Production workflow · Avid Media Composer workflow
Avid Media Composer: only a proxy or preview remains
What can I do when only proxy media remains in Avid Media Composer?
Short answer
Not for the final conform: Avid proxy media is a low-resolution MXF copy tied to the same master clips, not the original. Keep the proxy MXF files, then search for the original camera files or full-resolution MXF media on other drives and the card. Deleted originals need a read-only scan of that card before relinking.
The situation
Avid Media Composer can play a smaller helper file, while the high-quality original is unavailable.
In an Avid workflow the proxy is itself an MXF file, generated at a lower resolution during transcode or consolidate. It is bound to the same master clip, so the edit is safe, but a conform at delivery resolution needs media that currently does not exist on the system.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Offline editing deliberately produces low-resolution media so a laptop can cut a long project, and the high-resolution files are meant to return for the conform. They go missing when a transcode replaced them on the working drive, when the drive holding full-resolution media was sent back after the shoot, or when camera cards were reused before anyone consolidated the originals.
Proxy and preview locations are separate from camera originals and contain less information. For Avid Media Composer, this matters because Avid Media Composer can keep references or helper media without containing a complete independent original
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Keep the low-resolution MXF media and the bins exactly as they are, and back the project folder up to a second drive before anything changes.
- 2
Export a list of the master clips with their source names and tape or file identifiers, so the search targets exact filenames rather than impressions.
- 3
Search the archive drives and the camera cards for the high-resolution material, and copy anything found to the online storage read-only.
- 4
For originals that were deleted, scan the card read-only, export them to a spare drive and relink the master clips to the recovered files.
Do not deliver the offline edit as a finished master, and do not delete the low-resolution media to make room for a new transcode. Without those files the timeline goes dark, and the reduced resolution cannot be recovered by upscaling.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
A low-resolution MXF cannot be raised to camera quality. File Recovery Hero recovers deleted originals from exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 cards and drives read-only while their blocks are unused, and cannot help with shared project storage or a defective drive.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The conform is ready when every master clip resolves to full-resolution media, the format column shows the camera resolution instead of the offline setting, and a playback pass over the whole timeline finds no clip that stayed low-resolution by mistake.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can Avid Media Composer workflow be recovered in this situation?+
In an Avid workflow the proxy is itself an MXF file, generated at a lower resolution during transcode or consolidate. It is bound to the same master clip, so the edit is safe, but a conform at delivery resolution needs media that currently does not exist on the system. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not deliver the offline edit as a finished master, and do not delete the low-resolution media to make room for a new transcode.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.