February 10, 2025

My vacation is wrapping up this week as I wend my way home from southern China. So, for this edition, I want to focus on DaVinci Resolve.

I'm relatively new to Resolve. It took me a while to decide to add it to my training; mainly because there was a lot of good training already out there. What finally tipped me over the edge was realizing that learning Resolve allowed me to compare it with what I already knew - Final Cut and Premiere. Learning Resolve also helped me to see how different tools excel at different tasks. And, as I've said for a long time, the more tools you know, the more employable you become.

So, let's start with one of my bigger mistakes - deleting ALL my Resolve projects. Sigh...

Link: How I Lost All My Resolve Projects – and How You Can Save Yours

Another reason for using Resolve is its industry-leading Color page. Both Premiere and Final Cut have solid color grading tools. Resolve's tools are better. This means that we need to transfer projects from Premiere or Final Cut into Resolve.

Link: How to Import Projects from Premiere or Final Cut Into Resolve 19

THIS WEEK'S TOP NEWS

Discover the latest industry news on my home page. 

CREATIVE COW CONVERSATION

Creative Cow and I are working together to provide additional resources to our readers. Here’s an interesting thread where readers discuss how to move DaVinci Resolve Studio to a new PC. This technique works on Windows and Mac. (Sign up for the Cow newsletter here.)

This week, I highlight two webinars specifically designed for Resolve editors.

Link: DaVinci Resolve 19 Master Bundle – Workflow & Editing

Link: Get Started with DaVinci Resolve 19

Now, for our deep dive into Resolve, here are six tutorials you might like:

Link: Performance Comparison: Final Cut Pro 11, Premiere Pro 25, & Resolve

Link: Performance Tests: DaVinci Resolve 19.1

Link: What I Learned Editing in DaVinci Resolve 19

Link: Use the Sync Bin for Multicam Editing in DaVinci Resolve 19

Link: How Lift-Gamma-Gain Differs from Shadows-Mids-Highlights in Resolve

Link: Optimize Dialog For Quality and Levels in DaVinci Resolve

Link: Automatically “Duck” Background Music Under Dialog in DaVinci Resolve

NOTE: To see other DaVinci Resolve tutorials, go here, then choose DaVinci Resolve from the Application menu at the top.

"Media" is a squirrelly term because it spans such a wide range. We are creating "media" if we are working on a commercial, YouTube video, news story, corporate video, episodic television, or feature film (though filmmakers prefer we use the much-more-elegant word: "film".) While the creative skills required for each of these varies, we all use the same tools. 

Which is pretty amazing, when you think about it. The tools on our desktop are powerful enough to create whatever media we want - at whatever frame size or frame rate or codec. That wasn't the case in years past. 

Yes, our industry is under stress and, yes, there are challenges we have not yet resolved. But when we open our NLE and begin importing media, we have the skills, knowledge, and tools to create stories that can be seen around the world. Our power and ability to communicate - for good or ill - is just stunning - and something we should never take for granted.

Until next Monday, stay safe, stay hopeful and edit well.

TUTORIALS & REVIEWS

» How I Lost All My DiVinci Resolve Projects & How To Save Yours (Tutorial)

  » Yup. In one exuberant mouse click - everything was gone. Sigh... Don't do this.

» How to Import Premiere & FCP Projects Into Resolve (Tutorial)

  » Here's how to transfer projects for color grading in Resolve.

» Performance Comparison: FCP, Premiere & Resolve (Review)

  » Each NLE has strengths and weaknesses. Here's what I learned.

» Performance Tests: DaVinci Resolve 19.1 (Review)

  » A detailed look at performance using Macs from 2018 - 2024.

» What I Learned Editing in DaVinci Resolve (Commentary)

  » Aside from struggling with finding shortcuts, there's a lot to like.

» Use the Sync Bin for Multicam Editing in Resolve 19 (Tutorial)

  » The Sync bin is unique to Resolve and absolutely worth learning.

» How Lift-Gamma-Gain Differ from Shadows-Mids-Highlights (Tutorial)

  » These are NOT different words for the same thing. One is clearly better.

» Optimize Dialog For Quality and Levels in Resolve (Tutorial)

  » Give your audio a professional sound right from the first shot.

» Automatically "duck" Background Under Dialog (Tutorial).

  » This mixing technique can be totally automated.