I see you had H.264 as your proxy media codec. I heard that's not the preferred codec for editing as it gives playback problems being difficult to process, though I don't know if there have been any advancements with the codec recently that changed this issue. Normally, the suggested proxy codes are ProRes and DNxHD/HR. What do you think about this question, Casey? Is using H264 as an editing codec today safer? Why?
From my knowledge, there is really no reason to use H.264 as a proxy media codec. H.264 and subsequently H.265 are considered delivery codecs, meaning they're intended to be viewable as videos on the largest variety of platforms. In order for that to be a realistic goal, those codecs are heavily compressed so that they can be uploaded onto sites like Instagram and UA-cam, and when they're compressed, it usually means that your PC has to put more effort into rendering the video to watch it. This wouldn't be noticeable with 1080p H.264, more-so with 4k H.264. Proxy codecs, or editing codecs, such as ProRes and DNxHD/HR are decompressed files that have a much larger file size because they're decompressed right out of the gate, which means less stress on your hardware to decompress and edit with, but with that increase in file size as a tradeoff.
quick question, if you don't click generate proxy clip clicking on the "high res clip slowing you down", davinci won't use a proxy? As I had my playback "prefer proxies" option selected, I thought everything was a proxy already...? Is it not?? thank you soso much. I'm new to editing.
Dear Casey, thanks for this overview of proxy workflow in Resolve. One question though: When you select H.264 at the proxy media format in the project settings, does this proxy file become intra-frame (aka easy editable)?
@CaseyFaris, you are amazing my friend. I have learnt so much about DR from watching your vids. Thank you. I love the idea of having the Proxies located in the same folder as the original footage.
Wow - not only are proxies awesome in DR but I just figured out that I can do proxies on subclips too. I often grab clips from videos that are an hour or 2 in length and I don't want to create a proxy for the entire video so I can create a subclip using an in and out point and it will create a proxy just for that subclip. AWESOME!
Thank you! I'm just learning about proxies, and this was the one disadvantage over optimized media. Now, there's no reason for me to use optimized media!
Thank you Casey! I'm currently having trouble with linking proxies with a collaborator. I generated proxies, and sent him only the proxies (he is currently working with the free version, and I have the studio version). He assembled a timeline, but when I open it, Davinci won't link to the original 4k footage. Do you have to bring in the original 4k footage into the timeline first in order for the proxies to link up, or is there another way? I know it would better if he just had the studio version, and had access to the original footage, but for now this is the problem. Any help?
I thought I knew everything about proxies but as usual you have taught me more. It would be cool to get a vid about the downsides, i.e. Fusion comps and coloring.
I HAVE the full version but i go up to 2k the most,is it neseccary to create this way of proxy thing which i saw you and i ve already done it?🙂and one more when i render it will create the proxy by it self always?THANKS A LOT Casey! Paul Athens Gr.👍 Fantastic explanation,keep on!
Random comment, but just wanted to drop by and say thanks for clarifying how the rendering doesn't use the proxy media by default! I've been trying to search on Google for an hour on whether the rendering can use the original media or not. For some reason this video is the first to give me an answer. So thanks a lot!
Thank you... BUT... can you explain whether we use Proxy files when doing colour grades or using Fusion for tracking or masking, etc?! How do we do those things when using proxies?? No-one seems to explain this, and it would be a great help as I imagine it is important to use the full / original footage when doing those things. I would really really appreciate your expert thoughts on this please. 🙂
@@KeyIntelMedia no, unfortunately. It seems like something that will affect almost everyone that uses proxies, but no-one answers this question even on the Blackmagic Davinci forums.
@@vivamoment thats the only thing when you have a big channel, you never get a reply, you could go over to darren mostyn channel, ask him on there as he really does try his best to get back to comments, and his a pro colourist hope you get this figured out
I work a lot with remote editors. Usually I'll record in 709 (sometimes i like the safety of braw so ill colour my clips then send) to them. Sometimes their internet isn't great. i typically send them 2k res files to create 4x5 and 9x16 cuts from. even though it requires more computation, should I use h264 or DnxHR?
noob question here, is there a difference between setting playback to half in high resolution, versus generating a proxy with half the size in full resolution.
Deleting and regenerating proxies? Having generated proxies for a whole folder or two full of clips (in scattered locations), I find that the resolution setting was too high, and nothing much changed. I want to regenerate the proxies. Do I need to delete the old ones first (if so, how?) or will Davinci automatically over-write the old ones? Cheers for all the great video and info, Casey!
Casey you lovable goof! I have been all over youtube looking for info on proxies (first time using BM RAW files) and should have come straight to you. I couldn't figure out how resolve knew one folder already had proxies and was using them while the other folder (b cam footage given to me with no proxies) was not referencing proxies. The line "resolve will automatically look for proxies in the media folder" told me all I needed to know. You're the best man, much appreciated
THANK YOU. I'm learning about the video editing world like a brick to the head. I made the mistake of recording 4K @ 60 FPS and my PC is NOT happy about trying to edit it in Resolve. This will be an amazing improvement. Thanks again, and take care!
@Shanoor Presswala My PC isn't super powerful either. It made a world of difference. I was trying to edit in high definition, and it was super laggy, time consuming, and frustrating. It took me forever. Converting the files to proxies smoothed things out a lot. It will take some time to convert, but in the end, it is very much worth it. In my opinion, of course 🙂
@Louise Corrans Generating the proxies has helped me a lot. Also, keep in mind that there is an icon near the top-right below the "Full Screen" button on the "Cut" page that drops down and allows you to change the resolution of the playback as well. That, combined with the proxies, should help. Good luck!
