Davinci Resolve (Non Linear Video Editor/Color Correction)

[Rodney]

I couldn't locate the previous topic on Davinci Resolve bSo...

 

Black Magic has announced the release of Davinci Resolve from Beta testing. It is now available in free and paid versions.

 

If you don't have a dedicated video editor this is well worth a look, especially as Black Magic also produces the compositing software Fusion (which is not a dedicated video editor) and integration between the two will surely continue as time goes on.

 

The primary difference between the free and paid release ($995) is higher resolution capabilities used in professional studios. The free versions (of Davinci Resolve and Fusion) operate on Mac and PC while the full version works on Mac, PC and Linux. According to their site:

all the features of the free version plus support for multiple GPUs, 4K output, motion blur effects, temporal and spatial noise reduction, 3D tools, remote and multi user collaboration tools.

 

Here's a quick run down of minimum requirements for smooth operation:

 

Minimum system requirements for Mac

• Mac OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite
• 16 GB of system memory is recommended and 8 GB is the minimum supported
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video version 10.4.1 or later
• CUDA Driver version 7.0.36
• NVIDIA Driver version – As required by your GPU
• RED Rocket-X Driver 2.1.19.0 and Firmware 1.3.19.7 or later
• RED Rocket Driver 1.4.36.0 and Firmware 1.1.17.3 or later

Minimum system requirements for Windows

• Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit with SP1
• 16 GB of system memory is recommended and 8 GB is the minimum supported
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video version 10.4.1 or later
• NVIDIA/AMD Driver version – As required by your GPU
• RED Rocket-X Driver 2.1.19.0 and Firmware 1.3.19.7 or later
• RED Rocket Driver 1.4.36.0 and Firmware 1.1.17.3 or later

Minimum system requirements for Linux

• CentOS 6.4
• 32 GB of system memory is recommended and 16 GB is the minimum supported
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video version 10.4.1 or later
• NVIDIA/AMD Driver version – As required by your GPU
• RED Rocket-X Driver 2.1.19.0 and Firmware 1.3.19.7 or later
• RED Rocket Driver 1.4.36.0 and Firmware 1.1.17.3 or later

[robcat2075]

$995! Ouch.

 

Well, I'm still on Windows 7 so I'm out of the loop anyway.

 

 

• RED Rocket-X Driver 2.1.19.0 and Firmware 1.3.19.7 or later
• RED Rocket Driver 1.4.36.0 and Firmware 1.1.17.3 or later

 

 

 

Is that a piece of hardware? If it has "firmware" it must be hardware, right?

[Rodney]

I almost hesitated to post that system requirements stuff because it's not easily decipherable...

• RED Rocket-X Driver 2.1.19.0 and Firmware 1.3.19.7 or later
• RED Rocket Driver 1.4.36.0 and Firmware 1.1.17.3 or later

 

Yes, keep in mind that Black Magic is first and foremost a maker of digital cameras and associated equipment. So the specs at the high end go more deeply into esoteric equipment than will apply to the average guy/gal. I believe the presence of the spec itself (in this case) means that *if* you have that particular equipment *then* it will need to conform to that (firmware) spec in order to operate optimally. As I don't have that equipment, other than operating a little slow at times due to limited RAM I haven't experienced any issues with Resolve.

At times I do think that having a dedicated editing device with the roll balls etc. would be nice BUT THEN I remember that I don't really have a lot of footage to edit to begin with to make the purchase of special equipment worthwhile.

One thing I like about Davinci Resolve is that it can be programmed to render out to multiple formats simultaneously (by adding to the render cue) which is quite nice. A workflow therefore might be to render out of A:M (or Netrender) to a targeted (optimal) resolution and then have Resolve color correct and reformat to other formats and styles.

I cannot help but think of Yves Poissant when I see options to process image data in the various color spaces and specifically options to process in linear color space. I won't pretend that I know what to do with it all but I'm happy that I know Yves. It helps to know that others understand the more deeply technical stuff so that if I should ever need a more thorough understanding that knowledge can indeed be had and that once the knowledge is gained it can be (appropriately) applied.

[Rodney]

Disclaimer: I haven't warmed up to using Blackmagic Davinci Resolve mostly because I haven't taken the time to explore optimal workflow. It does appear to be well worth a look, especially for those that don't have a dedicated video editor.

