Editing with Proxies and then Replacing with Original MP4

[krausfadr]

Are any editors edting with proxy files and then at the end, replacing the proxy with the original ripped H264 or H265? If so can you advise details of how you approach it? Software used? Do you color grade first on the proxy? Any problems, obstacles? I'm thinking about implementing this in my workflow to have one less transcode.

 

[Teacupdragon]

I use Premiere and it’s fairly easy to re-link files while editing from a proxy. You simply right click on your file and press ‘mark offline’ and then ‘relink media’ and select your file from a file explorer window.

I would only colour grade on the full res file, personally, as a proxy is a lower res file that will not have the full colour information as it is a compressed (smaller) file.

I’ve used Avid for proxies and find the process to be a bit temperamental at times…

Admittedly I prefer to not integrate this into my workflow whenever possible but think it has merit if your machine experiences a lot of lag while editing.

 

[SIUse]

I use proxys, too. But i don´t encode them before editing. Software-wise i use Resolve Studio and in there i can generate either proxy files or optimized media (which is way faster than encoding before). The quality of these files can be chosen in project settings. I use DNxHR HQ at a quarter resolution of the original e.g. for my Sicario 2 edit i used my UHD HDR rip which is 37,6 GB after using the proxy media option. That is more than enough for me to do color-grading also.

Of course you can always go lower with the generated proxy file in resolve studio. Rendering would happen from the source material.
As @Teacupdragon stated, swapping out the files through re-linking is fairly easy in any video software. Mostly a right-click option.

 

[krausfadr]

I went ahead and tried an edit in Resolve using a 720p proxy (lowest quality Cineform) then when finished re-linked to the original 4K mp4 (HEVC) file. Went pretty much perfect. The only issue was a clip I timestretched needed to be redone. So from now on no more gigantic source files. Yay!

I color graded the mp4 HEVC (SDR Conversion) using Dolby Vision without any issues.

 

[Wraith]

I've used hi res MP4 as a proxy, and then at the render point, moved the files and relinked them to the RAW M2TS files....the risk is if they are not exactly the same length, the relink wont work on my software at least...and that has happened...so you then have to either render at a lower quality or re-do your work....

In the end, I invested in a BIG RAM upgrade a few years back and no issues since....so mostly I use the big source files but set my suite to a lower visual working resolution which takes out the lagginess of bigger files when scrubbing visually

 

[Last Impressions]

I went ahead and tried an edit in Resolve using a 720p proxy (lowest quality Cineform) then when finished re-linked to the original 4K mp4 (HEVC) file. Went pretty much perfect. The only issue was a clip I timestretched needed to be redone. So from now on no more gigantic source files. Yay!

I color graded the mp4 HEVC (SDR Conversion) using Dolby Vision without any issues.

Tell me more...for me Dolby Vision is far more pleasing to the eye than HDR10..How do you go about converting with DV...Is it a Resolve setting or are there other software that can do DV conversion. Thanks for your help again. You are like my 4K Yoda

What kind of file sizes are your final HEVC renders for a round a 2 hour movie. ..what is the sweet spot (bit rate)

 

[krausfadr]

In Resolve you first want each scene split into its own clip on the timeline. Reason is Dolby Vision analyzes each scene. You can have the app auto detect scene cuts. It won’t be perfect but you can fix them. In the project settings you have to enable Dolby Vision with a check box. Once that’s done you can use it in the color grading tool. Also you have to have the color space set up correctly… I’ll publish a guide on the forum if I haven’t already.

EDIT: here’s the guide:

Davinci Resolve 4K HDR Guide - Using Dolby Vision Analysis

Davinci Resolve 4K HDR Guide - Using Dolby Vision Analysis Below is a helpful guide 44rh1n posted on OT to process 4K HDR edits in Resolve to work in SDR. Notes: Although it usually is possible to import an HEVC wrapped mp4 into Resolve, as a best practice the 4K HDR rip should first be...

forums.fanedit.org

 

[krausfadr]

And regarding final file size in 4K HEVC. It always varies depending on the source. Typically a 2 hr movie will need to be between 10 and 20 GB to look good. But the constant quality setting in Handbrake is all I use. CRF (quality setting) of 20-22 will be good for 4K.