After you create proxies do you change your timeline resolution? because they aspect ratio of the proxies is smaller, so i end up with a lot of black in the canvas. Whats the best way ?
thank you really needed this video xD quick question I noticed when editing proxies I can't change my raw camera settings like iso, color temp etc is there a way around this? thanks in advance!
can we do triple monitors instead of dual screen!!! reason asking bc I'm in need of three monitors because I use three cameras for work. When I'm editing, I prefer to have three monitors to display each camera's footage separately. This makes it much easier for me to review and select clips during timeline editing. Do you have any alternative suggestions?
when Resolve makes h264 proxies, does it make every frame a keyframe? that would be smart... I notice that unlike the Deliver page, you can't specify how often you want a keyframe, and every frame being made a keyframe would go from interframe to intraframe compression; much better for editing!
I'm curious if you know of a way to preserve camera metadata in proxies? the proxies I'm making are "ProRes 422 Proxy" and are stripped of all metadata from my raw media.
I'm confused on the proxy folder suggestions. Don't understand why your first recommendation is to define a proxy folder in the project settings, but later in the video recommend setting Preferences to create a proxy subfolder where the media is located. I find that after setting the latter, Resolve uses that to create subfolders and ignores the proxy folder I designated in the project settings. Confused and would love clarification.. Thx
Good question, I learned about this today and it is already saving me time. The preference setting he spoke about at 2:48 is how you set the default for any media you drop in for all future projects. Davinci's default was always set in the C: drive and it filled up quick. Before I learned about that I had to change the setting each time (like he does in the project settings at 2:00 ) to prefer the Z drive where I put all my files. Now when I start a project without thinking, the proxies will default in the right place. PROJECT settings can overwrite the PREFERENCE setting defaults which won't change project to project.
Casey, do you know why I'm seeing these weird color strips across my Sony footage on Davinci Resolve? I've tried everything I could think of in the project settings, but still can't fix it. Many thanks!!
Should we "Disable all proxies" before jumping over Color? Does the timeline still know to Deliver at full rez or do we have to change that setting before Delivery/Export?
I did the proxy thing but when I went to render, I got a warning saying there is a file missing/offline & will render with an offlinemark? Went through everything and nothing is missing, how do I fix that? Sorry, can't offer a screenshot, DR won't open if I'm using my screen recorder..I have studio version of DR Thanks in advance!
Hi Casey, Thanks for the content, always on point. :) I do have a question though: I've been working with Unreal Engine 5 .exr sequences in Resolve, and I don't seem to be able to create proxies with theses files. Do you have any idea why? If so, is there a workaround? Thanks !
Question: When I try to do what you show, it fails. Is this supposed to be done before I begin editing anything? Can it be done during editing? Also, are you using the paid or free version? I myself am using the free version and while it's great, I have nothing but issues with playback, so I have to waste time and space rendering and re-rendering to find out what my project actually looks like. Any help would be appreciated!
4:50 once the proxies have been created, if you want to add footage to the media pool, do you add the proxy, or, camera original and it finds the proxy in the proxy folder?
Hi Casey and all fellow Davinci users! I have a question: when making proxy media files, do I have to make the "entire clip" into a proxy file or can I trim the clip somehow and only make that portion of the clip into a proxy file? I'm working on a project where I have tons of video clips that are really long and I only need a few seconds from each clip. Advice would be GOLDEN!
THANK YOU!! Finally somewhere that explains how to use your own proxy media. My Sony A7iv generates them automatically & I couldn't find anything showing how to use your own. People just kept explaining how to generate it in the program. Only thing is that it doesn't automatically link it for me when putting it in a "Proxy" folder in the location of the original 4k files. I have to "relink proxy media" every time myself. Which isn't a big deal but it would be cool if it just automatically did it
Hi Casey or any other person around here. What format is the "lightest" or easiest format to playback on a old Mac computer? I edit on a 2013 MacBook Air and appreciate any kind of help to make may playback of 4K footage smoother. Thx in advance ya'all.
I know this is off the subject of the video but I just finished school and I am still learning editing well I want to animate my logo but I am not sure how to. was wondering if ya would or could help? When I came up with the design it was originally meant to be static but I think it would help my start-up if I could do something. Not asking for you to do it or help me do it just some idea's on which way to go with the animation. Thanks Casey...
It is never recommended to create h264 proxies. Yes the new Macs and some other gpus are optimized for hardware decoding, but it is much better to generate either DNXLB or ProRes of a proxy flavor. This is the workflow of professionals, yes it takes up more room but it is much easier on your computer.
At 4:26 we have only two options h264 and h265 and if our footage is 8bit then there is only one option which is h264. So are you saying that never create proxies with h264 when we only have one option to go with?
@@realgouravverma I create all my proxies of 4k video in h265 and send it to an editor, with a very cheap windows laptop, to scrub and rough cut for me. She doesn't have any issues using it. I chose h265 because it's small enough to quickly dropbox 50 hours worth of video and send. So I say try it and see what ACTUALLY works for you.
I still don't understand: is this for other codecs that aren't Blackmagic RAW? Because, when I use RAW, the original footage and the proxies behave the same and I can scrub through both just as easily. When I apply a heavy effect like video noise reduction, my playback becomes choppy, whether I select "proxies" or not.
