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All playbooks

Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro

Ingest and proxy workflow

Get footage onto the machine and into a cuttable form without grinding your timeline to a halt.

  1. Create your project and folder structure

    Set up a clean drive layout first - separate folders for the project file, camera originals, proxies, exports, and audio. Decide whether footage lives on the internal drive or a fast external one, and keep originals read-only.

  2. Copy - do not move - the camera originals

    Copy your memory-card footage onto the project drive before touching anything. Verify the copy with a checksum or the copy tool in your NLE so no clip is silently truncated.

  3. Create proxies for heavy formats

    For 4K+, log, or high-bitrate material, generate low-resolution proxies (typically ProRes Proxy or DNxHR LB at 1080p or lower). Do this at ingest so the timeline stays responsive to cut on.

  4. Link proxies and confirm the toggle

    Bring the originals into the timeline, then attach the proxies so editing works on lightweight files. Confirm the proxy toggle is on and that every clip has a linked proxy before you start.

  5. Organize bins and add metadata

    Sort clips into bins by scene, card, or day, and add basic metadata - tape or card id, date, and notes. Rename clips consistently; this pays off at the fine cut.

  6. Watch for timecode continuity

    If shooting multi-cam or with multiple cards, check that clip timecode is consistent. Broken timecode is far easier to fix at ingest than in the edit.