Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 18 has cloud support for remote collaboration, a native proxy workflow, new effects with GPU acceleration and audio project conversion to Fairlight FlexBus.
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 18 refocusses workflows to support cloud collaboration so that teams of editors, colourists, VFX artists and audio engineers can work simultaneously on the same project, on the same timeline, from globally dispersed locations. The new software supports the DaVinci Resolve Project Server in the cloud for hosting and sharing projects and project libraries.
The collaboration update also enhances performance when users are working on a secure private network. Everyone can immediately see updates of editorial and colour changes, for instance, when collaborating on a remotely hosted project library. Now creative decisions can be made in real time based on the most recent changes. You can live stream the DaVinci Resolve Studio viewer and display it on a remote computer monitor, or a reference grading monitor, via DeckLink to a connected location. The quality of the low latency, 12-bit image suits remote editing or colour grading, giving instant feedback on changes.
Collaboration features intelligent media location management. Users working with a team remotely can link media to their unique file paths, and do not need to manually relink or search for assets.
New Proxy Workflow
The new Blackmagic Proxy Generator app automatically creates proxies linked to camera originals, resulting in a faster editing workflow. By creating a watch folder, you can automatically convert new media into H.264, H.265 or Apple ProRes proxies, and then extract the proxies into a separate folder for offline work, switching between the original footage and proxies in a single click. For example, you can edit with proxies, then relink to camera originals to grade. DaVinci Resolve knows where in the file tree to find Blackmagic Proxy Generated proxies, and instantly links to the camera originals in the media pool.
New options in the decompose menu enhance collaboration by allowing editors to compile their work to a single timeline. Nested timelines can now be decomposed with all track data including FX and automation. Assignments will connect using new busses, and existing paths or new tracks can be left unpatched.
DaVinci Resolve 18 has new tools for colourists, as well. Located in the magic mask palette, the new object mask is able to recognise and track the movement of thousands of unique objects. The DaVinci Neural Engine isolates animals, vehicles, people and food and other types of elements that can then have secondary grading and effects applied to them.
Effects Updated
Transitions in the effects library’s shape, iris and wipe categories now have a checkbox, so that the direction of the transition can be reversed. This means that these types of transitions can be used with more flexibility and in more situations.
When working with surfaces that warp or change perspective in dramatic ways, like t-shirts, flags or parts of a face, it’s possible to apply graphics to them with the surface tracker. It has a customisable mesh that follows the motion of a textured surface, and is an accurate way to composite tattoos or remove logos.
The ultra beauty tool was Developed with professional colourists, and gives customers greater control over a subject when performing corrective beauty work. The beauty tool helps to address general imperfections by smoothing skin and then recovering detail to produce natural and complimentary results to the subject.
GPU Acceleration
GPU acceleration now in DaVinci Resolve 18 means paint brush strokes can be generated and displayed in real time, creating a more naturalistic approach when performing cover up work or graphic design. Immediate, incremental visual feedback means that the user can to assess the work and make corrections right away in any stroke, style or shape.
The speed and playback performance of text, text+ and shape templates has improved in DaVinci Resolve 18. New memory management and data handling means that Fusion templates are as much as twice as fast. Users can see accelerated results in the viewer and build motion graphic compositions more rapidly.
The depth map is a new tool that will instantly generate a 3D depth matte of a scene that can be used to grade the foreground separately from the background, and vice versa. This gives you a chance to bring attention to action in the foreground, for instance, make interview subjects stand out, or add atmosphere in the background of a scene.
Sound Improvements
FlexBus is Fairlight’s audio bussing and routing system designed for flexibility when managing high track counts, plug-in processing, precise synchronisation and multiple project deliverables. Resolve 18 now makes it possible to convert legacy fixed bus Fairlight projects to FlexBus, in a single click.
DaVinci Resolve supports an up-to-date list of industry standard audio formats natively, including immersive audio formats like Dolby Atmos, Auro 3D, MPEG-H, NHK 22.2, and SMPTE. The space view scope displays a real time view of every object and its relationship to the room and other objects in 3D space. The Dolby Atmos deliverable toolset has also been expanded to support rendering of a binaural output from a complex Dolby Atmos mix. Now a Dolby 7.1.4 mix can be rendered to playback in a pair of headphones while maintaining the immersive sound experience from just two audio channels.
Subtitle support has been expanded to include TTML and XML timed texts – markup language for timed text media used for interchange between authoring systems – and embedded MXF/IMF subtitles. Users can view and import subtitles from media storage, create regions to support multiple simultaneous captions per track, and set individual presets and text positions when indicating different speakers.
Finally, a new 5x5 option in the multicam viewer displays up to 25 different angles in a single multicam clip at the same time, which should make viewing, cutting and switching between cameras easier when working on large multi-camera projects instead of moving between pages to see different angles.
DaVinci Resolve 18 public beta is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design website. www.blackmagicdesign.com