Thanks for the video Casey, if I'm using the Iphone 14Pro, under Optimised Media & Render Cache, what Proxy Media Resolution Proxy Media Format Optimised Media Format And, Render Cache Format should I choose? And lastly, since you've shown us how to generate proxy media manually from Resolve by clicking Proxy Subfolders in Media File Locations, 'cos I think they kinda do the same thing as the Generator's Watch Folder or am I wrong or is there still a need to additionally use the Resolve Proxy Generator? or once one goes with one there's no need for the other one? You know, I don't wanna end up creating unnecessary extra proxy file if one thing already does it. And to have the Proxy Generator running in the background, one has to press "start" each time before dropping footage to be edited in our Resolve timeline or what? or we should press "start" when dropping footage/clips in our PC/Macs? I shoot mostly 10bit 4k 30 using the Filmic Pro App not the stock Camera App. Any detailed answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated.
Looking at the size of some of the files in your Hi Res folder, where would you be able to store them on a home PC before you even get to proxies? A ton of external hard drives?
Hi Casey, I learned more about Resolve by watching your videos than anything I've tried before. Thanks a lot for that. I have a question : My Mavic 3 (std) shoots in H264 or H265 not in ProRes- I usually shoot in 4K at 60fps - I'm tending towards H265 since it's supposed to produce better results for 4K captures but it is a lot harder on my computer when I edit. Since I have a big SSD drive, would it be a good idea to work with DNxHR (or DNxHD) proxies for them since they are easier to edit or is it just overkill ? When I set my proxies to H265 1080p, the editing part is laggy as soon as I speed ramp them or use Fusion. I work on a Alienware Windows system ( I7 - 16Gb - RTX 2070) . Thanks for any advice.
H264 and H265 are computational formats and are hard to work with for your PC (unless they have special encoders in the hardware). DNXHDR/HD is a LOT easier for your system. Basically it comes down to this: ProRes/DNxHR file sizes are MUCH bigger, but much easier to edit for your system. H264/265/AVC are very small in comparison, but much harder to edit. The reason for this in a (oversimplified) nutshell? DNxHR/ProRes store each frame as a full image. So Resolve only need to load every frame and it's done! Easy for a PC (if the hard drive/ssd is fast enough) H264 is more difficult. It stores 1 frame, and then for X frames it ONLY stores the differences between frame 1 and the rest. That way you only need 1 full frame and often 15 frames where SOME changes exist. Reducing filesize drastically. Downside? Your PC/Resolve needs to piece those frames with only a few changed pixels together with help from the full frame it has. (This is why playing H264 in reverse is often slower). H265 makes it even worse with taking 1 full frame, and then being able to look back AND ahead from that full frame. So it's even smaller, but the computer has to do much more computations to piece everything back together. This is also why bitrate is important when exporting. H264 will not just store differences, but it will look if those small changes are perceivable to the human eye. If it deems it not neccessary it will throw that information away (lossy encoding). If you lower the bitrate, you tell the encoder to throw away enough untill it hits your bitrate setting. So a too low bitrate will look blocky (because H264/H265 look at blocks of pixels) and too high means no perceivable better image, but still higher filesize.
Hello. I now know how to make proxy, so thank you for that. But what about proxy in the powerbin? Why can i not make proxy in the powerbin, and when i put files in powerbin it is not showing the icon that it is proxy no longer. Does this mean i always have to drag and drop files from powerbi to normal bin to see if they are proxy?
Hi Casey! I've recently started to use proxies and I have one issue I can't seem to understand/fix (I'm new to DR). I shoot footage vertically for reels/tiktoks. I use the proxy generator to convert my 4K footage to 1080 but when view the clips in DR they are scaled down and don't fill the timeline. If I toggle off the proxies the footage fills the timeline perfectly. How can I make the proxies show up fully in my timeline? Sorry if this is a noob questions, but it driving me nuts lol!
Does the "generate proxy media" only appear if you are on "Edit" function? I only see "optimized media" on mine, DaVinci resolve 18, and I am a total beginner please help.
so whats the difference of just setting your timeline proxy resolution to half or quarter? I'm always doing that while editing high resolution footage to get a smooth playback
Need help. What If i generated proxy media already and it's being used in the timeline & now that proxy is slowing down because of all the animations, how can i go about 1) unlinking the proxy 2) generating a new proxy at lower res without messing up the timeline?
do you think we can send these proxies to ipad mini 6 and edit and send back to mac and then export in 4k. i am asking cause the D.R. in ipad mini 6 doesnt export in 4k.
This is great! Question: At 5:00 you mention "wherever you dump your footage." Is that the location where the original files are located, or Davinci Resolve folders?
I must be missing something. I'm using a Mac Studio with Resolve Studio. I was using Render Cache, but it seems that there is some kind of bug in 18.6 that produces the dreaded Media Offline error when cache is created. I tried creating Proxy media and I don't notice any difference in speed or performance. If I disable proxies, I'm still seeing the same smooth playback. The only time it's not smooth is when my drone footage is turning or rotating, and then I get a bit of stutter through the turn. I've tried every option to eliminate that and no matter when I do, it still stutters when the drone is rotating. I don't understand it. Can you explain or help fix this issue?
What Drive Location to save Proxies and is a Plain old 7200 rpm drive good enough or is a Sata SSD good enough, Or they required to be on a Fast M.2 SSD. Do you need proxies if the footage plays correctly?
Awesome video as always, Casey! However, the biggest issue with the Proxy Generator App (or even generating proxies inside Davinci) is that in my case, if some of my recorded footage has a skipped frame, the generator hangs on it and eventually times out, instead of simply skipping the bad file/clip. I've resorted to just using Handbrake to create my own proxies and import them into Davinci. Thankfully, Davinci makes it super easy to link/unlink proxies.
