I'm scoring an independent film.  When I'm sending the files to the editor - is there a standard way these files are named?
 
For instance - I tried to name a file 23:53:08 to indicate that the wav file should be placed at 23 minutes, 53 seconds, Frame 8.  But of course - that's an invalid file name.
 
Wasn't sure if there was an industry standard.  Trying to come off as though I know what I'm doing!!! 
 
Thanks!

Wish I knew more, but a quick Google revealed this web site that talks about "Spottting"
http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/features/skelton.asp
 
Hopefully someone with more knowledge answers...This is interesting to me.

Yes!  This is a great resource!  Thanks for posting...  Spotting isn't what I'm talking about.  We've already done that:
 
#1 - Opening (0:00)
#2 - Montage (24:00)
etc... etc...
 
Now, I have the music completed - but the track actually starts fading in slightly before.  At 23'32"08...  But after reading your link - I wonder if I'm doing too much of the synchronization...  And it doesn't really matter...  Perhaps I could be letting the editor take care of that...?

I think if you export the wavs as Broadcast wavs, then the wavs should align with to the proper timeline. Don't hold me to this, I'm just guessing.

mikebeam
  But after reading your link - I wonder if I'm doing too much of the synchronization...  And it doesn't really matter...  Perhaps I could be letting the editor take care of that...?

A question that occurred to me.   Have you considered asking them how they want the files named.  It wouldn't hurt one bit to be upfront and tell them (especially if they like the music you've composed) that this is your first time doing a film scoring, and ask them how they want it named and delivered to them. Another option is to research it with Google or Bing. I work with music libraries for film & TV and they tell me upfront how they want me to name the files I submit to them.
 
Yes...everyone has a job. Your job is to compose the music. The editor's job is to put it together.  You write the music for the scene and the editor decides when it will come in or fade out. You can and should indicate what scene which piece of music is written for.

I've got a few cues placed in films and TV... nothing at all like scoring a complete film..... and some of the folks on the other end of this thing want the files in a different format..... we like to work at 44.1/24 while some of the film guys want 48/24 or even 96/24.
 
Ask, and then be sure to provide it as they have requested

Broadcast waves should import to the right place. But you never know if the person on the other end has some weird offset thing going on, or if you've accidentally set a SMPTE offset in your options that might muck things up. Putting it in the filename eliminates all ambiguity. And I think most versions of Pro Tools still don't let you spot all waves to timestamp on import (which is ridiculous), so your mixer will be much happier if it's in the name.
 
The way we did it at the TV studio I used to work at was:
[ShowPrefix][CueNumber][Date][CueTitle][TimeCode], with underscores as delimiters
 
So, for example, if your movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it's the first music cue of the first reel, it might look like this:
 
ROLA_1m1_Apr3_OpeningTitles_01_05_03_14
 
Or some such. Of course, if it's a small film they might not be using reels, so you can just do "0m1" or "m1".
 
That way you've got all the information you need about the file version, project, everything, right there.
 
Hope that helps!

mesayre
 
The way we did it at the TV studio I used to work at was:
[ShowPrefix][CueNumber][Date][CueTitle][TimeCode], with underscores as delimiters
 
So, for example, if your movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it's the first music cue of the first reel, it might look like this:
 
ROLA_1m1_Apr3_OpeningTitles_01_05_03_14
 

Thanks - this was exactly what I was looking for....  Do you know if this is a pretty standard thing or does it vary between studios and composers?

Hmmm...I can't say definitively one way or the other. I'm sure there's some variation from house to house. But something like this would be recognizable to everyone.

The most important thing is that it's agreed on in advance by everyone who's on the production, and that everyone follows it to a "t", so that files don't get lost or incorrect files don't get used. The music editor may also need to use this naming convention to quickly search for old cues to make changes, so it's important to be strict to the convention you establish.