Standard Naming Convention

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The CalArts School of Film/Video standard naming convention is, at minimum: 

LastNameFirstInitial_MyMovieTitle_YYYYMMDD 

  • Start with your capitalized last name (also known as your Surname or Family Name) and the capital first letter of your first name (your Given name, or Chosen name). If you would like to further differentiate your file name, or would simply like to add more information, you may include your full first name instead of a single letter. You may also add the first letter of your middle name, if you have one. 

For example, if your name is Steve Paul Jobs, your options are:

JobsS

JobsSP

JobsSteve

  • Next, add an underscore, followed by an abbreviated project name without spaces or punctuation (See below for Acceptable Characters). Capitalize each word of the project name or title. For example, if your project name is #1 movie!: 

JobsS_1Movie 

  • Then, add an underscore, followed by the year, month, and day without spaces. For example, if the date is April 1, 1976: 

JobsS_1Movie_19760401 

  • Supplemental information may be required and can be added after the date, such as version, audio, frame rate, or codec information. This makes the specifications of the file especially clear to a technician or projectionist, and can be a useful extra verification when delivering files to festivals or screenings where you aren’t interacting directly with the screening process. For example, if your file is version 2, 1920×1080 (HD), at a frame rate of 24fps, using the ProRes HQ video codec, and Stereo audio: 

JobsS_1Movie_19760401_v02_24_HD_PRHQ_Stereo

  • The last component of the file name may be a file type extension. This is not something you should edit directly, but may be applied by your editing software (such as Premiere) when you export a file. For example, if you file is a QuickTime movie:

JobsSP_1Movie_19760401_v02_24_HD_PRHQ_Stereo.mov

Depending on the OS you are working with, file endings (.mov) may be hidden by default when looking at files in your file browser (File Explorer, Finder, etc.) 

  • Individual classes, events, programs, and festivals may require a modified or different naming convention. Always check submission guidelines when submitting work.

Acceptable Characters for the Calarts School of Film/Video Naming Convention

Use only Latin-script alphabets, underscores (_), and periods (.) for file extensions (e.g., .mov). Avoid spaces, emojis, or special characters (# $ % * & ~ , / ? +) or quotation marks (‘ “). Periods should appear only in file extensions, and non-Latin scripts must be renamed according to these guidelines for submissions.

Standardized naming prevents errors during file transfers and ensures compatibility across platforms. Sometimes special characters, or even spaces, can corrupt a file when copying between two computers running on different operating systems. When in doubt about a character, avoid using it.

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