ProRes

What this is about

Where a delivery codec is optimised for small files, ProRes is optimised for being worked on. Because it compresses each frame separately, an edit system can jump to any point without rebuilding a group of frames first, and repeated exports do not stack up visible damage the way heavily compressed formats do. The tiers run from Proxy and LT for offline work up to 422 HQ for masters and 4444 for graphics with alpha. It is the everyday exchange format between edit, grading and sound.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

In planning terms, that means:

• Intraframe compression means every frame decodes alone, so scrubbing and trimming stay responsive
• Pick the tier by purpose: Proxy or LT for offline, 422 HQ for masters, 4444 for alpha
• ProRes files are large by design — budget drive space, not just processing power

With TillyGen

When the plan lists which master formats a client expects, the intermediate the edit runs on can be chosen to match instead of being improvised.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.