How to Organize Footage for Editing: Client Footage and B-roll

As an editor, you should organize footage for editing before the cut begins, and in two layers. The originals stay exactly as the client delivered them. On top of that you add an order by subject: A-roll kept apart from B-roll, and the B-roll sorted by topics such as people, places or products. That way you know what you have when you import into your editing software, and you don't have to open every clip.

The chaos editors work with

Editors rarely get clean footage. This moment is typical: the client sends a Drive link with the line "Everything's in there". In the folder you find:

• Camera files from two shoot days, all in one folder, named C0001.MP4 to C0350.MP4.
• Phone clips, some vertical, some horizontal, a few of them twice.
• A subfolder "New" and another one "New 2".
• Audio from an external microphone with no obvious link to the takes.
• Photos and logos mixed in between.
• No script, or the script lives somewhere else.

So before the actual edit starts, there is the review: what is A-roll, which take is the right one, what B-roll is there? This work is rarely planned and often not paid separately. But it decides how fast the edit goes afterwards.

How to organize footage for editing before you cut

A process that has proven itself for the review:

1. Don't rename or move anything. The client's folder stays as it is. That way the client can still tell which file is meant, and new deliveries land where expected.
2. Local copy for the edit. For smooth editing you need the files locally. With Google Drive for desktop you can make folders available offline, or you download them.
3. Identify the A-roll. The takes of the talking head or the interview belong together, one area per script.
4. Sort the B-roll by subject. People, places, products, details, mood.
5. Create a shot list. A table with file name, description, category and a note like "good take". More under shot list.
6. Flag gaps. If a section of the script has no B-roll, tell the client now, not with the first round of feedback.

Step 4 takes the most time. This is exactly where categories built from Google Drive shortcuts help: a clip shows up in several categories without changing anything in the client's folder. If you work with large camera files, a proxy file per clip keeps the timeline smooth.

Organize footage for editing with Google Drive and Sorted

Sorted handles the sorting by subject in Google Drive. For editors there are two typical ways to use it.

Option 1: the client uses Sorted. They sort their own footage and, with Sorted Pro, share the category folders together with the originals with you in one click, with view access. You get folders like "Team", "Workshop" or "Product" and can open the shortcuts directly. They can also export a shot list as CSV.

Option 2: you sort it yourself. The footage sits in your own Google Drive, for example because you uploaded it there. Then it works like this:

1. Open Sorted, sign in with your Google account and add your own Gemini API key from Google AI Studio. Google bills you directly, about €0.70 per 1,000 files, and Sorted shows the estimated cost before every run. For a project with a few hundred clips that is a small amount you can include in your quote if needed.
2. Pick the project folder. Subfolders are included.
3. Gemini from Google recognizes what is in every photo and video. For videos it uses the thumbnail Google Drive creates. It writes a short description, adds keywords and suggests a category with a confidence score.
4. Create your own categories that suit your edit, or accept Gemini's suggestions.
5. Sorting creates the folder "Sortiert" with one subfolder per category, filled with shortcuts to the originals. Nothing is moved, copied or changed.
6. Search by description and keywords for "hands with tools" or "building exterior".
7. When the client delivers more, the next run only sorts what is new.

Sorted Pro also gives you the shot list as CSV, shoot days by capture date, duplicate detection by checksum and top material, where Gemini rates suitability for social media from 1 to 5.

About the limits: Sorted only works with Google Drive, not with hard drives, Dropbox or iCloud. Recognition of videos runs through a thumbnail. For long clips with changing content, Gemini only describes that one moment, and Sorted doesn't recognize what is being said. Which take is best stays your decision. Very freshly uploaded videos sometimes don't have a thumbnail yet. Each view shows up to 5,000 files. Plans and prices are on the pricing page.

Categories to organize footage for editing

These categories fit most projects and can be adjusted per client:

Category	What goes in
A-roll	talking head, interview, presenter
B-roll people	team, customers, faces, groups
B-roll places	buildings, rooms, exteriors, city
B-roll work	hands, tools, screens, processes
B-roll products	details, packaging, use
B-roll mood	light, weather, nature, transitions
Drone	aerial shots
Vertical	phone footage in 9:16
Photos	stills for overlays
Graphics and brand	logos, lower third templates, screenshots

A separate "Vertical" category is useful if you cut Reels and horizontal videos from the same footage. More on sorting supporting footage is in the guide on how to organize B-roll, and on raw material in general in the guide on how to organize raw footage.

What you can give your clients

A lot of review work can be avoided if footage arrives in better shape. A short guide for clients saves you time on every project:

• Upload originals to a shared Drive folder, don't send them by messenger.
• Put A-roll, B-roll and audio into separate subfolders.
• One folder per shoot day, with the date.
• Add the script and a list of good takes.
• When sharing shortcuts, share the originals too.

The detailed version is in the guide on how to hand off footage to an editor. If you edit for agencies or YouTubers, you can simply pass on the link. For storage in general, the guide on Google Drive folder structure helps.

Conclusion

Taking the time to organize footage for editing is the invisible part of the job that decides your pace. Leave the client's originals unchanged, separate A-roll from B-roll and sort the B-roll by subject, and you start every edit with an overview. A shot list and clear delivery rules for clients make every new project easier.