A proxy workflow is the practice of editing with lightweight copies of your footage - proxies - while the heavy original files stay untouched on fast storage, then relinking the edit back to the originals for finishing and export. The edit decisions are made once and applied twice: the proxies carry the cutting, the originals carry the final image. It is how a laptop cuts 6K footage without dropping frames, and it has a direct consequence for review: what a reviewer watches is almost never the original file - it is a streaming-friendly rendition, and knowing which pixels are being judged is part of running a review round well.
Why proxies exist
Camera originals have outgrown edit machines. A 6K or 8K raw file plays back at hundreds of megabits per second; a laptop drive, a network hop, or a shared NAS cannot feed it in real time, so playback stutters and the edit slows to the disk's speed. Proxies solve it by moving the bottleneck: transcode once into an edit-friendly codec at a lower resolution, cut comfortably, and let the finishing machine - which can feed the originals - do the conform. Storage math improves too: proxies live on the laptop, originals live on the fast array.
How the proxy-original swap works
Every major NLE implements the same loop under different names: enable proxy mode (Premiere), work with optimized/media proxy files (Resolve, Final Cut), cut the whole piece, then relink - swap every proxy reference back to its original - before color, finishing, and export. The relink is what makes proxies safe: the timeline references media, not files, so the swap is lossless as long as the originals remain reachable. The list of edit decisions itself travels in formats like the edit decision list, which is format-independent of the media it points at.
What a reviewer actually watches
Here is where proxies meet review - and where misconceptions live. When you share a cut for feedback, the review platform transcodes it into a streaming-friendly rendition; the reviewer watches that rendition, not your master. That is fine for the questions a review round asks - story, timing, pacing, "is this moment working?" - because those judgments survive a resolution drop. What does not survive it: judging grain, fine texture, color nuance, and focus at finishing quality. A colorist or a client approving a graded master for print-quality output needs original-resolution playback, not a proxy-tier rendition.
| Reviewer question | Proxy-tier playback fine? | Needs originals? |
|---|---|---|
| Does the story/timing work? | Yes - structure judgment survives resolution | No |
| Is the sound mix right? | Yes, at normal streaming quality | No (until final mix approval) |
| Is the grade/grain/detail right? | No - fine texture is what a proxy loses | Yes - original-resolution playback |
| Final deliverable approval | No | Yes - judge the actual pixels |
Practical implication, stated honestly: Frooty's Free tier streams review playback at up to 1080p - a proxy-tier ceiling that is right for feedback rounds - while Studio plays original-resolution files for the reviewers whose judgment needs them. Frame.io's model is similar in shape: compressed playback for review links, with quality tied to tier. The pricing specifics, date-stamped, are in video review tool pricing compared.
FAQ
Does reviewing a proxy mislead the client?
Only about things proxies genuinely cannot carry - grain, fine color nuance, texture. Keep those judgments off review rounds: show the graded master to whoever approves the look, at original resolution, and run everything else (structure, timing, notes) on the streaming rendition everyone can watch.
Do proxies change the final export?
No - that is the point of the relink. Proxies only exist to make cutting fast; after relinking, the timeline references the original files and the export renders from them. A well-run proxy workflow is invisible in the deliverable.
What resolution should a review link play at?
Whatever keeps the reviewer's device smooth - phones on cellular are the real audience - plus original resolution for the specialists who need it. The habit to build: rounds on streaming renditions, look-approval on originals, and never the reverse.
Do I need a proxy workflow for review links?
Not as a manual step - transcoding for streaming is the platform's job, which is exactly why review links exist. Your proxy workflow is about editing speed; the review platform's rendition pipeline is about watching speed, and the two solve different halves of the same weight problem.