 

Blackmagic has recently released the latest Beta for Davinci Resolve which is now a full fledged video editor. The Beta reportedly contains over 250 new features.

As with their other software (Fusion) the full studio release contains many features not available in the free release to include collaboration features and stereoscopic workflows.

 

Blackmagic's strategic approach is finally getting to the field in that as a hardware maker they are packaging their software with their cameras.

Cameras over the $2000 price range will have a copy of the studio release of Davinci Resolve included (with a dongle) while cameras of lower price will include the free release software.

Their goal being to allow those that use their cameras to go from shooting film to editing to special effects and color correction all within their product ecosystem.

The studio release is priced at $995. For those purchasing a Blackmagic camera the free software bundling should be taken into consideration.

 

It goes without saying that I recommend Blackmagic's Fusion for compositing. I currently consider it my #2 software after Animation:Master.

I don't have a dedicated video editor... still searching for the optimal one. Premiere is the most likely at this point but that's a long way from being locked down and I'm always on the look for software everyone can access.

If you don't have a dedicated video editor then Resolve is well worth investigating.

My primary critique would be that as with many video editors ingestion of footage it's not very intuitive to new users.

I recommend shutting other programs down while using most video editors to free up resources as well. Davinci's new Beta lagged considerably when I had my usual stack of dozens of programs open at the same time.

 

Check it out here: Davinci Resolve

(a video should open on the website outlining new features but note that some of those on display are only in the studio release)

[Rodney]

Hot on the heels of the latest software update to Davinci Resolve is yet another release that brings additional features in both free and paid versions.

The primary difference between the two versions is that the Studio release expands plugin usage and adds GPU processing not avaiable in the free release.

 

The most significant feature added this time around (for A:M Users) will be native coding/decoding of Apple Prores video to include the various .MOV flavors that in the past have relied on Quicktime Player being installed.

 

Here's a breakdown of the most recent updates:

EDIT IMPROVEMENTS

* Improved 2-up and 4-up, multicam and playback performance when using QuickTime ProRes on Windows
* Added menu items to allow selection of clips based on Flag, Marker and Clip colors on the edit timeline
* Added ability to import and export duration markers using EDL
* Added the ability for clips to snap to their own markers when adjusting In and Out points
* Improved consistency of edit functions when Timeline is in full screen mode
* Added support for box wipe mode for offline reference wipe

COLOR IMPROVEMENTS

* Improved performance for Spatial Noise reduction in Better mode
* Improved listing of attached and timeline mattes in the node graph with support for alphabetical listing
* Added ability to apply grades from a reference wipe using the viewer context menu
* Added ability to align keyframe timelines of color grades using playhead position and wiped still frame
* Next node and previous node operations now loop around the node graph
* The ‘displayed’ node graph now automatically updates when the current still is changed
* Swapping nodes now also swaps the node labels
* Shift Up + Next Still will now append grade from the current still on the advanced control panel (Studio version)
* Added support for left eye and right eye grades for the timeline node graph (Studio version)
* Added ability to convert a mono timeline into stereoscopic 3D (Studio version)
* Added ability to convert a mono clip into stereoscopic 3D (Studio version)
* Added support for sequence and node render caching for stereoscopic clips and timelines (Studio version)
* Added compensation for stereoscopic slip when exporting timecodes in ALE (Studio version)
* Added support copying DolbyVision grades using stills and middle click (Studio version)
* Improved 3D and Qualifier panel layout in dual screen mode
* Improved behavior to stay on the same frame when joining two clips

RESOLVE FX IMPROVEMENTS

* Added ResolveFX Generate Color (GPU accelerated)
* Added ResolveFX Tilt-shift Blur
* Added support for anamorphism in ResolveFX Lens Blur (Studio version)
* GPU acceleration support for ResolveFX Lens Flare (Studio version)
* Ability to adjust Shadows/Midtones/Highlights in ResolveFX Film Grain in all compositing modes (Studio version)
* GPU acceleration support for ResolveFX Emboss, Waviness, Vortex, Ripples, Dent, Mirror
* Improved ResolveFX Scanlines and added various composite modes
* Ability to view the ResolveFX Scanline layer without the background
* Improved border behavior for ResolveFX Gaussian Blur, Directional Blur, Mosaic Blur, Radial Blur and Zoom Blur
* Added support for horizontal/vertical ratio in ResolveFX Glow
* Added support for pan and tilt on ResolveFX Prism Blur
* Improved performance for ResolveFX Light Rays
* Improved performance for ResolveFX JPEG Damage

