In the professional world, organization is not optional. Motion Design projects often contain hundreds of files. If you lose one file, your entire render fails.
From this day forward, you are required to use this exact structure.
Download Project Template (.ZIP)(Contains empty folder structure & naming guide)
Expectation: Unzip the template for every new assignment. Do not save files to your desktop or Downloads folder.
Models (Blender, C4D, OBJ, FBX)
After Effects Projects (.aep)
Illustrator Files (.ai)
Snap Lens / TikTok Effect House
Sketches, Storyboards
Fonts, Scripts, CSVs, LUTs
SFX, Music, Voiceovers
Scripts, Contracts
Rendered GIFs
PNGs, JPGs, Stills
Premiere Pro (.prproj) & Auto-Saves
Photoshop Files (.psd)
Final Videos / Image Sequences
Stock footage / Source Video
After Effects does not save media inside the project file; it only links to it. If you move a file after importing, the link breaks. Always put your assets into these folders BEFORE importing into After Effects.
Stop naming files final_final_v2.mp4. Use the NCAD Motion Design Studio Standard.
IntroMD — Keeps coursework separateWeek01 or KineticType — Groups by projectDoeJohn — LastFirst (Essential for grading)MainComp or Bumper — Describes the file20260107 — Chronological history_v02, _v03 — Version control. Never use the word "Final"Example: IntroMD_Week02_DoeJohn_BouncingBall_20260114_v03.aep
If you only send the .aep file, I cannot see your images or hear your audio. You must send the entire folder structure.
.zip file to Canvas or Google Drive.