Organizing Files! The nightmare tamed!

There are two things I really hate... paper and cables! These things clutter my life more than anything else. It happens less now that I'm not doing so much arranging, but I still hate paper... how it piles up. Cables, how they get tangled and messy and how they never wrap up just right.

A close third on my hate list is FILES! Files are a necessary evil for us all (all of us who use computers anyway).

I've come up with a plan that seems to work well for me. I realize there's probably some loopholes in this plan but it has served me well.


MANAGING SESSION FILES -

I recommend saving a new session file whenever you do something major to your session. Your session files act as a timeline for your project. Find significant points in your production/mix to save a new session file.

It's also important to save the date and time in the session title. Yes, I know that these things are tagged automatically to the file, but I find it useful to put it in the title. For one, it organizes your session files roughly by date and time.

ex. "Get Me 2 U-061709 0554pm drums completed.ptf"

The date and time always follow the title THEN put any additional information. This keeps your files nice and organized.

OLD SESSIONS -

All session files I am not currently using go into a file I've created called "old sessions." Without exception, the only session file in plain sight within my session directory is the current one I'm working on. You can color code it too if you want.

00 BOUNCE -

I also create a folder called "00 BOUNCE" (the '00' ensures that this folder stays at the top of the directory). This is where I save all of my printed mixes.

KEEPING TRACK OF PRINTED MIXES w/SESSION FILES

It's happened to me time and time again. I print a mix, show it to the client and we move on. Later someone says, "You know, I wish we'd not made those changes. Can we just go back to the last mix you sent and start from there?" That's when I'd find myself in trouble. If I did not save a session to correspond to the printed mix, I would have no way of getting back to that point. I have your solution!!! ....

When it's time to print a mix save a new session based on the date and time but add the tag, "upld1" to the end. So your session file would read "Get Me 2 U-061709 0605pm upld1.ptf" Now print your mix and give it the same title "Get Me 2 U-061709 0605pm upld1.wav." Now once you're finished printing save a new session file and label it one minute after the print "Get Me 2 U-061709 0606pm.ptf." That leaves a session file unaltered from the way it was when your song was printed. You tracking with me?

The reason I do this is because I would often save a new session before I print a mix but I would then alter the session file without realizing it. If I needed to recall 'upld1' the session file would not sound the same. This ensures you'll be able to pull up the mix because any alteration will be made to your new file. Be sure to then put all of the unused session files in the 'old sessions' folder.

Adding the tag 'upld1' or 'upld1' allows you to track which mixes/session files have been printed and sent to the client. This is extremely helpful when referencing each mix.

FINAL MIXES -

When it's time to print the final mixes, you treat your session files the same way. Save a session file that corresponds to each printed mix. 'GET ME 2 U-M.wav' would have a session file titled 'GET ME 2 U-M.ptf.' I always put the final mixes in all caps to help me find them easily. Putting the final mixes in a unique folder also can help.

Happy organizing!!!