MEDIA IMPROVEMENTS

* Added new Import Media options to File menu and Media Pool context menu
* Added support for stereoscopic 3D clips in Media Management (Studio version)
* Added ability to create stereo clips with mismatched source resolution (Studio version)
* Added support for display drive names in Media Storage on Windows
* Addressed issues with open file location from Media Pool on Linux
* Added Source Name tag support for filename without extension

CODEC & FORMAT IMPROVEMENTS

* Adds direct support for ProRes decode on Windows so that QuickTime 7 is no longer required
* Improved .mov decode and encode performance on Windows
* Support for UHD H.264 renders on Windows
* Improved .mov decode and encode performance on Linux
* Added support for HEVC (H.265) decode on Linux
* Added support for alpha channel on DNxHR 444
* Added support for the Sony X-OCN format
* Added support for various AAC encode parameters on macOS
* Added support for QuickTime AAC audio encoding on Windows
* Added support for V-Gamut in RCM for improved Panasonic camera image handling
* Added ARRI LogC to Linear and Linear to ARRI LogC LUTs in VFX I/O
* Addressed decoding of last frame in some Panasonic AVCHD clips
* Improved handling of AVCHD .MTS clips

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

* Alpha-numerical listing of codecs and format in the Deliver and Media Management pulldowns
* When running DaVinci Resolve in window mode, the macOS dock is now visible
* Improved latency for remote grading (Studio version)
* Improved handling of dissolves and overlapping clips in DolbyVision metadata export (Studio version)
* Improved behaviour when creating render jobs on locations without write permissions
* General performance and stability improvements

If you need video editing or color correction and don't have a dedicated application for that purpose Davinci Resolve is worth checking out. The new v15.1.1 release can be downloaded here:

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve

[Rodney]

More reasons to check out Davinci Resolve...

 

One addition is that of creating 3D sound by placing sound into audio space.

Face tracking? It's got that.

 

The public beta has been released for Resolve Studio and Resolve free.

 

The free version is still available.

The Studio version that was $999 is now $299.

(I"m hoping this trend will echo in their Fusion product so that their studio version of Fusion will drop to that price point).

 

Here's a walkthrough of some of the recent enhancements.

 

http://nofilmschool.com/2017/07/in-depth-blackmagic-davinci-resolve-14-nab-2017

 

Davinci Resolve is very likely overkill for many hobbyists but leaning into it with the free version at least gets you familiar with high end video editing.

It's likely too complex for me but it's nice to have it available if I ever need it.

 

To get Davinci Resolve: LINK

[Rodney]

Here's an overview of color correction and color grading:

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d0UwctJuQo

[Rodney]

Here's an overview of the video editing process:

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTuvpin_z_M

[harunw]

DaVinci Resolve 14 has just been released a few days ago. Thanks Rodney for mentioning this product. I like it very much, and actually prefer it over Premiere Pro or Vegas Pro....

 

 

 

 

[Rodney]

Thanks Harun. I haven't had a chance to check out the latest release so I always appreciate when others post their experience.

There are a lot of video editors that can get the job done but for those that need higher end video editing tools I sense it going to be hard to beat DaVinci Resolve.

 

I'm still waiting for the latest release of Blackmagic Designs Fusion to stabilize because I will very likely purchase the Studio release and it should be highly integrated with Resolve.

The free releases of both Fusion and Resolve then pave the way for scaling up production.

If the software tools currently available would have been available back when 'Tin Woodsman of Oz' was in production I've no doubt they would have been put to good use.

[Rodney]

I've long sung the praises of Blackmagic Design Fusion and have been interested in Davinci Resolve although I haven't had as much of a need for a high end video editor and color correction suite.

 

BUT... Resolve is about to gain a 3D workspace and it's integration with Fusion are about to take it to the next level.

 

Davinci Resolve 15 Beta 1 is now available:

 

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/#

 

You don't have to bite yet but do yourself a favor and just start leaning in that direction.

Watch a few videos.

Start getting familiar with the interface.

Explore how you'll integrate Resolve workflow with A:M.

[Rodney]

Here's a 20 minute video that walks through many of the new additions and integreations in Davinci Resolve:

 

xhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84e7iCI9Jkk

[Xtaz]

Very nice and intuitive system...