Hi there,

I've been asked to edit a project for which 170 interviews (totalling more than 200 hours) were shot on a small camera that simultanesously recorded both 4K and 720p HD (H264, 8.79 Mbps) files.

The doc I've been asked to help with is destined for web broadcast only, I'm told, so the producer has suggested I use the small 720p files only... and not worry about the 4K files. This would make life much easier for me, because my old 2010 Mac Pro isn't up to 4K editing.

Is this the right plan, would people say? One of my worries is that someone might change his/her mind later, and want a 4K version.

I could get a new Mac Mini, that I think would allow me to work with 4K files, but unless the process of 'rezzing up' is a pretty straightforward one I'm afraid of getting in over my head (I'm not technically gifted). Fifteen years ago, when I worked at a big broadcasting corporation, the editor would simply pop in the Sony betacam tapes we'd shot, and Avid would select just the right clips, and bit by bit the whole item was up-rezzed. But I'm not sure it would be that easy for me, here in my home office.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Regards, Malcolm

There are a number of ways to skin this cat, but here is what I would do.

Create a 720p project and link to the 4K files.

Transcode from the links to either 1/4 source resolution (1920x1080) or 1/16 source resolution (960x540)

Edit away.

When you are ready to output, link back to the 4K files and export.

This way you always have the 4K option available, but you aren't placing such heavy demands on your system as you edit.

Thanks smrpix—this is very helpful.

If I can ask another key question please. All the years I've been editing (HD, 1920x1080 only) I've imported all my of my footage into Avid, and then edited. I've never linked to video files to save myself the step of importing, not to mention saving all the time that importing takes, because I felt more secure having all the footage imported into Avid.

Time to teach an old dog new tricks, though, and you're suggesting that I link to the 4K files, rather than import them; that would be a good thing, given how big those files are.

Which would mean (is this right?) that I would attach the external hard drive that has all the 4K files on it, and (after creating a new 720p project), link to these 4K files.

But here's the thing: out of each of these 170 hour-long interviews I'll need just a few minutes here and a few minutes there. Do I, in Avid (or not), scroll through the 4K interview files on the external drive, select the clips I want, and the transcode these clips (at 1/16 source resolution) only???

Is that the workflow you're suggesting?

thanks again, Malcolm