Hi Casey, here is a question for you. I have 3 clips that were shot against a green screen, I have keyed them using the Delta Keyer and then created compound clips from the result of the keyer. I have then taken the 3 clips and created a multicam timeline, but i am now really struggling with playback. The original file were only 1080p so I didn't make proxies as my system usually copes fine with this size of files. If i go back to the original clips and now make proxies, will that have an impact on the keyed compound clips? Any help much appreciated.
this is great. the only thing I'd say is that you shouldn't use H.264 as an edit proxy codec. prores proxy is the correct setting for smooth playback. h.264 will always give you issues with editing no matter how small the resolution is as it's not a codec designed for editing, it's an export codec.
Hi, thanks for this video. It's very useful. I have DVR 18 on imac M1 with 16Go RAM. My footages are on 4K and my timeline is on Full HD 1920. If i generate proxy on half resolution quality in Prores 422 proxy format i still have a lag when i play my timeline. I selected "prefer proxies" and deselected "use optimized media if available" on my Playback tab. To fix the lag i always and only have to play in half resolution. Is it normal doctor Faris ? Thank you
great video, can you please help I gave the editor proxies generated from Blackmagic Proxy generator, it created Mov files and the original files were in MP4, He sent me the Davinci file but I cant relink files. How do I relink media files with different file extensions? Thank you
I feel like we may have covered this before, but would you mind explaining the difference between optimized media and proxies, and why you would use one versus the other?
Optimized media is really the original way that DR dealt with Proxies. I suspect that it will go away but there is an advantage I have discovered. When working with clips that are 60FPS and you will change that to a 24FPS before it hits the timeline (essentially slowing it down) then Optimized media works better than Proxies because you can generate Optimized Media on the clips after you have changed the frame rate. Proxies will not let you do this. Proxies however, have the advantage of being a little more easily portable and with Proxy generator you can do other tasks while they generate. Optimized Media creation basically kills resolve for a while until it’s done.
Quick silly question: Is it "safe" to delete the proxy folder? Because I have a folder with 4K MOV drone footage about 3GB, but the Proxy folder shows 23GB. So I'm thinking about deleting the Proxies and then create a new one. But since the proxy folder is bigger I'm kind of nervous if the originals have been moved to the proxy folder?
your original footage is most probably in h264/h265, those are codecs that make a small file, but are very taxing on cpu and gpu to decode. the proxies on the other hand are by default in ProRes or DNxHR (depends on your settings) - this are codecs that are much less compressed, so its easier for the PC to work with them, but they are much bigger in file size.
I would have liked to know more about using the watch folder. When I clicked on the Proxy Generator ap, a window opened that said 'add watch folder' but I don't know where I should put it.
Really not sure why you and Blackmagic are using h.264 for proxies? With newer systems it handles okay. But almost every person that complains in the facebook forums of stuttering and bad playback were using h.264 - so I am not seeing why that is the Proxy choices. DnX sq or ProRes LT / proxy all are smoother in almost any Resolve system.
Easily the best advice on proxy media generation. Thanks Casey! (Seriously wish BMD would include the 'right click' generate proxy media option on the Cut tab though)
@1:05 - The "Generate Proxy Media..." option shown here does not show up when you are on the cut page. This stumped me for a while.
Good tip, cheers
I see you had H.264 as your proxy media codec. I heard that's not the preferred codec for editing as it gives playback problems being difficult to process, though I don't know if there have been any advancements with the codec recently that changed this issue. Normally, the suggested proxy codes are ProRes and DNxHD/HR. What do you think about this question, Casey? Is using H264 as an editing codec today safer? Why?
Good question, I'd also love to know the answer.
+2
From my knowledge, there is really no reason to use H.264 as a proxy media codec. H.264 and subsequently H.265 are considered delivery codecs, meaning they're intended to be viewable as videos on the largest variety of platforms. In order for that to be a realistic goal, those codecs are heavily compressed so that they can be uploaded onto sites like Instagram and UA-cam, and when they're compressed, it usually means that your PC has to put more effort into rendering the video to watch it. This wouldn't be noticeable with 1080p H.264, more-so with 4k H.264.
Proxy codecs, or editing codecs, such as ProRes and DNxHD/HR are decompressed files that have a much larger file size because they're decompressed right out of the gate, which means less stress on your hardware to decompress and edit with, but with that increase in file size as a tradeoff.
quick question, if you don't click generate proxy clip clicking on the "high res clip slowing you down", davinci won't use a proxy?
As I had my playback "prefer proxies" option selected, I thought everything was a proxy already...? Is it not?? thank you soso much. I'm new to editing.
Dear Casey, thanks for this overview of proxy workflow in Resolve. One question though: When you select H.264 at the proxy media format in the project settings, does this proxy file become intra-frame (aka easy editable)?
This is a good question! Hope he replies.
@CaseyFaris, you are amazing my friend. I have learnt so much about DR from watching your vids. Thank you. I love the idea of having the Proxies located in the same folder as the original footage.
Wow - not only are proxies awesome in DR but I just figured out that I can do proxies on subclips too. I often grab clips from videos that are an hour or 2 in length and I don't want to create a proxy for the entire video so I can create a subclip using an in and out point and it will create a proxy just for that subclip. AWESOME!
This is a great tip!!!
Thank you! I'm just learning about proxies, and this was the one disadvantage over optimized media. Now, there's no reason for me to use optimized media!
Thank you Casey! I'm currently having trouble with linking proxies with a collaborator. I generated proxies, and sent him only the proxies (he is currently working with the free version, and I have the studio version). He assembled a timeline, but when I open it, Davinci won't link to the original 4k footage. Do you have to bring in the original 4k footage into the timeline first in order for the proxies to link up, or is there another way? I know it would better if he just had the studio version, and had access to the original footage, but for now this is the problem. Any help?
