Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 28, 2015. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The public beta version of the new Resolve 12 is now available to download from blackmagicdesign.com. But what has changed?
New Name, New Luck
The obvious changes are quickly listed: The interface has been redesigned and is brighter and friendlier; the package also has a new name. In fact, it has moved up one level in the naming scheme – “Resolve Lite” is now simply called Resolve, and what used to be called Resolve has been renamed Resolve Studio.
The differences between the versions – apart from the price – continue to be multi-GPU support, DCI 4K, stereoscopic 3D tools, multi-user collaboration tools, remote rendering and the like.
Resolve (formerly Lite) nevertheless remains free, and Blackmagic does not intend to introduce the currently favoured cloud models in the foreseeable future – users should retain control over their systems.
Features! Features! Features! Features!
- Resolve 12 is available for the three relevant operating systems
- New fonts in the interface, scalable elements for Retina displays (although why anyone should grade on a reflective screen is not entirely clear to us)
- BMD states that Resolve 12 offers its own colour-managed timeline and ACES 1.0 conversions. This delivers more consistent results, particularly in post houses that work with elaborate pipelines.
Multicam!
The editing functions have been expanded further, and multiple cameras are now possible simultaneously – the files are synchronised using timecode, audio waveform, or start and end points. The source monitor displays the camera angles in a grid. Which is quite ambitious for a grading tool.
Editing
All trimming modes as well as the Multi-Slip, Slide, Ripple and Roll functions have been expanded. Editors can select multiple points for dynamic trimming and asymmetrical trimming of their clips, even when they are on the same track. Timelines can be nested and edited together, and can be expanded or collapsed in place, which is intended to make editing large projects with multiple scenes enormously easier. New transition curves help editors create and edit custom curves for their transition parameters. New on-screen controls let editors view motion paths directly in the timeline viewer and adjust them there.
Audio Engine
DaVinci Resolve 12 has a completely new, powerful audio engine with higher sample rates and greatly improved real-time audio playback. It also adds reverse playback and tape-like slow-motion scrubbing during dynamic JKL trimming. VST and AU audio plug-ins are now supported together with their custom user interfaces and can be applied to individual clips or entire tracks. Adjustments to audio parameters can be recorded and now include editable automation data as well as full support from the curve editor. For the first time, editors are able to export projects directly to ProTools via AAF to carry out audio finishing there.
Media Browser
Media management in DaVinci Resolve 12 has been adapted to editing workflows. Accordingly, users can now manage projects and media using the new Copy, Move, Transcode, Relink and Consolidate tools. Complete projects, including their media, can be conveniently archived and restored. With Resolve 12, media is easier to find within large projects. For this purpose, users can set up complex folders – Smart Bins – that display metadata-based tags. Users can now import media simply by dragging it from the Finder or Windows Explorer. Alternatively, the new Favorites option is available, making frequently used media folders on the hard drive accessible with just one click.
Grading
The main tools for grading and colour correction have also been upgraded, with a new user-friendly interface for curve application as well as automatic colour analysis and adjustment between two or more clips. In addition, there is a 3D perspective tracker and a new 3D keyer with improved matte-finesse options. Colourists can now define smart filters, convert any window into a Bézier curve and turn nodes into compound nodes to simplify the view. Furthermore, ripple grades can be applied across multiple clips, and grades created before and after grouping can be transferred into individualised clip grading.
Thanks to the dramatically improved editing in DaVinci Resolve 12, other NLE software can be integrated more readily. Editing timelines can be connected to other editing programs via round-tripping. For example, when importing XML files from Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve 12 can import multicam clips and retain all original camera angles. Audio support has also been enormously improved and better adapted to the audio timeline in Final Cut Pro X. This improves collaborative workflows and allows multiple people in a facility to use their preferred tools.
And here is a quick moving-image overview from NoFilm School
And for anyone who wants to take a look now: Here is the direct comparison of the features of Resolve / Resolve Studio
