Production workflow · DaVinci Resolve workflow
DaVinci Resolve: only a proxy or preview remains
What can I do when only proxy media remains in DaVinci Resolve?
Short answer
Not as a finished master: DaVinci Resolve proxies and optimized media are reduced-quality working copies kept in a separate proxy or cache folder. Keep them, since they preserve the edit, but locate the camera originals on the card or a backup drive. Deleted originals need a read-only scan of that card before any grading or final export.
The situation
DaVinci Resolve can play a smaller helper file, while the high-quality original is unavailable.
Optimized media and proxies exist so grading stays fluid; they are transcodes at lower resolution or a lighter codec. The timeline is intact, the master is not, and that distinction decides everything that follows for a delivery. Treat the proxy folder as temporary storage that happens to be all that is left.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Resolve writes proxies and optimized media into the cache and proxy locations set in the project preferences, usually a fast local disk that is regularly emptied. The originals stay where they were ingested. Deleting the camera folder after a successful grade, a scratch disk cleared by a technician, or camera cards handed back to the crew all leave the project playing from the working copies alone.
Proxy and preview locations are separate from camera originals and contain less information. For DaVinci Resolve, this matters because DaVinci Resolve 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
Switch off any automatic cache cleanup and copy the proxy and optimized media folders to a second disk before anything else touches them.
- 2
Turn off proxy playback in the playback menu so the Media Pool reveals which clips are truly offline, and note their original paths and filenames.
- 3
Look for the camera originals on backup drives and on the cards themselves; copy them off read-only if the cards have not been used since.
- 4
Where the originals were deleted, scan that source read-only, export to a separate drive and relink the Media Pool so the grade sits on full-quality frames.
Do not deliver from optimized media because the picture looks acceptable on the monitor, and do not delete the proxies to free space while the originals are missing. Compression artefacts and reduced resolution become visible the moment the render is scaled or graded further.
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 proxy cannot be upgraded into the original, whatever the tool. File Recovery Hero recovers deleted originals only while their blocks are unused, reads exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 media, and cannot recover from an APFS scratch disk on macOS.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The original is back when the clip attributes show the camera resolution and codec with proxy playback disabled, the file lives outside the proxy and cache folders, and a graded shot holds up in the scopes at full quality rather than breaking apart.
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 DaVinci Resolve workflow be recovered in this situation?+
Optimized media and proxies exist so grading stays fluid; they are transcodes at lower resolution or a lighter codec. The timeline is intact, the master is not, and that distinction decides everything that follows for a delivery. Treat the proxy folder as temporary storage that happens to be all that is left. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not deliver from optimized media because the picture looks acceptable on the monitor, and do not delete the proxies to free space while the originals are missing.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.