I thought I knew everything about proxies but as usual you have taught me more. It would be cool to get a vid about the downsides, i.e. Fusion comps and coloring.
The best explanation/walk-through of proxies I've seen. Thank you!
Man!!! This just cuts down SO much time not having to go and generate proxies before editing every time!!!
I HAVE the full version but i go up to 2k the most,is it neseccary to create this way of proxy thing which i saw you and i ve already done it?🙂and one more when i render it will create the proxy by it self always?THANKS A LOT Casey! Paul Athens Gr.👍 Fantastic explanation,keep on!
Random comment, but just wanted to drop by and say thanks for clarifying how the rendering doesn't use the proxy media by default!
I've been trying to search on Google for an hour on whether the rendering can use the original media or not. For some reason this video is the first to give me an answer. So thanks a lot!
Thank you... BUT... can you explain whether we use Proxy files when doing colour grades or using Fusion for tracking or masking, etc?! How do we do those things when using proxies?? No-one seems to explain this, and it would be a great help as I imagine it is important to use the full / original footage when doing those things.
I would really really appreciate your expert thoughts on this please. 🙂
did you ever get this figured out?
@@KeyIntelMedia no, unfortunately. It seems like something that will affect almost everyone that uses proxies, but no-one answers this question even on the Blackmagic Davinci forums.
@@vivamoment thats the only thing when you have a big channel, you never get a reply, you could go over to darren mostyn channel, ask him on there as he really does try his best to get back to comments, and his a pro colourist hope you get this figured out
@@stehume thank you for the suggestion. I'll do that.
Ive always read/watched that u use OG when color or compositing. Proxies for editing and playback...
I work a lot with remote editors. Usually I'll record in 709 (sometimes i like the safety of braw so ill colour my clips then send) to them. Sometimes their internet isn't great. i typically send them 2k res files to create 4x5 and 9x16 cuts from. even though it requires more computation, should I use h264 or DnxHR?
noob question here, is there a difference between setting playback to half in high resolution, versus generating a proxy with half the size in full resolution.
Hey Casey, I edit with all my media files on an external SSD drive, can I use this location to store the proxy files? Regards Rob
Do proxies have to be created on the internal hard drive or can it be created also on external SSD?
Saving my editing-evening as always! Thanks as always!
Deleting and regenerating proxies?
Having generated proxies for a whole folder or two full of clips (in scattered locations), I find that the resolution setting was too high, and nothing much changed. I want to regenerate the proxies. Do I need to delete the old ones first (if so, how?) or will Davinci automatically over-write the old ones?
Cheers for all the great video and info, Casey!
Casey you lovable goof! I have been all over youtube looking for info on proxies (first time using BM RAW files) and should have come straight to you. I couldn't figure out how resolve knew one folder already had proxies and was using them while the other folder (b cam footage given to me with no proxies) was not referencing proxies. The line "resolve will automatically look for proxies in the media folder" told me all I needed to know. You're the best man, much appreciated
THANK YOU. I'm learning about the video editing world like a brick to the head. I made the mistake of recording 4K @ 60 FPS and my PC is NOT happy about trying to edit it in Resolve. This will be an amazing improvement. Thanks again, and take care!
Did using proxies make a big difference in editing? My laptop isn't that powerful so just wondering how it worked out for you.
@Shanoor Presswala My PC isn't super powerful either. It made a world of difference. I was trying to edit in high definition, and it was super laggy, time consuming, and frustrating. It took me forever. Converting the files to proxies smoothed things out a lot. It will take some time to convert, but in the end, it is very much worth it. In my opinion, of course 🙂
I am struggling with the same.
@Louise Corrans Generating the proxies has helped me a lot. Also, keep in mind that there is an icon near the top-right below the "Full Screen" button on the "Cut" page that drops down and allows you to change the resolution of the playback as well. That, combined with the proxies, should help. Good luck!
My pc prefers 4K 25fps proxies to 1080 60fps proxies!
After you create proxies do you change your timeline resolution? because they aspect ratio of the proxies is smaller, so i end up with a lot of black in the canvas. Whats the best way ?
Same issue here! have you found a solution to it?
would there be a benefit either way with recording proxies in camera vs with your editing software?
@CaseyFaris brother, whats the difference between doing it this way inside your DAW, or doing it via the Blackmagic Proxy Generator ??
Cheers
thank you really needed this video xD quick question I noticed when editing proxies I can't change my raw camera settings like iso, color temp etc is there a way around this? thanks in advance!
You are the best. Found you through Kevin Stratvert's profile when you did a collaboration. Love your guy's stuff. You both rock!! Thank You!!
👍
Thank you. Would you if this would work working from an external 5400rpm HDD connected to a mac mini m2 via usb 3.1 (5gbps)?
can we do triple monitors instead of dual screen!!! reason asking bc I'm in need of three monitors because I use three cameras for work. When I'm editing, I prefer to have three monitors to display each camera's footage separately. This makes it much easier for me to review and select clips during timeline editing. Do you have any alternative suggestions?
1.Are proxies also better for remote desktop editing via your laptop remotely?
2.What software would you recommend for remote editing with little lag?
when Resolve makes h264 proxies, does it make every frame a keyframe? that would be smart... I notice that unlike the Deliver page, you can't specify how often you want a keyframe, and every frame being made a keyframe would go from interframe to intraframe compression; much better for editing!
I'm curious if you know of a way to preserve camera metadata in proxies? the proxies I'm making are "ProRes 422 Proxy" and are stripped of all metadata from my raw media.
Is there a way to generate a proxy media for the whole timeline? I'm doing a voice-over and it's really hard to do with the lag.
