Remember Edgar Wright’s ✌🏽test footage✌🏽 for Ant-Man from 2012?

This is what happens when you decide to use proxy media in your projects – you get extra speed and strength during the edit.

What is Proxy Media?

Proxy media are lower-resolution versions of your source media (i.e. your original, full-resolution shots).

Before you do any actual editing, you can:

1. Transcode your source media to lower-resolution media files (i.e. proxies).
2. Edit from those smaller proxy media files.
3. Relink the Clips to your source media once your story is in place (AKA Picture Lock).

But are those extra steps – making then relinking to proxies – really worth it?

Proxies Make You Faster

Sure, your computer can handle 10 streams of 8K without breaking a sweat. But what if you start working with someone else? Do they have the same hardware and system resources as you do?

Or what if you want to work on something remotely? Will that same media play back at full frame rate through your favorite remote access platform on a workstation hundreds of mile away? Or will that media stream from your shared cloud storage or sync to your teammates’ local storage so they can quickly get to work?

Using proxy media solves these problems.

Proxies Make You Stronger

Editing is writing, and good writing is rewriting.

Smaller, high-performance media files let you cut faster so you can discover, tighten, and deliver your story much sooner.

Aren’t Proxies a Waste of Time?

If you’re using a slow transcoding app or platform, perhaps. But if you’re using something like EditReady (or EditReady Server), Compressor (or Final Cut Pro), or DaVinci Resolve, you can transcode source media at the speed of your hardware.

Even if you’re working as a soloist, editing from proxies ultimately saves you time on rendering effects and exporting deliverables.

“What about that boom mic in the shot?” That’s what the finishing phase is for. 🙂

You may have noticed I haven’t mentioned codecs or used terms like “intermediate” or “mezzanine”. If you want a deep dive on a proxy workflow, there are plenty of articles out there. But most of those articles don’t answer this simple question – why even bother with proxies?

Because, like Scott Lang, you’ll find out there are lots of advantages working in the realm of smaller media files – faster editing, stronger storytelling, and happy clients.

ShareOpenly