To make everything much more specific, I'm trying to use DaVinci Resolve (free edition) on Linux Ubuntu, and the camera that I'm using outputs in the format that I posted below - H264 mp4 with AAC audio. I may end up using that, but it doesn't actually solve my immediate problem. Thank you for your reply! I've started looking into proxy files for editing and that looks like a great system to use.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to learn about this stuff or otherwise offer some advice? Thanks! I've got several 4.3 GB video files and can't afford to have them coming out at 25 GB after conversion. I'm guessing that I'm going to have to sacrifice some quality somehow, but do I do so in the framerate or in the resolution? I had no idea when I set out to make a simple YouTube video how many video formats there are are there comparisons out there that will tell me what I'm losing with one over the other or how the compression changes. These import just fine for me, but the resulting files are so massive that they completely fill my hard drive. I want to convert this into a different format because I'm having trouble working directly with the H264 codec - so far I've tried Prores and DNx. I've recorded several videos, and if I look at the codec metadata I see the following: I'm new to working with video and probably just need to be pointed in the right direction for where to learn about the various options out there.

Davinci resolve support .wav