How to work with footage that is too big to analyse
Upload the files as they are and let Vizard Agent decide what needs a proxy. It makes a small analysis copy of anything too large to review, finds the moments in that copy, and then cuts the finished video from the original files. The search is cheap and the output stays full quality.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
Say what you want found rather than how to find it. The proxy step is a technical decision Vizard Agent makes on its own once it knows how big the files are. What it needs from you is the definition of a moment worth keeping, and "goals, dangerous chances and saves" beats "the best bits" because each one is searchable.
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
A proxy is a small, low-bitrate copy that exists only so something can look at the footage. The timings it produces are valid against the original, so the cut is made from the full-quality file afterwards. That separates finding the moments from making the output. In the session behind this article it:
- Loaded the recap playbook, probed all six drone files of one football match and built a visual contact sheet.
- Mapped the shots in each clip one file at a time, deriving them from what happened on the pitch, since a match filmed as one wide moving shot has no camera cuts.
- Summarised which shot maps succeeded and the file sizes involved: four files went through normally and two were too big to analyse at all.
- Checked the audio tracks and codecs before planning any mix.
- Created analysis proxies for the two oversized files, checked whether the proxy jobs were still running rather than assuming they had finished, and uploaded each one separately.
- Mapped the shots in the proxies the same way, then searched each file for goals, dangerous chances and saves.
When does this not work well?
Some footage resists this. If the action is too small in the frame to read in a proxy, if the files are corrupt rather than simply large, or if the moments have no visual signature, such as tactical play rather than shots on goal, the proxy pass finds nothing and the search has to be manual. Very long single files still take real time to review.
Common questions
What is a proxy? A small stand-in copy Vizard Agent uses to look at footage quickly.
Will the final video be compressed? No. Vizard Agent cuts from the original files, not the proxies.
What if a file fails to upload? Vizard Agent checks rather than assuming, and tells you which one is missing.