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Question about using Da Vinci resolve.

H

harmonica44

I have Da Vinci Resolve Lite. If I open the program though, I am unable to do anything else. The screen of Da Vinci Resolve Lite, takes up the space of the while monitor screen, and I cannot minimize it. So if I want play back some footage, before importing it, or do anything that requires me to minimize the screen, Da Vinci Resolve will not allow me, and I have tried it several times.

Has anyone else found this to be a problem or perhaps the version I downloaded was not downloaded correctly?
 
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Resolve is in no way an easy program to learn... and the material out there to learn it isn't very high.... may I ask why you're attempting to go this route instead of Speedgrade, Looks, or simply Colorista II?
 
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Since H44 always gets in trouble with software I think he would be fine with Colorista II.
That ways he doesn't need to export the project and can stay in PPro.
It has less options than Resolve, but probably more than he will use for now.

Da Vinci Resolve is indeed used by pros, so is the Arri Alexa...
But at the moment he is trying to grade H.264 footage from a Canon Rebel.

Giving H44 another tool he needs years to master, may not be the most efficient way for him :P
But that's just my opinion.
On the other hand this may lead to understanding the process.
(But I fear this question is the first of many.)

@H44:
Read the manual!
Google First Ask Later!
 
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He needs to learn proper workflow and good practices.

Also, I'm not saying it's his most efficient method. He is incapable of the most efficient method, "Hiring a grader". His problem was the terminology when he was using to communicate with the grader. He was telling the grader to do something and was getting upset when the grader followed his instructions.

If he manages to learn how to use the software and the grading processes, even somewhat, using his h264/canon combination, he'll be more ready when it comes to hiring a proper grader.

On top of that, the free Resolve, he will be able to keep it up to date without costing him a bundle. If he's asking questions, it's relatively safe to assume it's the latest version, so we may have a good idea of the fix to problems he's having.

I'm all for him to master grading. It may be exactly what he needs to figure out some discipline within filming. Some problem solving skills. If he asks questions every time he comes against a road block, he's doomed to fail even harder than if he was failing his other areas.
 
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Have you read the read Resolve 11 manual? Hint... look under the View menu.

I'm on a windows 8.1 system and I can resize/minimize/maximize/move my resolve window. I can even tell it what screen to put the UI on vs scopes etc. It's all there right in the manual.
 
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I was using Da Vinci Resolve cause I was told on here to get that before, since Premiere Pro, was not well suited enough for grading. I was using Premiere before. There is a lot to learn about Da Vinci Resolve for sure. If it's not the best program for me, I almost got magic bullet and still could. Mainly I would like a program that not only colors but also comes with a denoiser plug in too, if possible. I borrowed Neat video on a friend's computer, but of course I would like to get it myself, or get a coloring program that comes with a denoiser.

Mainly I want my shots to match, but I do not have a denoiser right now. I figure I might as well get both a denoiser and color grading program in one. I was told before by someone on here to add noise, to the rest of the footage to match the noisy shots, but doing that makes the whole movie look strange as oppose to a few shots. It looks like the snow you get on an old TV set, rather than natural camera noise, so I think people will find that more jarring than a few shots, that do match, noise wise, with cleaner footage.

Is Colorista II, better than Magic Bullet?
 
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Is Colorista II, better than Magic Bullet?
Click to expand...

They're fine if you don't really care if the shots match. They're to put grades on films, not to color correct. You'll still need to correct it first.

I don't care what you use. If you use your version of PP to grade, you're not only limiting what you can do, you're pretty much on your own. You'll be taking advice from those who are in the same boat as you. Blind leading the blind, which will be entertaining. Go do it. I'll get the popcorn while you flush more money down the toilet.

Just be aware, it's not just the tools you use. It's the operator that makes the difference. If you continue with this topic with your head in the sand like you've done in the past, you might as well grade with your monitor turned off.
 
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There's 2 on the market worth considering. Davinci Resolve is the cheaper and less complicated.

In my opinion, if you don't use one of those, you're wasting your time and flushing your money down the toilet. If you're not worried about getting a usable result, just use notepad or Firefox.

Speedgrade may have picked up, but you'll have to work that out yourself. There's also a smaller userbase with Speedgrade, so less people to ask for help if you get stuck.

Sounds like you're on your own. /popcorn time!
 
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harmonica44 said:
Is Colorista II, better than Magic Bullet?
Click to expand...

Sweetie said:
They're fine if you don't really care if the shots match. They're to put grades on films, not to color correct. You'll still need to correct it first.

I don't care what you use. If you use your version of PP to grade, you're not only limiting what you can do, you're pretty much on your own. You'll be taking advice from those who are in the same boat as you. Blind leading the blind, which will be entertaining. Go do it. I'll get the popcorn while you flush more money down the toilet.

