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ProRes RAW: Meaning & Definition in Film

ProRes RAW is a codec from Apple that combines the quality and flexibility of raw video with the high performance of the ProRes family of codecs.

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The Best of Both Worlds

Apple’s ProRes RAW was designed to provide a solution to the traditional trade-off between the quality of raw video and the editing performance of compressed video formats. It aims to deliver the image quality and post-production flexibility of raw recording in a format that is as easy and fluid to edit as standard ProRes. It achieves this by capturing minimally processed data directly from the camera sensor and wrapping it in a highly efficient codec.

How It Works

When a compatible camera records in ProRes RAW, it bypasses the heavy in-camera processing and compression that is applied when recording to standard formats like H.264 or HEVC. The raw sensor data is captured and then lightly compressed using the ProRes RAW codec. This file is then passed to a compatible Non-Linear Editing (NLE) system, most notably Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

Key advantages include:

  • Raw Flexibility: Users can adjust parameters like ISO, exposure, and white balance after the fact, just as with other raw formats.
  • Real-time Performance: The codec is highly optimized for macOS and modern Apple hardware, allowing for smooth, real-time playback and editing of high-resolution raw files without the need for proxies.

Support for ProRes RAW requires a three-way partnership: a camera manufacturer that can output the raw sensor data (like Sony, Canon, Panasonic, or DJI), an external recorder that can encode it (like the Atomos Ninja V), and editing software that can decode it.

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More Filmmaking Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as ProRes RAW, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 913 terms

  • Telecine

    A film-to-video transfer process converting motion-picture film into electronic video signals.

  • Off the Grid

    Shooting 'off the grid' means filming in a remote location that lacks access to municipal power, requiring the production to be entirely self-sufficient.

  • Previsualization

    Previsualization, or previs, is the advanced process of creating a digital, often 3D-animated, mock-up of complex film sequences to meticulously plan the shots, camera work, and technical execution before filming.

  • Redundant Backup (3-2-1 Rule)

    The 3-2-1 rule is a data-management best practice dictating that a production should maintain three copies of its data on two different types of media, with one copy stored off-site.

  • Finishing

    Finishing is the final stage of post-production where the color grade, sound mix, and visual effects are brought together with the high-resolution picture to create the final master copy.