# Proxy Files

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/proxy-files
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Nick Harty, Storiara

> Proxy files are lightweight copies of the original camera footage, transcoded to an edit-friendly codec and a lower resolution, that editors cut with instead of the heavy camera files. They carry the same clip names and timecode as the originals, so the final edit can be relinked or conformed to full-resolution media for color and finishing.

## Why productions make them

Camera originals are big. A day of 4K raw from two cameras can fill several terabytes, and playing multiple streams of it on an editor's workstation stutters. Proxies let the editor scrub, trim, and play multicam without dropped frames, and they fit on a portable drive the director can take home.

The arithmetic is worth doing in prep. Say the A and B cameras each roll 2 hours a day across a 20-day shoot, which is 80 hours of footage. If you assume 300 GB an hour for the camera originals, that comes to 24 TB before backups. The same 80 hours as 1080p proxies at an assumed 20 GB an hour is 1.6 TB. Those per-hour numbers vary widely by camera, codec, and resolution, so check the manufacturer's data rate table for your actual settings before you order drives. Your [shooting ratio](https://storiara.com/glossary/shooting-ratio) drives the whole calculation.

## Who makes them and when

On most shows, proxies are created as part of [dailies](https://storiara.com/glossary/dailies). The [DIT](https://storiara.com/roles/digital-imaging-technician) on set or a near-set dailies lab offloads cards, verifies checksums, applies the show [LUT](https://storiara.com/glossary/lut) and any on-set color notes, syncs production audio, and renders the proxies overnight. The [assistant editor](https://storiara.com/roles/assistant-editor) ingests them before the editor arrives.

A clean proxy keeps three things identical to its original: the clip name, the source timecode, and the reel or tape name. A typical burn-in window on a proxy shows all of them, for example `A042C003 | 14:22:10:05 | SC 42A-3`, so anyone watching a cut can trace a shot to the camera card.

## Where proxy workflows break

The problem nearly always shows up at the [conform](https://storiara.com/glossary/conform). If a transcode renamed clips (adding "_proxy" to the file name, for example) or dropped the reel name metadata, the [EDL](https://storiara.com/glossary/edl) no longer matches the camera files and the online editor has to relink shots by hand. Frame rate mismatches cause trouble too. A 23.976 original transcoded to a 24 proxy will drift against sound and conform to the wrong frames.

Another mistake is treating the proxy look as the grade. The LUT on proxies is a starting point from the [director of photography](https://storiara.com/roles/director-of-photography), and directors who spend months watching it can resist the colorist's work. Remind everyone early that [color grading](https://storiara.com/glossary/color-grading) starts from the camera originals.

## How proxies fit the post schedule

Proxy specs belong in the post workflow document that the post supervisor, DIT, and editor agree on before day one: codec, resolution, LUT, burn-ins, naming, and delivery time each morning. Drive purchases for originals, proxies, and backups sit in the post budget of your [film budget](https://storiara.com/templates/film-budget), and the proxy naming plan is what makes the eventual conform an afternoon's work instead of a week's.

## Frequently asked questions

### What codec should proxies be?

Whatever the edit system handles smoothly and the post house agrees to. DNxHD or DNxHR on Avid projects and ProRes Proxy or ProRes LT on Premiere and Resolve projects are common choices, usually at 1920 x 1080 or smaller.

### Should proxies have the LUT burned in?

Usually yes, so the editor and director see an approximation of the intended look instead of flat log footage. The camera originals stay untouched, and the colorist starts from those.

### Can you finish a film from proxies?

You shouldn't. Proxies are compressed and lower resolution, so a proxy export will look soft on a big screen and fail most distributor specs. Relink or conform to the originals before grading and delivery.