Proxy files, also known as proxies, serve as a useful tool to help create a smoother and more seamless editing process. Whether you’re working on a small project for social media, or a full-scale feature film, creating and using proxy files are a must-know process for Premiere users of all skill levels.
Proxy files, also known as proxies, serve as a useful tool to help create a smoother and more seamless editing process. Whether you’re working on a small project for social media, or a full-scale feature film, creating and using proxy files is a must-know process for Premiere users of all skill levels.
What Are Proxy Files?
Essentially, proxy files are smaller, temporary versions of your original video files that can be created during the importing process. Utilizing these smaller files helps your computer and software run more smoothly, so you can edit without frustrating pausing, glitching, and lagging. When your editing process is complete and you’re ready to export your video, Premiere will replace these temporary proxy files with the originals, creating a full-quality final export.
Think of it like this: Imagine that each frame of your video is like a page in a coloring book, and coloring each page represents your computer processing and editing these frames. If you’re using 4k, or other high-resolution footage, that means those pages of our coloring book are very, very… very big, which means it’s going to take you a long time to color each of those pages. Using proxy files is basically like taking that large page, making a copy that is a fraction of the size, coloring in this much smaller page, and then copying all that work you did back over to the original. Sounds a lot more manageable right? Well, your computer thinks so too, and you’ll both be thanking me later.
When to Use Proxy Files
There are several reasons to use proxy files, but their primary purpose is to alleviate the issues that occur when working with high-quality video files. These issues are most often experienced by users with computers that do not have top tier RAM (Random Access Memory) or graphics cards, which are practically a necessity for working with high-resolution footage.
Proxy files are created at the very beginning of the editing process, so it is important to consider whether or not you’ll be using them before you begin.
Some factors to consider:
- Resolution, Bitrate, and File Sizes of your Footage
- Your Computer’s Capabilities (Primarily RAM, CPU, and GPU)
- Your Project’s Deadline and Length
How to Use Proxies in Adobe Premiere Pro
The process of using proxy files is actually relatively simple. Begin by opening Premiere and selecting “New Project.”
Name your project and adjust your settings as you usually would, then click on the “Ingest Settings” tab and select the “Ingest” check box.
Change the first drop-down to “Create Proxies.”
Now change the “Preset” drop-down to one of the available options. My personal preference for most 4k and 1080p projects is “H.264 Low Resolution Proxy.”
Finally, select the proxy destination. This is the location in which Premiere will store your proxy files. I always recommend using “Same as Project,” that way all your files stay together. Now click “OK.”
Now you can import your files as you normally would. You will notice that after importing your first file(s) Adobe Media Encoder will automatically open in the background and begin processing your files. This may take some time depending on the number and size of your files, which is yet another reason to plan ahead when using proxies.
Now for the final step in the process, which is turning your proxy files in your project. That’s right, just because you’ve created your proxy files doesn’t mean they’re actually active. Go to your program window and click the “+” in the bottom right corner. This opens the button editor. From here, click and drag the “Toggle Proxies” button (which looks like two squares with arrows pointing between them) to your collection of buttons in the program window. This button will not be located in your panel by default.
Now you can simply click the “Toggle Proxies” button to turn them on in your project. The button will be highlighted blue when they are active.
Conclusion
Proxies are a great way to speed up the editing process, especially if you are using a computer that struggles with high-resolution footage. I would recommend experimenting with them on a small project or demo project to see if they are a viable option for you. Happy editing!
