Editing: scrubbing and effects are heavy on the CPU
Intra-frame (every frame is complete)
Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHR / DNxHD, CineForm
Editing, grading, effects, intermediates
Delivery: files are 5–10× bigger
Which one, when
Laptop stutters on 4K H.265? Make proxies (Premiere: right-click clips → Proxy → Create Proxies → ProRes 422 Proxy / Cineform). Toggle proxies with the “Toggle Proxies” button. Export always uses the originals.
Intermediate / master file: ProRes 422 HQ (or DNxHR HQX on Windows). For graphics with transparency: ProRes 4444 (alpha).
Archive master of a finished film: ProRes 422 HQ at the timeline resolution.
Delivery to clients and the web: H.264 (widest compatibility). H.265 only when you know the player supports it.
ProRes family (approx. data rates at 1080p 29.97)
Flavor
~Mbps
Use
ProRes 422 Proxy
45
Proxies, offline edit
ProRes 422 LT
102
Light editing, high-quality proxies
ProRes 422
147
Standard editing master
ProRes 422 HQ
220
Grading, mastering
ProRes 4444
330
Graphics with alpha, VFX
4K (UHD) rates are about 4× these numbers.
8-bit vs 10-bit
10-bit (and 4:2:2) footage survives grading much better — no banding in skies, more room for log. If your camera shoots 10-bit, keep the whole pipeline 10-bit until the final H.264.
Quick sanity checks before delivery
Play the exported file in a different player than the one you edit on.
Check the first and last frame, and a fast-motion section, for blocking.
File size ≈ bitrate (Mbps) × duration (s) ÷ 8 = MB. 10 Mbps × 60 s ≈ 75 MB.