<b>File Naming Convention: The Boring System That Saves Hours</b>

<b>File Naming Convention: The Boring System That Saves Hours</b>

Messy filenames cost you on every revision and rights handoff. Lock one convention and never search again.

<b>The standard:</b> <code>Brand_Concept_Ratio_Version_Date.mp4</code>
Example: <code>Acme_ProblemHook_9x16_v2_0613.mp4</code>

<b>Folder tree, every client:</b>
— <code>01_Brief</code> (intake form, references)
— <code>02_Raw</code> (untouched footage)
— <code>03_Edits</code> (versioned exports)
— <code>04_Final</code> (approved + rights-released only)
— <code>05_Invoices</code>

Approved files only ever live in 04. When a brand asks for "that square one from March," you find it in five seconds. Standardize the tree across every project so any file is one path away. Save this. Rinse and repeat for client one through one hundred.