This is a pretty deep and important subject -- and has many, many right
answers.
Consistency is key, as is a system that's considered according to how it
will be used, with plenty of attention toward how it will be actually used
in practice.
I, too, have arrived at the basic hierarchic organizing principle of:
- Date first (because this is always a known quantity, and serves as a
basic organizing principle)
- Location or Subject Next
- Filename structure somewhat flexible, focused on what I think the
specific sounds might be used for. (i.e. the librarians principle of "put
it where it will be found.")
- Metadata in files in standardized chunk formats (BWAV BEXT)
- Also a good bit of info in filename and folder path.
A single flat database, keyword searchable by filename, description and
filepath, allows quick drilling into any sound by keyword.
As for categories: I'm mainly concerned w/ film sound effects editing. So
I use a short list of top level categories developed by a bunch of smart
editors over many years of work. To get this I stripped all the category
data out of the SoundStorm library and use the same conventions myself.
However, this is very use-specific. i.e. it's terrible for scientific
use. And it could easily lead to that favorite error of putting birds from
the wrong continent into a scene ;)
Haven't tried Avisoft... I'm mac based and don't have a windows VM up and
running (though perhaps I will set one up on new machine... probably Win XP
because I have it sitting around.)
On Sat, Nov 17, 2012 at 9:10 AM, Chris Harrison <> wrote=
:
> **
>
>
> I find that it is most useful to me to keep my recordings organized in
> folders based on the location but name them based on the particular
> subject.
>
> So I have a folder for each trip/location I record, but then the files ar=
e
> named for the species present in that recording.
>
> If I need to search for a recording of the frog Eleutherodactylus
> cystignathoides, I can search for that species name and find all my
> recordings of that species.
>
> If I need to find my recordings from Atascosa County, Texas, I can search
> for Atascosa and get those folders that way.
>
> As an aside, there is an excellent free file renaming utility that I use
> that is really absolutely free, works well on all Windows and doesn't nag
> you to upgrade or get the paid version since there isn't one. There is a
> new command line version for those of you still living the DOS life. Ther=
e
> is a portable version which you can run on a computer without having
> administrator privileges. I actually have a copy of the program on a flas=
h
> drive which I can run from a hotel computer if I need to change file name=
s
> as I travel.
>
> The program is called Bulk Rename Utility -
> http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php. I have no affiliation
> with the program or people, I just like it.
>
> CNET didn't like the interface
> (http://download.cnet.com/Bulk-Rename-Utility/3000-2248_4-11434534.html),
> but I found I could learn to use it very quickly within a few minutes.
>
> Chris Harrison
>
> San Antonio, TX, USA
>
> From:
> On Behalf Of Scott Fraser
> Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 10:40 AM
> To:
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Filing systems/software
>
>
> For those of you who categorize according to subject, how do you define t=
he
> actual subject? Most of my recordings can fit into at least several easil=
y
> identifiable subject categories, i.e. birds, rain forest ambience, insect=
s,
> water, etc, simultaneously. Thus far my folders are arranged by location,
> but that requires a lot of memory on my part. So if someone asks if I hav=
e
> any train sounds I need to know to look in the Australia, Germany, France=
&
> Massachusetts folders. I try to name WAV files with meaningful descriptiv=
e
> titles, & I wonder if perhaps appending some additional relevant sorting
> tags to the titles would be all that is needed for good OSX searches. So
> instead of "Stream-Zakopane-Poland" it would be
> "Stream-Zakopane-Poland-Alpine Forest Ambience-Birds BG" or some such.
>
> Scott Fraser
>
>
>
>
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
jeremiah moore | SOUND |
http://www.jeremiahmoore.com/
|