Just be aware, it's not just the tools you use. It's the operator that makes the difference. If you continue with this topic with your head in the sand like you've done in the past, you might as well grade with your monitor turned off.
Click to expand...

Here I have to correct you both.

1) Colorista II is part of the Magic Bullet Suite (or Color Suite as they called for 2 years: the Magic Bullet has just returned in the name.)
Magic Bullet used to be a grading plugin, but has developed in a suite with Looks (which is applying grading, including diffusions, blurs, simpel flares), Colorista (for correction and colorgrading), Denoiser (name says it all, but I really never used it) and some 'quick tools' like Mojo and Cosmo (I never use these 2).
Asking which is better: Colorista II or Magic Bullet? Is like asking: what is healthier: oranges or fruits?

2) Colorista II can be used to correct first and then grade. It's made to do that. I use it all the time.
I may not have all the option Resolve has (i.e. Resolve has more options when it comes to masking for secondaries), but I can grade in my timeline using scopes and waveforms and deliver quickly.

However it is not free indeed.
So from the point of view where H44 needs to learn, Resolve is the cheapest way if we are taking about money.
He just needs to get through the first learning curve of 'opening windows' and exporting edits to get started.
 
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2) Colorista II can be used to correct first and then grade. It's made to do that. I use it all the time.
I may not have all the option Resolve has (i.e. Resolve has more options when it comes to masking for secondaries), but I can grade in my timeline using scopes and waveforms and deliver quickly.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Learn something every day (unless you're h44). That's what I get for assuming it's just a LUT applier.
 
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Sweetie said:
I stand corrected. Learn something every day (unless you're h44). That's what I get for assuming it's just a LUT applier.
Click to expand...

That one is called LUT Buddy.
It's free and can be pretty handy if you are switching between editing and compositing. Or when someone is already correcting/grading shots while someone else is editing (like during 48hrs).
It can only handle global corrections, so as long as you don't use gradients and masks it works fine as a tool to swap LUTs.
 
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Opps my mistake. I sometimes forget which of my plugins came with the software and which are from Red Giant lol. (Full Sail provides it all, fun note)

Anyways! I meant to recommend learning first with SA Color Finesse 3 (Which I do believe is in PP? Know it's in AE), it's a surprisingly powerful native plugin that most people overlook. It's a great start to understanding color and how you can manipulate (and over-manipulate) footage.
 
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I believe SA Color Finesse is only in After Effects.

The nice thing about speedgrade..at least with the latest version of CC, is the ability to send the timeline over make changes, then send it back to PP. If you need to make edits... make the edits. You don't have to deal with EDL files back and forth. It's a pretty slick workflow.

I used to use Speedgrade, but have moved to Resolve. Just found it a better workflow for RAW and proxy files.
 
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jj4vr said:
The nice thing about speedgrade..at least with the latest version of CC, is the ability to send the timeline over make changes, then send it back to PP. If you need to make edits... make the edits. You don't have to deal with EDL files back and forth. It's a pretty slick workflow.
Click to expand...

When I read about this direct link, I was really impressed with how they'd come up with this concept. I was hoping it'd simplify post prod workflow.

Last time I looked at Speedgrade, there was (now don't quote me, there is a chance that this was my mistake, though the training did mention it was a limit if you're using the direct-link method within the Adobe suite) that you were limited to (what would be essentially one node within Resolve) a single layer (?? a single set of changes). From what I could tell, unless you used a proper workflow, which negates the benefits of Direct Link, and might as well use Resolve anyway, you were rather limited in what you could do. You can essentially forget about secondary grades. This may have changed since the first version of Speedgrade CC. Can anyone confirm?
 
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It has changed. You just need to add adjustment layers before you send it over. So if you send over the timeline..and have 4 adjustment layers + video layer.. you will have 5 tracks when it shows up in Speedgrade.

The mess comes when you want to add a new layer. You have to send it back to PP. Add a new adjustment layer...then send it back to Speedgrade. It's quick though. Maybe 30-60 seconds round trip time. But still a hassle.

Each layer will have a Lumetri effect on it that you can toggle on/off that contains everything that you did in Speedgrade. These layers can also be turned off inside Speedgrade and when sent back to PP will remain off.

Hope that makes sense.


edit:

Now that I think about it, I think it's been this way since they added the Direct Link to Speedgrade. The latest change allowed you to turn off/on layers from within Speegrade which you couldn't do originally. But it's been awhile since I used it.
 
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harmonica44 said:
I have Da Vinci Resolve Lite. If I open the program though, I am unable to do anything else. The screen of Da Vinci Resolve Lite, takes up the space of the while monitor screen, and I cannot minimize it. So if I want play back some footage, before importing it, or do anything that requires me to minimize the screen, Da Vinci Resolve will not allow me, and I have tried it several times.

Has anyone else found this to be a problem or perhaps the version I downloaded was not downloaded correctly?
Click to expand...


RTFM :)
 
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