RED RAW (R3D) editing workflow in DaVinci Resolve
RED Komodo, V-Raptor and V-Raptor XL produce R3D files at 300 to 700 GB per hour in 6K and 8K. DaVinci Resolve handles R3D natively, but the bandwidth still bottlenecks at the disk. Sanbila keeps the originals in cloud storage and lets Resolve open lightweight proxies during the offline cut, then switches each clip back to the original through a WebDAV mount when the colorist needs the raw debayer.
Why a 4 TB SSD will not save you on a RED shoot
A two-camera RED shoot in 6K at 30 fps produces about 600 GB per camera per day. After four shoot days you sit at 5 TB before any post processing. Resolve loves R3D, but reading the originals from an external SSD hits a wall during multi-clip playback: scrubbing on the timeline starts to stutter, color nodes lag, and the disk becomes the limiting factor. The usual workaround is to generate optimized media inside Resolve, which doubles the footprint and still binds the project to one machine. Move to a laptop on location and the workflow falls apart.
Hosting originals in the cloud, proxies on the SSD
Sanbila stores the R3D files in Cloudflare R2 the moment you import them from the card or the offload drive. SHA-256 deduplication prevents the same clip from uploading twice when two camera mags overlap. From there Resolve sees a folder of proxies generated on demand at 1080p ProRes Proxy, which encodes at roughly 30 GB per hour and sits comfortably on a laptop SSD. The offline cut is fluid, the timeline is responsive, and you never have to babysit which drive holds which clip. When the colorist takes over, a single relink swaps the proxy for the original streamed live from R2 over WebDAV, which Resolve mounts as a network volume.
RED RAW (R3D) · DaVinci Resolve
For DaVinci Resolve on a RED R3D timeline, the recommended Sanbila preset is 1080p ProRes Proxy in .mov. ProRes is decoded efficiently by Resolve on macOS and Windows, the file size stays around 30 GB per hour, and the relink back to R3D for the color pass keeps the original debayer chain intact. The 720p variant fits laptop SSDs under 1 TB and works on Resolve Studio as well as the free version.
From proxy to original at export time
Sanbila reads the Resolve FCPXML export of your timeline and identifies which clips are actually used. Smart Relink switches only those clips to stream mode, mounts the WebDAV volume, and replaces the proxy symlinks with pointers to the originals on R2. You export from Resolve as if the R3D files were local: the application reads each frame on demand, the debayer pipeline runs on the original sensor data, and nothing is downloaded to your SSD. After the export the WebDAV mount unmounts and the proxy folder stays exactly as it was, ready for the next color session.
Five steps from card to delivery
- 1
Plug the RED card or offload drive into your machine and let Sanbila scan it. Every R3D clip is hashed and uploaded to R2 in parallel, with multipart upload for files above 100 MB.
- 2
Open the project virtual folder. Sanbila has generated 1080p ProRes Proxy files on your SSD, linked through symlinks that look like normal files to Resolve.
- 3
Cut, fine-cut and lock the picture in Resolve at proxy quality. The timeline plays back without dropped frames on a MacBook Pro M2 or a Windows laptop with an RTX 3060.
- 4
Export the timeline as FCPXML and run Sanbila Smart Relink. The clips used in the edit switch to stream mode, the WebDAV volume mounts, and Resolve sees the R3D originals at full resolution.
- 5
Color and export from Resolve. The full-resolution debayer runs on the originals streamed from R2. Nothing is downloaded permanently, the SSD stays clean, and the project archives back to the cloud.
Sanbila by the numbers
Real specs from the live Sanbila product, not marketing claims.
Common questions about RED RAW in DaVinci Resolve
Does Sanbila support RED IPP2 color science when streaming the originals?
Yes. WebDAV streaming serves the raw R3D bytes, so the debayer, IPP2 pipeline and OFX nodes inside Resolve operate on the original sensor data. No transcode happens between R2 and Resolve.
Can the colorist work from a different city than the editor?
Yes. Once the editor commits the FCPXML and Sanbila Smart Relinks the timeline, the colorist opens the project on their own machine and the same WebDAV stream resolves to the R3D originals. Each member generates their proxies locally for the offline scenes they want to preview.
What happens to the R3D originals if I lose internet during the color pass?
Sanbila distinguishes a 401 from a network drop. The session stays valid and the WebDAV mount remains visible. Resolve pauses on the affected clips and resumes the moment connectivity comes back. The block-level cache holds the most recently read 4 MB blocks, so a brief outage rarely interrupts playback.
Is 1080p ProRes Proxy enough for a feature film offline edit?
For an offline cut focused on rhythm, performance and storytelling, 1080p ProRes Proxy is the proven standard from major post houses. If you need to make creative decisions that depend on grain, focus or sensor detail, you switch the relevant clips to stream mode while you cut, then switch back to proxy when you are done with them.
How does Sanbila handle the .RDM and .RDC folder structure RED writes?
Sanbila reads the .RDM container, traces the .RDC clips inside, and uploads each clip as a single logical unit. The metadata from the .RMD sidecar files is preserved, so RMD looks, ISO and tint settings load correctly when Resolve opens the original through WebDAV.
Related workflows
Blackmagic RAW workflow in DaVinci Resolve
BRAW is the codec DaVinci Resolve grew up with. Decoding is fast, debayer is clean, and the metadata roundtrip is the most mature in the industry. The catch is the disk. A URSA Mini Pro 12K at 8:1 still writes around 250 GB per hour, and the Pocket 6K stack on a documentary shoot fills a 2 TB drive in a week. Sanbila keeps the BRAW originals on Cloudflare R2 and serves a 1080p ProRes Proxy on your machine so Resolve plays back instantly, then streams the BRAW over WebDAV when you grade.
ARRI RAW workflow in Avid Media Composer
Long-form drama and broadcast post still runs on Avid Media Composer, and the source is increasingly Alexa 35 ARRI RAW at 400 to 900 GB per hour. The traditional SAN-and-MediaFiles workflow is expensive to scale and impossible to share between cities. Sanbila keeps the ARRI RAW on Cloudflare R2, generates 1080p DNxHR LB proxies on the editor's machine, and streams the originals back through the WebDAV mount when the assistant editor conforms the AAF for online.