Offline edit

The creative cut, made light and fast on proxies: story first, polish later. Where the film is actually found.

The offline is editing at thinking speed: proxy footage, rough sound, temporary grade, everything subordinated to the one question that matters, does the story work? Names survive from the era when the edit happened away from the expensive online suite, and the separation of concerns they mark is still sound.

Decisions made offline are structural and cheap to change; everything after picture lock is expensive and cosmetic. The discipline is refusing polish's temptation: a beautiful grade on a broken structure is embalming. We hold the offline until the cut plays without apology at proxy quality, because a film that only works polished does not work.