I'm confused on the proxy folder suggestions. Don't understand why your first recommendation is to define a proxy folder in the project settings, but later in the video recommend setting Preferences to create a proxy subfolder where the media is located. I find that after setting the latter, Resolve uses that to create subfolders and ignores the proxy folder I designated in the project settings. Confused and would love clarification.. Thx
Good question, I learned about this today and it is already saving me time.
The preference setting he spoke about at 2:48 is how you set the default for any media you drop in for all future projects. Davinci's default was always set in the C: drive and it filled up quick. Before I learned about that I had to change the setting each time (like he does in the project settings at 2:00 ) to prefer the Z drive where I put all my files. Now when I start a project without thinking, the proxies will default in the right place. PROJECT settings can overwrite the PREFERENCE setting defaults which won't change project to project.
Does resolve have an option for full res preview when paused?
Awesome video thank you !
I’m coming over from Final Cut Pro and loved using proxies there.
But this looks way quicker can’t wait to try it!
Casey, do you know why I'm seeing these weird color strips across my Sony footage on Davinci Resolve? I've tried everything I could think of in the project settings, but still can't fix it. Many thanks!!
Should we "Disable all proxies" before jumping over Color? Does the timeline still know to Deliver at full rez or do we have to change that setting before Delivery/Export?
I did the proxy thing but when I went to render, I got a warning saying there is a file missing/offline & will render with an offlinemark? Went through everything and nothing is missing, how do I fix that?
Sorry, can't offer a screenshot, DR won't open if I'm using my screen recorder..I have studio version of DR
Thanks in advance!
Hi Casey,
Thanks for the content, always on point. :)
I do have a question though: I've been working with Unreal Engine 5 .exr sequences in Resolve, and I don't seem to be able to create proxies with theses files. Do you have any idea why? If so, is there a workaround?
Thanks !
Question: When I try to do what you show, it fails. Is this supposed to be done before I begin editing anything? Can it be done during editing? Also, are you using the paid or free version? I myself am using the free version and while it's great, I have nothing but issues with playback, so I have to waste time and space rendering and re-rendering to find out what my project actually looks like. Any help would be appreciated!
the free version is kinda limited in its use of hardware acceleration and codec handling. most probably your problems result from that.
Do the proxies significantly help with Fusion lag?
4:50 once the proxies have been created, if you want to add footage to the media pool, do you add the proxy, or, camera original and it finds the proxy in the proxy folder?
When color grading, does Resolve use the proxies or the camera originals?
Whatever you choose to work on. Just switch the mode. It is recommended to work on original footage when working on colors.
Hi Casey and all fellow Davinci users! I have a question: when making proxy media files, do I have to make the "entire clip" into a proxy file or can I trim the clip somehow and only make that portion of the clip into a proxy file?
I'm working on a project where I have tons of video clips that are really long and I only need a few seconds from each clip.
Advice would be GOLDEN!
In that case I would suggest using “Generate optimised media”.
THANK YOU!! Finally somewhere that explains how to use your own proxy media. My Sony A7iv generates them automatically & I couldn't find anything showing how to use your own. People just kept explaining how to generate it in the program. Only thing is that it doesn't automatically link it for me when putting it in a "Proxy" folder in the location of the original 4k files. I have to "relink proxy media" every time myself. Which isn't a big deal but it would be cool if it just automatically did it
but which codec is faster to be proxy? h.264, quicktime, cineform...?
So is that Blackmagic proxy generator just an app you download? I'm using windows so would I just search for it there or through DR somehow?
Is the proxy workflow similar in Resolve for iPad?
Thank you so much Casey!!! This is so much of an easier way to create proxies than I've ever seen. Yes!!!
Hi Casey or any other person around here. What format is the "lightest" or easiest format to playback on a old Mac computer? I edit on a 2013 MacBook Air and appreciate any kind of help to make may playback of 4K footage smoother. Thx in advance ya'all.
One more thing! I have a plan to watch all your videos because tbh you are the best sensei! Truly. Thank you again, and please be safe!🙏
I know this is off the subject of the video but I just finished school and I am still learning editing well I want to animate my logo but I am not sure how to. was wondering if ya would or could help? When I came up with the design it was originally meant to be static but I think it would help my start-up if I could do something. Not asking for you to do it or help me do it just some idea's on which way to go with the animation. Thanks Casey...
Thank you so much brother!!
This video saved my computer from going on the recycle bin.
I can't believe how slick proxy's are.✌️
Can anyone clarify what the proxy resolution setting refers to? Half of what? Timeline resolution or original footage?
It is never recommended to create h264 proxies. Yes the new Macs and some other gpus are optimized for hardware decoding, but it is much better to generate either DNXLB or ProRes of a proxy flavor. This is the workflow of professionals, yes it takes up more room but it is much easier on your computer.
Glad to see this! I forget where I was told to use DNXLB, but it's nice to know it was correct advise. Thank you! 😁
At 4:26 we have only two options h264 and h265 and if our footage is 8bit then there is only one option which is h264. So are you saying that never create proxies with h264 when we only have one option to go with?
@@realgouravverma I create all my proxies of 4k video in h265 and send it to an editor, with a very cheap windows laptop, to scrub and rough cut for me. She doesn't have any issues using it. I chose h265 because it's small enough to quickly dropbox 50 hours worth of video and send. So I say try it and see what ACTUALLY works for you.
@@realgouravvermaYou can use ffmpg and do it whatever codec you want
Fantastic mate!
I always though making hdnx files are smoother than compressed files for editing, or is it just preferences? Thanks for the video, man.
