Conform
When an edit is cut offline on proxies, the timeline holds a list of decisions: which clip, which in and out points, which order. Conforming takes that list and reconnects it to the original camera files, so the finishing team works on the real footage rather than the low-resolution copies. The conform has to match frame-accurately, because grading and effects depend on the exact pixels of each shot.
Conforming often crosses applications. An editor cuts in Premiere Pro, then hands an AAF or XML to a colourist in DaVinci Resolve. The interchange file describes the timeline, and the colourist relinks it to the originals. A clean conform depends on consistent file names, timecode, and reel identifiers across the whole pipeline.
Examples
- •A locked Premiere Pro cut is conformed in DaVinci Resolve via XML
- •An Avid sequence is sent to a finishing suite through AAF
- •A colourist relinks an offline timeline to the 8K originals before grading
In Sanbila
Sanbila reads your timeline file at export and conforms it for you: Smart Relink finds the originals behind each used clip and streams them at full resolution, so the conform happens without hunting for media across drives.
Frequently asked questions
How is Sanbila different from the proxy generator built into my NLE?+
Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Avid all generate proxies locally, but they keep the original full-resolution files on the same SSD — so the disk fills up twice. Sanbila stores the originals in the cloud (Cloudflare R2) and keeps only the lightweight proxies on your machine. At export, Smart Relink streams the originals back via a local WebDAV mount, so you finish at full quality without ever downloading the source files.
Does Sanbila work offline?+
Yes for editing — once a proxy is cached on your SSD, you can cut, trim, color and arrange your timeline without an internet connection. You only need network access for the initial import (uploading originals to the cloud) and for the final export (streaming originals back via WebDAV).
How much cloud storage does the free plan include?+
The free plan includes 5 GB of cloud storage and one project, with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $49 per month for 2 TB and 50 projects, going up to 25 TB on the Enterprise plan with overage billing for teams that need more.
What upload speed do I need to use Sanbila?+
Any broadband connection works for the initial upload — Sanbila chunks files into 50 MB parts and uploads in parallel, so a typical 100 Mbps fiber line uploads 1 hour of 4K H.264 footage in about 6 minutes. After upload, day-to-day editing happens on local proxies, so your connection speed only matters again at export time when originals are streamed.
Which video formats does Sanbila support?+
Sanbila handles 22+ formats out of the box: MP4, MOV, MXF, R3D (RED RAW), BRAW (Blackmagic RAW), ARRI proxies, ProRes, DNxHR, DNxHD, H.264, H.265, plus WAV and AAC for audio. Both 4K and 8K sources are supported up to 200 GB per single file (URL imports have no size limit).
Related terms
Sources
- Conform and relink in DaVinci Resolve · Blackmagic Design
- Exporting AAF from Premiere Pro · Adobe