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Editing and finishing3 min read

LESSON 119

Proxies and the editing workflow

Edit light files, finish on the originals.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. Offline and online
  2. Proxies today
  3. Non-linear editing and the EDL
  4. Practice: a reliable proxy routine

Offline and online

Offline editing is the creative stage where the structure, mood, pacing and story of a film are worked out, through rough cuts and many revisions until picture lock. Classically the camera footage, which can run to hundreds of hours, is loaded into the edit system as low-resolution copies. Once the cut is locked, those copies are replaced with the original high-quality media, which is called going online, and the film moves on to online finishing, colour grading and the sound mix. The word offline first meant editing done away from the post facility.

Proxies today

The same idea survives in digital work as proxies: small, easy-to-play copies of the camera files. Low-resolution proxies can stream from central storage while the editor works, and the full-quality files are brought up only when a clip is rendered or the cut is finished. Proxies let a laptop edit 4K or RAW footage smoothly, let several editors share material over a network, and keep the heavy originals safe in storage. Film editing always worked this way, using a workprint so the original negative was never handled.

Non-linear editing and the EDL

A non-linear editor, or NLE, never changes the source files. It keeps a list of edit decisions, a pointer-based playlist, and rebuilds the programme from the originals each time it plays or renders. That is why changing an edit is almost instant and why there is no quality loss from repeated changes. An edit decision list, or EDL, records reel or file names and timecodes for each clip so a cut can be rebuilt, or conformed, on another system. Simple formats like CMX3600 hold basic cuts; XML and AAF can carry more. The first PC-based NLE appeared in 1989.

Practice: a reliable proxy routine

This is working practice. Keep the original file names and timecode in the proxies, so the editor can relink without guessing. Make proxies at a fixed size and codec, for example half resolution in an editing codec, and store them in a folder beside the originals. Switch between proxy and original playback with your editor's toggle and check that both point to the same clips. Before grading or export, always relink to the originals and spot-check a few shots at full size.

Try it today

  1. 01Import a few camera clips into your editor.
  2. 02Generate proxies at half or quarter resolution.
  3. 03Edit a 30-second sequence using the proxies only.
  4. 04Switch back to the originals and check every clip relinks.
  5. 05Export an EDL or XML and open it in a text editor.