Suggested Media File Name Convention

I use the following file name convention for orginal media files so they are easy to file and find later:

YYYY.MM.DD_NNNNNNNN-SSSS.EXT

EXT, the file exension, determines the media type, for example “.mov” for a QuickTime file, “.aif” or “.wav” for an audio file, “.jpg” for JPEG image, etc.

YYYY, MM, and DD represent the year, month, and date the media was created, for example, in the case of an interview, the day it was recorded.

NNNNNNNNN is the name of the interviewee or topic.

SSSS is the suffix to identify what file type, usually no suffix indicates original media from the camera or audio recorder.

The specifics are not that important and are a matter of personal taste, however, it’s a good idea to establish a consistent name scheme as this makes it easier to find things later when your looking for them.

You might not like the dates in the file name, that’s fine, I usually only use it for “original media.” For project files I usually version them with “v2″ at the end of the name and before the extension. The key idea is establish a system so you and others can make sense of things long after the project is over in the event you need to go back and re-edit or re-master or re-use.
For example, for a fictional interview with the White Rabbit, the project files might include the following files:

2006.02.21_WhiteRabbit-Interview.aif (original media)
2006.02.23_WhiteRabbit-Music.aif (original music for interview)
WhiteRabbit-Intro.aif (original media)
WhiteRabbit_Project (Digital Performer project folder)
WhiteRabbit_Mix.aif (mixed master exported from DP)
WhiteRabbit_Mix.mp3 (compressed mp3 for release)
ArtFilmDesign-IntroMusic-v3.aif (intro music for interview)
ArtFilmDesign-OutroMusic-v3.aif (outro music for interview)
ArtFilmDesign_Tail-v2.aif (standard tail segment)