I tried to use Proxies and Wow haw fast the editing is with proxies, amazing!
I still don't understand: is this for other codecs that aren't Blackmagic RAW? Because, when I use RAW, the original footage and the proxies behave the same and I can scrub through both just as easily. When I apply a heavy effect like video noise reduction, my playback becomes choppy, whether I select "proxies" or not.
Thanks for the video Casey, if I'm using the Iphone 14Pro, under Optimised Media & Render Cache,
what Proxy Media Resolution
Proxy Media Format
Optimised Media Format
And, Render Cache Format should I choose?
And lastly, since you've shown us how to generate proxy media manually from Resolve by clicking Proxy Subfolders in Media File Locations, 'cos I think they kinda do the same thing as the Generator's Watch Folder or am I wrong or is there still a need to additionally use the Resolve Proxy Generator? or once one goes with one there's no need for the other one? You know, I don't wanna end up creating unnecessary extra proxy file if one thing already does it. And to have the Proxy Generator running in the background, one has to press "start" each time before dropping footage to be edited in our Resolve timeline or what? or we should press "start" when dropping footage/clips in our PC/Macs?
I shoot mostly 10bit 4k 30 using the Filmic Pro App not the stock Camera App. Any detailed answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated.
Looking at the size of some of the files in your Hi Res folder, where would you be able to store them on a home PC before you even get to proxies? A ton of external hard drives?
Hi Casey, I learned more about Resolve by watching your videos than anything I've tried before. Thanks a lot for that. I have a question : My Mavic 3 (std) shoots in H264 or H265 not in ProRes- I usually shoot in 4K at 60fps - I'm tending towards H265 since it's supposed to produce better results for 4K captures but it is a lot harder on my computer when I edit. Since I have a big SSD drive, would it be a good idea to work with DNxHR (or DNxHD) proxies for them since they are easier to edit or is it just overkill ? When I set my proxies to H265 1080p, the editing part is laggy as soon as I speed ramp them or use Fusion. I work on a Alienware Windows system ( I7 - 16Gb - RTX 2070) . Thanks for any advice.
H264 and H265 are computational formats and are hard to work with for your PC (unless they have special encoders in the hardware). DNXHDR/HD is a LOT easier for your system.
Basically it comes down to this: ProRes/DNxHR file sizes are MUCH bigger, but much easier to edit for your system. H264/265/AVC are very small in comparison, but much harder to edit.
The reason for this in a (oversimplified) nutshell? DNxHR/ProRes store each frame as a full image. So Resolve only need to load every frame and it's done! Easy for a PC (if the hard drive/ssd is fast enough)
H264 is more difficult. It stores 1 frame, and then for X frames it ONLY stores the differences between frame 1 and the rest. That way you only need 1 full frame and often 15 frames where SOME changes exist. Reducing filesize drastically. Downside? Your PC/Resolve needs to piece those frames with only a few changed pixels together with help from the full frame it has. (This is why playing H264 in reverse is often slower). H265 makes it even worse with taking 1 full frame, and then being able to look back AND ahead from that full frame. So it's even smaller, but the computer has to do much more computations to piece everything back together.
This is also why bitrate is important when exporting. H264 will not just store differences, but it will look if those small changes are perceivable to the human eye. If it deems it not neccessary it will throw that information away (lossy encoding). If you lower the bitrate, you tell the encoder to throw away enough untill it hits your bitrate setting. So a too low bitrate will look blocky (because H264/H265 look at blocks of pixels) and too high means no perceivable better image, but still higher filesize.
Hello. I now know how to make proxy, so thank you for that. But what about proxy in the powerbin? Why can i not make proxy in the powerbin, and when i put files in powerbin it is not showing the icon that it is proxy no longer. Does this mean i always have to drag and drop files from powerbi to normal bin to see if they are proxy?
Hi Casey! I've recently started to use proxies and I have one issue I can't seem to understand/fix (I'm new to DR). I shoot footage vertically for reels/tiktoks. I use the proxy generator to convert my 4K footage to 1080 but when view the clips in DR they are scaled down and don't fill the timeline. If I toggle off the proxies the footage fills the timeline perfectly. How can I make the proxies show up fully in my timeline? Sorry if this is a noob questions, but it driving me nuts lol!
Does the "generate proxy media" only appear if you are on "Edit" function? I only see "optimized media" on mine, DaVinci resolve 18, and I am a total beginner please help.
what is your system configuration please? I guess it depends on that as well
What does the application you use to highlight the cursor?
so whats the difference of just setting your timeline proxy resolution to half or quarter? I'm always doing that while editing high resolution footage to get a smooth playback
Need help. What If i generated proxy media already and it's being used in the timeline & now that proxy is slowing down because of all the animations, how can i go about 1) unlinking the proxy 2) generating a new proxy at lower res without messing up the timeline?
do you think we can send these proxies to ipad mini 6 and edit and send back to mac and then export in 4k. i am asking cause the D.R. in ipad mini 6 doesnt export in 4k.
This is great! Question: At 5:00 you mention "wherever you dump your footage." Is that the location where the original files are located, or Davinci Resolve folders?
I must be missing something. I'm using a Mac Studio with Resolve Studio. I was using Render Cache, but it seems that there is some kind of bug in 18.6 that produces the dreaded Media Offline error when cache is created. I tried creating Proxy media and I don't notice any difference in speed or performance. If I disable proxies, I'm still seeing the same smooth playback. The only time it's not smooth is when my drone footage is turning or rotating, and then I get a bit of stutter through the turn. I've tried every option to eliminate that and no matter when I do, it still stutters when the drone is rotating. I don't understand it. Can you explain or help fix this issue?
