For all but the simplest renaming tasks, I use "qmv" (from the renameutils[1] package). It loads up the target filenames/paths in a buffer in your $EDITOR, and then you can use the full power of your editor to rename. When you save the buffer, qmv does a sanity check and then does the actual renaming.
Here's a simple example: [2], but it can get arbitrarily complex -- in a much more visual and interactive way than what a shell alone would be capable of.
Here's a simple example: [2], but it can get arbitrarily complex -- in a much more visual and interactive way than what a shell alone would be capable of.
[1] - http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/wily/en/man1/qmv.1.html
[2] - http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/1136/batch-renaming-...