Hasta La Motion!

I resently finished a 45 minute Indi, that took over 1 year to complete.
(thank god they weren’t in a hurry)

What was envolved:
The Editing assemebly was done by the Director.
After that, I took over.

I sent clips to NUKE for:
Keying, 2DTracking, 3D tracking, stablization, Day for night conversions, Paint out plates, Particle systems for CG rain (After effects), CG planes (Maya), and many others I am forgetting,

I then became the colorist.

I graded the entire film, degrained (which needed it BAD) using Scratch for grading and then sent it back to Avid.

During the 1 year, I found myself in total confusion. I felt that I did things in the wrong order and that I gave myself extra work that I didn’t have to. Not to mention RE-rendering over & over, going from one system to another.

I understand that the MAJOR STUDIOS, have departments & teams.
I however, do not. Like I said, I am a one man show.
So my question is:
What would be the best workflow to complete this type of project?
For example, Taking the clips from Avid, rendering them as___??
Then after nuke,___Send…..???……etc, etc..

I just want to be more organized for the next project.
I would love to hear how you guys would do it.
Thanks in advance,