Is it possible to shoot on 4k, edit in 1080P or 2K, then export as 4k?

my computer, about 7 years old.

fractal design case

c: program files, ssd

d: source material ( 2 spinning black drives raid )

e: ssd, cache

f: ssd, exports.

full form graphic card pci e

full form bm pci e sdi in and out card ( for reference monitor not shown in photo

eizo primary

bm control surface

I can probably handle a 60 second TV commercial ( with masters, coverage, slated multiple takes, etc. ) shot in 4k but put into a 1080 timeline with proxy ( dnx ).

It's amazing you can shoot a full feature film on a laptop !!!!!!!  in 4k !!!!!   wow !!!!!!

: )

Jordan, thanks for info on mp4. be good to know now if you are on pc or mac.

If on pc you can get a program called 'mediainfo' and that free program can ( in tree view mode) say what your video is all about ( container, codec in container, bitrate, file size, all kinds of stuff that experienced people can understand ). Unfortunately 'experienced' means a little time studying and learning stuff, but has nothing to do with how smart you or they are... it's just that things get complicated sorta and it takes time to figure stuff out .

At some point you'll want to know how to convert the mp4 to something editor friendly...so if you say if you are on pc or mac, and include screenshot from mediainfo if on pc, it would speed up the best solution for you.

might want to look into " handbrake" program ( free ).

Allright, proxies are another version of the files that have a more friendly quality. When you edit, you edit using the proxies, but when you export, Premiere exports using the original files and thus preserving the quality.

However, this might not really help you since you will need to edit on a 4K sequence. If you after using proxies, your computer is still slow or lagging, edit on a 1080p sequence and before you export, change the settings of this sequence back to 4k, and double check that your clips are scaled correctly.

to be sorta accurate with definition it would be best if you now describe your source ( 4k ) footage specifically. is it raw or mp4 ?  be specific.

the use of proxy is defined differently depending on the source.

Using proxies, yes.

basicly no. if you edit in 1080p your 1080p export will be the best quality.

the use of edit friendly codec is an attempt to allow your laptop to edit 4k in 4k timeline, as it requires more work for a laptop to edit unfriendly codecs ( highly compressed stuff that needs to be decompressed, processed in editor, and recompressed ). Codec stands for "compression / decompression ). the friendly codecs don't tax the laptop as much as highly compressed files.

might or might not work for your laptop but worth a try maybe.

Yes you can but that wont do you any good. Image quality of the 4K export will be enlarged 1080p footage with imageloss.

Convert footage to an edit friendly codec such as Prores or use Proxies.