What Drive Location to save Proxies and is a Plain old 7200 rpm drive good enough or is a Sata SSD good enough, Or they required to be on a Fast M.2 SSD. Do you need proxies if the footage plays correctly?
But if one doesn’t have raw footage, just an 8 bit from budget camera, lowering the resolution won’t be smart for colour grading, right?
so what is the difference between using the proxy generator and the media management?
Shame they dropped Mojave support in Resolve 18, so I'm stuck on 17 for now. Is the handling of proxies in 17 that much different?
Awesome video as always, Casey! However, the biggest issue with the Proxy Generator App (or even generating proxies inside Davinci) is that in my case, if some of my recorded footage has a skipped frame, the generator hangs on it and eventually times out, instead of simply skipping the bad file/clip. I've resorted to just using Handbrake to create my own proxies and import them into Davinci. Thankfully, Davinci makes it super easy to link/unlink proxies.
Thanks! Could you confirm if this this still the case?
Hi Casey, here is a question for you. I have 3 clips that were shot against a green screen, I have keyed them using the Delta Keyer and then created compound clips from the result of the keyer. I have then taken the 3 clips and created a multicam timeline, but i am now really struggling with playback. The original file were only 1080p so I didn't make proxies as my system usually copes fine with this size of files. If i go back to the original clips and now make proxies, will that have an impact on the keyed compound clips? Any help much appreciated.
Great video, but how to make the Blackmagic Proxy Generator to use iGPU (Intel Quick Sync) to encode proxies instead of main GPU?
this is great. the only thing I'd say is that you shouldn't use H.264 as an edit proxy codec. prores proxy is the correct setting for smooth playback. h.264 will always give you issues with editing no matter how small the resolution is as it's not a codec designed for editing, it's an export codec.
Is ProRes 422 Proxy the best for smooth playback?
Oh
Would that not depend on whether or not you're on a mac or PC?
Hey Case, if H.264 codec designed for delivery not editing, then how it's work with proxy.
Hi, thanks for this video. It's very useful. I have DVR 18 on imac M1 with 16Go RAM. My footages are on 4K and my timeline is on Full HD 1920. If i generate proxy on half resolution quality in Prores 422 proxy format i still have a lag when i play my timeline. I selected "prefer proxies" and deselected "use optimized media if available" on my Playback tab. To fix the lag i always and only have to play in half resolution. Is it normal doctor Faris ? Thank you
The audio disappears when I have proxy on. It comes back when I switch to "Prefer camera originals". Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?
great video, can you please help I gave the editor proxies generated from Blackmagic Proxy generator, it created Mov files and the original files were in MP4, He sent me the Davinci file but I cant relink files. How do I relink media files with different file extensions? Thank you
Cheers for this, editing 4K footage has been irritating on this laptop so hopefully this helps.
What's your pc specs?
I feel like we may have covered this before, but would you mind explaining the difference between optimized media and proxies, and why you would use one versus the other?
Optimized media is really the original way that DR dealt with Proxies. I suspect that it will go away but there is an advantage I have discovered. When working with clips that are 60FPS and you will change that to a 24FPS before it hits the timeline (essentially slowing it down) then Optimized media works better than Proxies because you can generate Optimized Media on the clips after you have changed the frame rate. Proxies will not let you do this. Proxies however, have the advantage of being a little more easily portable and with Proxy generator you can do other tasks while they generate. Optimized Media creation basically kills resolve for a while until it’s done.
@@upwardfilmspnwweddingvideo1099 thanks a lot, that's very helpful!
Thanks for asking because I was unsure about this too!
@@upwardfilmspnwweddingvideo1099 Thanks so much for this answer. Been wondering about it forever. I will be switching to proxies now.
Quick silly question: Is it "safe" to delete the proxy folder?
Because I have a folder with 4K MOV drone footage about 3GB, but the Proxy folder shows 23GB. So I'm thinking about deleting the Proxies and then create a new one. But since the proxy folder is bigger I'm kind of nervous if the originals have been moved to the proxy folder?
your original footage is most probably in h264/h265, those are codecs that make a small file, but are very taxing on cpu and gpu to decode. the proxies on the other hand are by default in ProRes or DNxHR (depends on your settings) - this are codecs that are much less compressed, so its easier for the PC to work with them, but they are much bigger in file size.
Thanks mate, I still have yet to be able to upgrade my computer and this is super helpful.
lets say my footage is 4k my end product is 4k but my proxy is 1080p what timeline settings should i be working on 4k or 1080p?
When I right click on the clip it doesn't say "Generate proxy media". All I see is " Generate Optimized Media" Where is the proxy menu? Thanks
This video was extremely helpful. I just upgraded my gear to 4k and my video was playing back poorly. Thank you so much!
Do proxies work together with lower resolution video preview? As in: does the resolution get even lower? (I'm on a very slow laptop)
I would have liked to know more about using the watch folder. When I clicked on the Proxy Generator ap, a window opened that said 'add watch folder' but I don't know where I should put it.
This was so damn helpful. Clear and concise. Thanks Casey
Really not sure why you and Blackmagic are using h.264 for proxies? With newer systems it handles okay. But almost every person that complains in the facebook forums of stuttering and bad playback were using h.264 - so I am not seeing why that is the Proxy choices. DnX sq or ProRes LT / proxy all are smoother in almost any Resolve system.
Easily the best advice on proxy media generation. Thanks Casey! (Seriously wish BMD would include the 'right click' generate proxy media option on the Cut tab though)
Thank you! How to use prixies with multicam
That's incredible! Thank you!
that is life saving and passion restoring