How To Manage Versions for VFX & Graphics in DaVinci Resolve

Using DaVinci Resolve’s Take Selector to work faster, with fewer mistakes

The take selector is one of those little unsung hero features in Resolve. It’s super useful – but not many people know it’s there!

In talking to a few other colorists I found quite a few didn’t even know it existed, or how they could use it to organize and speed up their VFX shot workflows.

The take selector is also a great way to swap between different tags, graphics, or languages.

Key take-aways from this Insight

By then end of this Insight you should understand:

How to access the take selector
How to add takes and switch between them to show different VFX versions
Why the take selector makes it easy to version VFX shots using the same grade
Adjusting timing and finalizing takes
An alternate use of the take selector for promo graphics

Questions or Comments? Leave a comment!

Is this Insight useful to you? Let us know! Mixing Light thrives on feedback and we’re curious if you found this helpful or if you have more questions we need to address?

– Joey

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Comments

Creator

Discussion
September 24, 2022 at 6:58 am #46930

Joey D’Anna
Participant

This is the discussion thread for the Insight: How To Manage Versions for VFX & Graphics in DaVinci Resolve
Creator

Discussion

Balaji Gopal
Member

September 24, 2022 at 9:02 am

Very interesting insight about Take Selector which I never heard or used. An eyeopener to stay organised.
Evan Anthony
Member

September 25, 2022 at 8:38 am

Well played Sir!

Nice insight. I never used the Take Selector.
Kaur Hendrikson
Member

September 27, 2022 at 2:32 am

Great insight, Joey!

Tho why the digital zoom-ins?
- Patrick Inhofer
  Administrator
  
  October 4, 2022 at 9:47 am
  
  Kaur,
  
  The icons on the Take Selector are tiny. And at Mixing Light we get feedback from members that these tiny UI elements in Resolve are difficult to see if you’re watching on a smartphone. So these ‘breakout’ zooms are our solution to the problem.
R Neil Haugen
Member

September 27, 2022 at 4:12 pm

Joey, well … you just hit another simple little tool I’ve never seen or heard of that looks rather … useful. Sheepers. Thanks!
Darrin KLimek
Member

September 28, 2022 at 12:49 pm

Super useful – great insight
Jonny Elwyn
Member

September 30, 2022 at 6:15 am

Great insight Joey!

In terms of the set up, which do you think is faster – individual take selectors for each promo/title item, or would it work to lay out all of the titles/languages etc for a video on different tracks, compound clip each version set together and then take select between the compound clip groupings? Or would there just be a better way overall to switch between versions of multiple items at once?
- Joey D’Anna
  Member
  
  October 9, 2022 at 10:38 pm
  
  Honestly I havent tried it that way – but its a pretty good idea. The only headache I could see is that sometimes compound clips can get a bit fussy with alpha channels where there isn’t media – so it may take some working around that – but its worth trying.
Jade Robinson
Member

October 19, 2022 at 9:27 pm

This is exactly the info I needed today. I have always found updating VFX versions a pain – can’t believe this tool was under my nose this whole time and I never realised! Can’t wait to use it on my next project. Thanks Joey!
Paul Congdon
Member

February 19, 2023 at 8:19 pm

I love this approach, but the issues i had were trying to sync the clips back up. They have the same timecode, but different handle lengths sometimes. Does anyone have a tip or trick for that? We have just been conforming to the new clip, but it makes jumping back and forward versions tricky.
Author

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