Tip #1015: Guidelines for Planning Media Needs
… for Codecs & Media
Tip #1015: Media Planning Guidelines
Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com
Guidelines to plan and use media more efficiently.
![](https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Topic_Media.jpg)
As you plan your next project, here are some media guidelines to help you think about your media and the storage necessary to support smooth playback and editing:
- If deadlines are extremely tight AND you are not adding a lot of effects, you can edit H.264 or HEVC directly in your NLE. Otherwise, transcode all highly-compressed media into an easier-to-edit intermediate format, such as ProRes, DNx or GoPro Cineform.
- Always shoot the frame rate you need to deliver. Changing frame rates after production is complete almost always looks “jittery.”
- Image quality is not lost in transcoding (converting) a highly-compressed video format into ProRes.
- If the media was shot by a camera, transcode into ProRes 422.
- If the media was created on a computer, transcode into ProRes 4444.
- If the media was shot in log or raw formats, edit it natively and do the rough cut using proxies.
- Proxies are your friend. Use proxies to create a rough cut when using HDR or raw media; or frame sizes larger than 4K.
- Color grading high-quality 4K HDR media can require over 500 MB / second of data bandwidth! Make sure your storage is fast enough.
- Always have a reserve budget for more high-performance storage. You’ll need it.
- Always allow time to test your entire workflow from capture to final output before starting production. It is much easier to find and fix problems when not staring at a looming deadline. “I didn’t have time to test!” is never a good excuse.
Yes, there are exceptions to these rules, but not in most cases.
EXTRA CREDIT
Here’s an article I wrote that goes into more detail for each of these.
Yes, ProRes is a much bigger bucket, but it’s still a lossy format. Doesn’t the mere act of saving the file under ProRes compress it even more? That’s how JPEG behaves.
Ron:
Apple describes ProRes as “visually lossless.” Yes, there is compression, but far, far less than any version of JPEG; with the possible exception of JPEG2000.
Larry