Nerd Christmas has arrived and yet another version of DaVinci Resolve is here for us to enjoy grading with.
I am insanely pleased with this version which focuses on bug fixes and everyday issues rather than shiny new features.
The proof was in the pudding for me this week.
My first day back after NAB and I conformed a phantom job…in one click!
All the complex timewarps came across easily and I used the amazing “set to zero” option in the camera raw options to make sure the phantom matched the 00:00:00:00 transcodes that editorial used.
Let’s take a look at my favorite new features so far. We will, of course, be covering these all in more detail soon!
My Favorite New Features
- Node & Power Windows Refinement – Such simple updates but they have to top my list due to how much faster my life has become. Selecting nodes, moving nodes, extracting nodes, and being able to lasso every point of a power curve window have changed my day to day grading immensely.
- Temperature & Tint Controls – The temperature and tint controls have to get the second spot as I use them constantly! Every primary grade now is pretty much balanced with the Temp & tint sliders.
- Color Space Transform – The color space transform is a refreshing new way to deal with log footage or any footage at all that needs to be converted. The issue we had with the Arri LUT was that it would clip anything in your path. This is not the case when you use the Color Space Transform to do the same job. Massive improvement as far as working with log footage is concerned. Expect another insight in this area soon!
- Resolve FX- I’m still learning all about the Resolve FX but it gives us a huge amount of new options. My favourites so far are the color transform, grain, glow and lens blur. The lens blur is far far better than the built in blur when trying to achieve a realistic result. When I spoke to BMD at NAB they said they were hoping to push most of these effects to the GPU for speedy and quick finishing work.
- Color Blending Mode – The color blending mode is something that comes up time and time again when I’m working with designers or photographers. They are so used to being able to add an RGB value of a color to create a solid layer (for example the client branded color) and then use the color blending mode to apply it over the image. This can be great with branded colors and gradients to add a unique feel to the footage that I think would be very hard to replicate with traditional grading controls.
- Power Bins – For me, the power bin media is all about keeping my most used elements close at hand. Things like scanned grain, film masks, light leaks and anything I can come up with for adding texture. When you add something into your power media Resolve can then use it in any project you work on. Simple idea but saves lots and lots of time!
Check out my video below for my favorite features in action!
As always any questions or things to add please use the comments below
-Dan
