Understanding Codecs — What Filmmakers Actually Need to Know
Codec conversations get technical fast — bitrates, compression, chroma subsampling. Here's the simplified version: what acquisition vs. delivery codecs actually mean, and when 10-bit and Log/RAW are worth the extra complexity.
Codec conversations have a way of going technical very quickly — bitrates, compression algorithms, chroma subsampling, container formats. Most of that detail doesn't matter for day-to-day filmmaking decisions. What does matter is understanding the basic tradeoffs so you can make the right choice for your production without overthinking it.
Here's what you actually need to know...
What a Codec Is
Codec stands for compressor/decompressor. It's the software algorithm that takes raw digital video data — which would be enormous if stored uncompressed — and reduces it to a manageable file size. When you play the file back, the codec decompresses it for display.
Every digital video file has a codec. H.264, H.265, ProRes, RAW, DNxHD — these are all codecs, each making different tradeoffs between file size, image quality, and processing demands.
The Core Tradeoff: Acquisition vs. Delivery
The most important codec distinction for filmmakers is between acquisition codecs and delivery codecs.
Acquisition codecs are optimized for capturing and editing. They preserve as much image information as possible, which makes them large but easy to work with in a color suite. ProRes, BRAW, and ARRI RAW fall into this category. They're what you want on the camera card.
Delivery codecs are optimized for distribution. They compress the image aggressively to reduce file size for streaming, upload, or broadcast. H.264 and H.265 are the standard delivery codecs for web video. They look fine on a screen but are difficult to color grade and can break down under heavy correction.
The basic rule: shoot in a high-quality acquisition codec, deliver in H.264 or H.265.
Bitrate — What It Means in Practice
Bitrate measures how much data is stored per second of video, usually expressed in megabits per second (Mbps). Higher bitrate means more data, which generally means better image quality and more latitude for color grading.
A consumer camera shooting H.264 at 100Mbps captures more information than one shooting at 25Mbps. A cinema camera shooting ProRes at 800Mbps captures significantly more than either.
Higher bitrate also means larger files. A day of shooting on an ARRI Alexa will fill storage that dwarfs what a mirrorless camera shooting H.264 would produce. Plan your storage accordingly.
8-Bit vs. 10-Bit Color
Bit depth determines how many distinct color values the camera can record. 8-bit video can represent 256 shades per color channel. 10-bit can represent 1,024.
In practice this matters most when you're pushing a grade hard. 8-bit footage develops banding — visible steps between color tones — when you lift shadows or push saturation aggressively. 10-bit holds up significantly better under heavy correction.
If you're shooting content that will receive a real color grade, 10-bit capture is worth prioritizing when your camera offers it.
Log and RAW
Many cameras offer Log profiles and RAW capture modes that maximize the image information available for color grading.
Log profiles apply a flat, low-contrast tone curve to the image that preserves highlight and shadow detail that would otherwise clip. The footage looks washed out straight out of camera but contains more dynamic range for grading. Common Log profiles include Sony S-Log, Canon C-Log, and ARRI Log C.
RAW capture records the unprocessed data directly from the camera sensor before the image processor applies any interpretation. It gives colorists maximum flexibility but requires specialized software and produces very large files.
Both are valuable tools — but they add complexity to the post-production workflow. Make sure your pipeline can handle them before you commit.
