PrimeFlow Folder Node

Pro

The shoot folder on the canvas, searchable by name

Docs for PrimeFlow Folder Node (opens in a new tab)

PrimeFlow File and PDF Nodes

Pro

Each select as a clip you can play

Docs for PrimeFlow File and PDF Nodes (opens in a new tab)

PrimeFlow Groups

The selects grouped by scene

Docs for PrimeFlow Groups (opens in a new tab)

Media Player

A clip that keeps playing while you work

Docs for Media Player (opens in a new tab)

PrimeFlow Task Nodes

The edit, as tasks beside each scene

Docs for PrimeFlow Task Nodes (opens in a new tab)

Steps

Set it up in seven steps

  1. 1Keep one folder per shoot
  2. 2Link the folder to a canvas
  3. 3Find clips by name
  4. 4Pull the selects onto the canvas
  5. 5Group the selects by scene
  6. 6Watch a clip while you work
  7. 7Put the edit beside each scene

Step 1

Keep one folder per shoot

Copy the cards into one folder per shoot on the drive you edit from, with a subfolder for each camera and one for sound. Keep the camera's own file names.

That's the only structure you build by hand. PrimeTask works with the folder as it is.

Step 2

Link the folder to a canvas

Folder nodes (opens in a new tab)

Open PrimeFlow, create a canvas for the video, right-click it and choose Folder, then pick the shoot folder. The node shows the folder as it is on your drive, with its subfolders and file counts. Nothing is copied.

Important. Folder links need a Space kept on this computer. They're not available in a Space synced by iCloud or File Sync.

Step 3

Find clips by name

Searching a folder (opens in a new tab)

Type in the node's search box to filter by file name, across the folder and the subfolders you've opened.

When you copy in another card, use the node's refresh to see the new clips.

Step 4

Pull the selects onto the canvas

File nodes (opens in a new tab)

Drag a good take from the folder onto the canvas and it becomes a clip you can play, linked back to the folder. The file stays where it is.

MP4 and WebM clips play on the canvas. Camera originals such as ProRes or BRAW don't, so drag in the proxy files your editing app makes instead.

Step 5

Group the selects by scene

Groups (opens in a new tab)

Right-click the canvas, choose Group, name it after the scene, and drag its clips in. Do the same for each scene, in order.

The canvas now reads like the edit: scene by scene, with the takes you chose.

Step 6

Watch a clip while you work

The floating player (opens in a new tab)

Send a clip to the floating player and it keeps playing as you move around PrimeTask. Note timecodes in a task while it plays, or check a take against the shot list.

Step 7

Put the edit beside each scene

Tasks on the canvas (opens in a new tab)

Right-click next to a scene's group, choose Task, and add the edit work, such as the rough cut, the grade and the sound mix. Connect each task to its scene.

The canvas then shows what's cut and what's still waiting.

The checklist

The whole list

A folder structure that works for most shoots. Keep the camera's file names and let the canvas do the sorting.

FolderWhat goes in it
FootageOne subfolder per camera, copied straight from the cards
SoundRecorder files, one subfolder per recorder
ProxiesThe small copies your editing app makes, for playback anywhere
GraphicsTitles, logos and lower thirds
MusicLicensed tracks and their licences
ExportsCuts for review, and the finished video

Variations

Make it yours

Three ways to change the setup to fit how you work.

A b-roll library

Link your b-roll folder on each video's canvas. It's the same folder, so new clips show up everywhere.

The shot list on the canvas

Before the shoot, add a sticky note per shot. Afterwards, drop the matching take beside each one.

A series

Keep one canvas per video, with the series project on each, so every episode's edit tasks belong to the same project.

Reuse

Save it for next time

Set it up once, and start the next one from it.

An empty folder structure

Keep a copy of the folders above with nothing in them, and duplicate it for each new shoot.

The edit tasks

Save each as a Quick Add template, such as save:cut Rough cut !high, and type /cut to add it for the next video.

Questions

Common questions

One folder per shoot, with a subfolder per camera, one for sound, one for proxies, one for graphics and music, and one for exports. Keep the camera's own file names: the canvas does the sorting, so renaming isn't needed.

No. The canvas links to the files where they are. Delete a node and the file stays on your drive.

MP4 and WebM clips play on the canvas and in the floating player. Camera originals such as ProRes or BRAW don't, so use the proxies your editing app makes.

No. PrimeTask organizes the footage and the work around it, and the cutting happens in your editing app.

Related

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Set this up with your own work.

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