organizing computer for animation

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uddhava
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organizing computer for animation

Post by uddhava »

Does anyone recommend a system to organize animation projects and files on the computer for faster work?

Udd.

Note the pig..
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GCharb
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Post by GCharb »

Hello there!

My fav tool for project managment is Celtx

Comes with some sample files.
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uddhava
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organize

Post by uddhava »

GCharb wrote:Hello there!

My fav tool for project managment is Celtx

Comes with some sample files.
Thank you for the nice program, but how do you actually organize (arrange) the files for your animation on your computer?

Thanks, udd.
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heyvern
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Post by heyvern »

To work well with AS (portability) you need to keep certain assets in folders relative to the parent folder of the project. AS files use either relative or absolute paths for images and sound in a file.

If an asset file like an image layer, is up one level in the folder structure from the AS file it will use an absolute path so the AS can't be moved to another location without breaking the links.

So this is what I use:

Code: Select all

Project Folder
     AS file (not in a folder)
     Images (folder)
     Sound (folder)
     Scripts (folder)
     Renders (folder)
          Test Renders (folder)
          Final Renders (folder)
With that structure you can move the project file anywhere, to any hard drive and the assets stay linked since they are below the AS files in the structure. Please note that the AS files are NOT in a folder. They must be "loose" in the project directory so they can use relative paths to the linked assets.

Also you should come up with a logical naming convention for your files so you know what scene or shot each one is.

-vern
Last edited by heyvern on Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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slowtiger
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Post by slowtiger »

I can't organize your whole computer, but regarding to AS files I can recommend a setup.

project folder
- scene 1
- - scene_1.anme
- - scene 1 pictures
- - - pic1.jpg
- - - pic2.jpg
- scene 2
- - scene_2.anme
- - scene 2 pictures
- - - pic1.jpg
- - - pic2.jpg

With this setup you're able to move a scene folder to another location without the anme file loosing its connections to imported pics. If you use sound and video files linkes to your anme files use a similar setup.

Another possible solution would be:

project folder
- scene_1.anme
- scene_2.anme
- - pictures
- - - pic1.jpg
- - - pic2.jpg
- sounds
- - sound 1.aif
- - sound 2.aif

This setup is useful for a bunch of scenes which share the same assets, like BG pics or sounds. With this setup only the whole project folder can be moved without difficulties.
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dueyftw
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Post by dueyftw »

I almost never use 'save' but use 'save as' then according to the project it will be named with a one or two letter short hand. Current project is called Snow Day. So the labeling goes something like this. 'sdtitle101a' for Snow Day title first render. B would be second, etc. Then the next file would be 'sd102a'
If I need to squeeze a shot in between it's labeled sd101_1a. I have elements sdtree1, sdtree2, sdhouse and sdbg1 for background. Most of the time all this will be placed into one AS file along with all the other elements and use the group for elements that will never be boned rigged, such as a house. And ones that will be rigged have bone layer as the first layer. Then I turn on and off rendering as needed. No hunting for AS elements they are all in one file. Just load the file and change names for each render. Save the render and AS file on the last render that I'm happy with.

Everything is placed on one computer in one main file with sub files as need. I have 14 computers, use 2 to six at a time. They all have different programs on them. I edit it on different computer then the one that I has AS. So I pull the whole file and know the sequence of shots by the file names.

Dale
chucky
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Post by chucky »

I use a system similar to slowtiger's, plus you might like to try the scene selector application by v_aviles available to download somewhere on this site. It does a nice little preview thumbnail and also keeps backups for you.
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uddhava
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Location: American back in Hungary

Post by uddhava »

Thanks, heyvern, slowtiger, dueyftw and chucky. This is the kind of information I was looking for.

udd.
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