Using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10

Using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10

February 5, 2014

This video tutorial is an overview of the integration between Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve, focusing on new features in Resolve 10.


Series

In Action: The Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10

Welcome back to our continuing series on colorist control surfaces. In this Insight, we’ll take a quick look at using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10. I’ll be focusing on some of the new features implemented in Resolve 10 as well as share a few annoyances in this latest Resolve 10 update.

I also have a First Look video I did in 2013 with B&H Photo in New York City not long after the Element first started shipping. If you’re new to the Element or working with control surfaces in general, that video is a good supplement to this one.

Tangent Element and DaVinci Resolve: Semi-Modular Implementation

If you’re primarily using these panels with DaVinci Resolve and you’re not buying the full set all at once—you’ve got to be careful which of the panels you buy. Only the Trackball and Multifunction panels can be bought independently, in any order you want. The Knobs and Buttons panels must be bought as a pair. It’s the way Resolve is programmed to work with these panels. If you buy them individually you’ll find they won’t work as expected.

Tangent Hub required

Using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10 does require the installation of the Tangent Hub software, which can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s support page. As I mention in this video, the button layout is NOT customizable with DaVinci Resolve –  we just have to learn to love how it’s programmed.

Got Questions?

This is not an exhaustive How-To video on using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve. So I’m sure you’ll have some questions! That’s why we’ve got the comments down below the video. Go ahead and ask away!

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Comments

Homepage Forums Using the Tangent Element with DaVinci Resolve 10


  • Andre Luis
    Guest

    You spent so much time in just one panel and forgot the others, I was waiting to see how the other parts works as well. 🙂
    Anyway, thanks for sharing


  • Chris Climer
    Guest

    any news on if they updated any of the features you felt they were missing?


  • Patrick Inhofer
    Guest

    They added a few of the new features in Resolve 11 to the Element. But no, they’ve spent zero time implementing improvements for these panels. You just have to look at their own branded panels to realize Blackmagic has lost interest in the hardware interfaces.


  • Peter Swartz
    Guest

    Hello Patrick! I thought you did not have to use a mouse with the new element panel. Can’t I use the trackball on the transport panel in place of a mouse???


  • Patrick Inhofer
    Guest

    I’ve never been a fan of ‘mouse mode’ on any control surface. I find they’re almost universally clunky. Plus, right-, left- and middle-clicking is usually very awkward. It’s a cool feature to list on a website but is almost never a replacement for a real mouse controller. At least, not for me.

    RE: Not using a mouse – I’ve certainly never felt any control surface for DaVinci Resolve mitigates the use the mouse. It certainly reduces reliance on it… and on the Blackmagic $30k panels you can nearly eliminate the need to reach for a mouse when in full color correction mode—but on the 3rd party panels? They just don’t have enough buttons to come close to mouse elimination.

    What a surface like the Element does is pull your focus off the UI and on to the image you’re color correcting. And I can go quite a while without reaching for the mouse. But at some point, there’s functions that have not been mapped and can only be accessed with the mouse.


  • ajit01
    Guest

    Hi Patrick: I just bought the Element panels, set Resolve 12 to use them, but I see no mappings on the panels by default (when I run Tangent mapper, it shows Resolve selected) – is there something else I have to do?

    Thanks.


  • Patrick Inhofer
    Guest

    This is correct. Resolve maps the panel directly and bypasses the Mapper software. You should see the controls appear on the Element when Resolve is running (and if you’ve enabled the Elements in Resolve Preferences).


  • Tyler Hawes
    Member

    Thanks for the “switch timeline” tip. That alone made the video worth watching for me. I was hoping you’d include some details on the control panel sensitivity settings for this panel. Maybe you can include that if you ever refresh this video since it’s been a while now…


  • Patrick Inhofer
    Guest

    Working with the Tangent in Resolve 12.5 is really no different than in Resolve 10.

    Question: What is it about the sensitivity settings you’re wondering about?

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