Smart Relink
A typical export from a proxy workflow either downloads every original referenced in the project (slow, fills the SSD) or relinks manually clip by clip (tedious, error prone). Smart Relink reads the timeline file (FCPXML for Final Cut Pro, EDL for any NLE, AAF for Avid Media Composer) and identifies which clips are actually used in the final cut, ignoring the 80 to 95 percent of footage that was trimmed out.
For a documentary that uses 2 percent of its rushes, Smart Relink lets the editor stream only the originals that actually appear in the cut, leaving the rest in cloud storage. The NLE sees a virtual drive that contains both proxies (for unused footage) and originals (for used clips), and the export renders at full quality without ever downloading a single unused file.
In Adobe Premiere Pro, Sanbila uses a different path: a native plugin imports your 4K originals and attaches a local proxy to each clip with Premiere's own proxy feature. You edit with Toggle Proxies on, then export the full resolution by leaving Use Proxies unchecked, with no relink and no reconform.
Because Smart Relink operates on the timeline file and the symlinks, not on the media itself, it is non-destructive and reversible: switch a clip back to proxy and the originals stay untouched in the cloud. It reads FCPXML, Premiere XML, EDL and AAF, so a Resolve, Final Cut Pro or Avid project all route through the same mechanism. The result is that a 2 TB shoot behaves, at export, like the few hundred gigabytes the cut actually uses.
Examples
- •A 2 TB documentary project with 200 GB of clips actually used: Smart Relink streams only those 200 GB at export, saving 1.8 TB of unnecessary downloading
- •A wedding edit using 5 percent of the shoot: Smart Relink pulls only the selected ceremony moments and B-roll
- •A music video with 6 takes per shot: Smart Relink streams only the takes chosen for the final cut
In Sanbila
Sanbila parses FCPXML, EDL, and AAF timeline files from DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, and Avid. It marks each clip as proxy or stream, mounts a virtual drive containing both, and the editor exports normally. In Premiere Pro, the Sanbila plugin instead attaches each proxy to its original, so you export the full resolution with no relink.
Frequently asked questions
Does Smart Relink download my whole project to export?+
No. That is the point. It reads the timeline file, finds only the clips used in the final cut, and streams just those originals from the cloud, leaving the trimmed-out 80 to 95 percent in storage. A 2 TB shoot that uses 200 GB in the cut streams only those 200 GB, so you export at full quality without filling the SSD.
Which NLEs does Smart Relink work with?+
It works at the file level by parsing the timeline, so DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer all use it through FCPXML, EDL or AAF, and it switches each used clip to the streamed original for export. In Premiere Pro the symlink path would keep the proxy conform frozen, so there the Sanbila plugin attaches each proxy to its 4K original instead and you export from the originals by leaving Use Proxies unchecked.
Is Smart Relink reversible?+
Yes. It only retargets which file each timeline clip points to, proxy or streamed original, and never moves or alters the media. You can switch a clip back to proxy at any time, and the originals stay untouched in the cloud. Nothing about the edit changes, because the NLE sees the same paths.
Related terms
See also
Sources
- Adobe Premiere Pro XML format · Adobe
- Final Cut Pro XML reference · Apple
- Avid AAF SDK documentation · AMWA / Avid