How To Submit The Perfect Project File

When you upload any file to VideoHive, its very important you know the rules. Of course each section can have different variations dependent on the file. In this article I am going to touch on Project Files because they are the most involved out of all the sections, and its also the section I see the most mistakes. I am going to walk you through uploading the perfect project file. If you follow this correctly, and your project is quality it will be approved the first time, every time.

Organizing Your File

When I’m beginning a new project file to submit to VideoHive, organizing my file is the first step. Even before I open After Effects. Trying to keep the buyer in mind, I want to make it as easy as possible to get them up and running with my project as quickly as possible. A big thing to keep in mind is naming conventions and folder structures. I like to keep my folders clean, and the names of the files/folders obvious. Here is what a basic folder should look like:

Project File.aep (After Effects Project File – Name to match your files title)
Help File.pdf (Help File – This of course can be a video, PDF, txt, HTML, etc.)
Assets Folder (A folder to house any and all assets used within this project)
- Images (A sub-folder to house any images I use in my project)
- Audio (A sub-folder to house any audio I use in my project)
- Video (A sub-folder to house any video I use in my project)

Likewise, I keep the same structure inside my actual project. In the project panel, I will keep a folder called “Assets”, and inside will be sub-folders titled “Images”, “Audio”, “Video”, “Compositions”. Of course, more folders can be added if needed, and others can be removed if un-used.

Another thing you want to pay special attention to is the assets or dummy data you use. Many times authors will use premium content in their preview video and since the content is premium, they will just delete the files from the final asset folder, and in doing so, mess up the linkages in the project. The best way to avoid this is to name your assets the right way. Using names like “Image 1.jpg” and when you remove your premium content make sure to replace that image with an identically sized placeholder image named “Image 1.jpg”. So when the buyer opens the project, the assets will not look like your preview, but the links will remain intact. Also in the placeholder image you can write text like “Replace this image with your own”. Which is pretty much just another way to throw in some additional instructions.

Designing For The Buyer

Many times I will see a project that contains one huge composition that is filled with tons of layers stacked on top of each other and no rhyme or reason in terms of organization. Now I know many people try to keep the pre-comping to a minimum, but you have to try to put yourself in your buyers shoes. It’s very possible that your buyers have very minimal After Effects experience. So by keeping content separated bycompositions, and proper layer naming it will be very helpful when the buyer is looking to begin working.

For instance lets say I want to provide a spot for a logo. And I plan to animate it in. I will make a composition thats the right size for the logo. Then animate the composition in my main comp. So when the buyer opens the file, they replace the logo layer with their own, scale it to fit the pre-composition, and then its automatically replaced in the main composition without any worry of removing a layer or loosing valuable keyframes.

A few things you can do that really help the buyer:

Effective use of compositions and name them properly. Possibly number them in the order they appear, and name them to show the elements they contain.
Name ALL of your layers. Even the random solids. When a buyer opens a file that contains a bunch of layers with no appropriate names. It’s almost impossible to tell which layer does what. Using terms like “Black Solid”, “Main Text”, “Video Display 1″. can probably help cut down on support questions A LOT!
Use markers to add notes to your layers. This helps provide quick instructions during the actual working process, without having to cross reference the help file.
You may want to state in the final composition the words “(Render Me)” in it’s comp name. This helps take the guess work out of what exactly needs to get rendered once the customization is done.
One thing I like to do that I think is very helpful is set up a basic render in the render queue. I will drop in my final composition, and set up the settings with pretty basic parameters (Quicktime MOV, correct frame rate, compression settings, etc). And save my project without rendering. So when the buyer opens the file, a basic render will already be set up. He/she will be able to just choose the location or modify the settings if need be.

Wrapping It Up

Once you finish making the actual project file, you need to create a help file. This is required for ALL project files that are being uploaded to VideoHive. Now in this help file we do not require you to fully explain After Effects and all of its capabilities. But again put yourself in the shoes of your buyer. Try to think what you would possibly want to customize if you had bought the file.

A few common things you could add are:

How to change text
How to replace images/footage
How to change background colors
How to change element colors or appearance

These do not all need to be explained in great detail. But we ask that you provide the layer’s name that you are referring to, its location within the project, and the basic steps on how to change it. Here is an example of an acceptable instruction on changing text.

To change the main text, open the composition titled “2. Main Text”. Inside that composition select the layer “Main Text” and using the text tool, click the text. You can now backspace out the current text and add your own. Use the “Character” pallet to modify things like font selection, font size, spacing, etc.

You’ll want to do this for all of the main elements that you would expect a buyer to want to change. Adding things like screen shots make your help file that much more user friendly. You may even want to explain the basics of rendering.

TIP: Rather than explaining how to delete your current placeholder layer, and then position their new layer in it’s place. You may want to explain how to properly replace a layer, use these steps.

Select the layer to be replaced
Then in the project panel, while holding ALT/Command, drag the new layer on top of the selected layer in the timeline. This will replace the old layer with the new one, while retaining all keyframes, effects, and properties.

Lastly, if you keep the same project structure and naming conventions from file to file, you will be able to reuse your help files. Rather than having to create a new one for each file you submit, you can recycle tid-bits from each one. Adding new elements or removing unused ones will make fast work out of whats normally a time consuming and tedious process.

Prepping To Submit

Now that you are ready to submit your file, you will need to follow standard protocol.

Create a thumbnail that is 80×80 pixels. Make sure that your thumbnail accurately describes the look of your file. This is easily achieved by taking a screenshot of your video and scaling it down.
Render out a lower resolution preview video in the FLV format with the VideoHive Watermark overlaid.
Create a ZIP folder that contains: the main folder that houses your project, help file, asset sub-folders, and any appropriate talent releases.
Choose a title that accurately fits your file.
Write a description that also explains what your file is, does, and what it can be used for. Explain what the buyer is getting if they buy your file and what it contains. A few things every description should show:
1. Description of the item
2. What it can be used for
3. If it has variations (different themes)…how many are provided?
4. Whether or not the assets are included. Sometimes if an author created his/her own assets (photos, audio) they may choose to include them. So if they are included, state that. Likewise, if they aren’t included please state that as well.
5. If your project contains any pre-rendered footage. Some projects make use of 3D video elements with layers motion tracked. This is a prime example of a project file whose description would state “This project contains pre-rendered elements”.
6. That a help file is included and what type of help file it is.
7. If you provide support

After this fill in the rest of the description fields (category, file size, version, etc.) and upload your file.

I assure you that if you follow these guidelines while creating your project file, they will NOT be rejected for basic clerical reasons. All to often I see great project files that get rejected because of small errors like no help file, incorrectly compressing the main file (using RAR instead of ZIP), no folder structure in main file, very unorganized project, among various other reasons.

Stick with this guide and you’ll be on the road to perfect project files in no time.