How to Create Proxies on Imported Footage in Adobe Premiere Pro CC

If you have ever tried editing 4K or high-resolution footage on a computer that struggles to keep up, proxies are the solution. A proxy is a smaller, lower-resolution copy of your footage that Premiere Pro uses during editing. Your timeline stays smooth and responsive because it is playing back the lightweight proxy files instead of the massive originals. Then when you render your final export, Premiere Pro automatically swaps the proxies out for the full-resolution source files. You get the best of both worlds.

I have already covered how to create proxies during import, but today I am going to show you how to create proxies on footage that is already imported into your project.

How to Create Proxies on Imported Footage

1. Go to the Project panel in Premiere Pro where all your imported footage lives.
2. Select the clips you want to create proxies for. You can Ctrl+click (Cmd+click on Mac) to select multiple clips, or Ctrl+A to select everything.
3. Right click on the selected footage and go to Proxy > Create Proxies.
4. In the dialog that appears, set the Format to H.264. This gives you good quality at a small file size.
5. Choose a Preset for the resolution. I typically go with 1280x720 (720p). This is more than enough for editing and keeps the files small.
6. You can also choose a Destination folder if you want to store the proxy files somewhere specific. Otherwise Premiere Pro will put them next to your original footage.
7. Click OK. Adobe Media Encoder will open automatically and begin creating the proxy files in the background.

How to Toggle Proxies On and Off

Once Media Encoder finishes processing, you can toggle between the proxy files and the original files at any time.

1. In the Program Monitor, click the small wrench icon (or plus icon) to open the button editor.
2. Find the Toggle Proxies button and drag it into the monitor toolbar.
3. Click the button to switch between proxy and full-resolution playback. When the button is highlighted, you are viewing proxies. When it is off, you are viewing the original files.

Why Use Proxies

• Smoother editing. 4K and above footage requires a lot of processing power. Proxies let older or less powerful computers handle the edit without dropped frames or lag.
• Faster scrubbing. Scrubbing through the timeline is much more responsive with proxy files.
• No quality loss. Proxies are only used during editing. Your final export always uses the full-resolution originals.
• Team workflows. If you are sharing a project with someone who has a slower machine, proxies let them work on the edit without performance issues.

That’s all there is to it. Once the proxies are created, you don’t have to think about them. Edit as you normally would, and Premiere Pro handles the swap when it is time to export.