Thank you for your reassurance. I am proceeding as you suggested.

Chienworks is correct. I'm new here as I'm learning Movie Studio as a "second language" from previous experience with an Adobe product. So, as a Newbie, I'll offer what I've done for several years.

Sony camcorders are notorias for making lots of files. The tiny ones are useful only to the camera and Sony's Play Memories software. For real video, all you need is the big ones. Don't operate off the SD card. Get the "big ones" to your computer.

The first thing I do Is copy all the video files off the SD card into folders organized by camera and then date. It is pretty easy to find files I took on a trip last August or some family event. The second thing I do is make backup copies to an external drive reserved for that purpose. Last, I reformat my SD card in the camera to be ready for the next shoot.

For a project I make a folder named for it on my fastest drive. In that folder are sub-folders for video, photo, audio and misc assets. I put copies of my files from the master camera/date system.

Then I start the project. If something goes bad, I lose interest or whatever, I can quickly delete the entire project folder without disturbing my "library". If it goes well, I can copy the entire folder somewhere for backup or future use.

As a photographer I use Lightroom and it makes all of what I described quick and easy. But it could all be done in the operating system like with Windows Explorer.

I have been using a filing system that works well for me for decades. If I have a folder with various files of the same type, I sort them by date and then select all files and then (basically) rename the first one with the date it was created like this:

YYMMDD

YY is the the last two digits of the year, MM the month in numerals and DD the day date in two digits.

The other files will be automatically labelled - depending on your operating system - with sequential numbers.

Of course if your files weren't all created the same date, you can highlight just the set you like and number them accordingly.

This system has worked very well for me, as in about two years, I often would forget if I had called a file 'Mexico Trip' or 'Vacation 2013' or whatever; but I can generally remember the approximate time I created a file or project and can sort a folder or hard-drive quickly by dates to find the file I want. This is also valuable if you know how to print off a list of folder files. It's too late to sort a list by date, or size or such after it has been printed.

This way, also, if I make an editing file, I can often find that project's resource files quicker if they're not stored in the same place as the project file itself..

Also if I create a file - in word processing, editing, music - I usually name it with a similar system, except I add two digits at the end for file one, file two, etc.

YYMMDDNN

This keeps file names at eight characters which can still be valuable if some files become corrupted - but that's another story.

I also give all of my business clients a similar number. If I took on my first new client today, that client would be 14011301, the next 14111302, etc,

For each project I do for that client, I add two more numerals. So the fifth project for client 02 would be file named 1401130205.

If I have more than 99 new clients or do more than 99 files for them in one day I jump to numbering for the next day.

I also use the same technique on labelling clapperboards which makes it so much easier to organize everything.

This system makes it so much easier when copying files between folders as well as I don't have to scroll through long lists and pick individual files; I can just copy a block and move them.

This system makes it easier to track hours of work for billing, maintains a level of privacy for various reasons and many other reasons. Plus, there is the benefit that it is very unlikely you will have two files of the same type with the same name, avoiding or reducing the chance of erasing a file by copying one with the same name over it; or confusing one file for another.

Also, when you import files, depending on your system, you can usually have the option to assign new names automatically at the time of cross-copying. This way, your original file keeps its name in case of problems later.

I could go on - lol - about the advantages of this system, but I bet you get the idea.