DaVinci Resolve 11.1 Tips and Tutorials

With the release of DaVinci Resolve 11.1 (no longer in beta) there are a slew of new editing features and updates which are quickly covered in the video above. For a more detailed look at what’s new in DaVinci Resolve 11.1 check out the update read me on the Blackmagic Design site.

Colorist and author Alexis Van Hurkman has posted a nice little write up about the new editing features in Resolve 11 on his blog, answer the question of whether Resolve can be used as a fully fledged NLE. The answer is a cautionary ‘sort-of’, but at the rate the BMD are adding new features and updates, there won’t be too much longer to wait till it is.

Resolve 11 editing is based on an editor-friendly source-record style paradigm, with strong track management in the timeline that makes it easy to segue from craft editing into finishing. You’ve even got the ability to customize the name of each track. Bottom line, editors from other environments won’t have to relearn everything to start cutting in Resolve, and beginners will find a nice, clean UI that I consider to be very approachable.

Resolve 11.1 is out of beta. New Red SDK and DEB checkbox added since the last beta #resolve11

— Rohit Gupta (@rohit_bmd) October 2, 2014

Resolve 11.1 has improved performance on CUDA, most noticeable on single GPU high res workflows and OFX #resolve11

— Rohit Gupta (@rohit_bmd) October 2, 2014

Resolve 11.1 beta added trim support for clip formats, and the final release has further improvements for non-consolidate trims! #resolve11

— Rohit Gupta (@rohit_bmd) October 2, 2014

DaVinci Resolve 11.1 Tutorials

Knowing how to do the right things, in the right order is an important foundational skill for becoming a professional colorist. In this short tutorial Denver Riddle from Color Grading Central takes you through the process in 7 minutes.

Grading tends follow a fashion trend. The blockbuster orange and teal look became very popular, then the low contrast ‘log look’, now it seems that the look de jeur is the Fincheresque dark look. In this 5 minute tutorial from Presynkt Post you can learn how to create that ‘House of Cards/David Fincher’ look for yourself.

Colorist and App creator Nikolai Waldman has shared this step by step tutorial on the art of sky replacement, a colorist’s staple task.

In this short tutorial colorist Grey Marshall shares his insights on some of the intricacies of using the Color Match feature in Resolve 11.

In this quick tip you can learn how to use and set up multiple monitors in DaVinci Resolve 11.1

Casey Ferris shares part 2 of his beginners tutorial on how to colour correct Blackmagic Camera footage using the built in LUTS in Resolve 11. Check out Part 1, and a ton of other DaVinci Resolve 11 tutorials here.

Completing a project in DaVinci Resolve 11

Theo from Misener Media has been busy knocking out a slew of tutorials (most of them are in this post at some point!) lately and in this ‘unedited’ tutorial series you can watch over his shoulder as he works a project from start to finish – cutting in Premiere Pro CC and grading in Resolve 11. Grading begins in Part 5.

Jeremiah Hall from Doddle News has been posting a multi-part ‘review’ of DaVinci Resolve on his site which, if you are completely new to grading, will walk you through the in’s and out’s of the programme. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |

Cinematographer Geoff Boyle has been working with Resolve 11 for a while now, grading a feature film called The Taking, and blogging about his experience as he went. If you’re about to embark on grading your first feature film (especially within Resolve 11) it’s worth a quick read. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

It has been interesting grading an entire film, an eye opening look into the realities of a colorist’s life. Creating the overall look of scenes was pretty easy, after all I’d shot it with a look in mind. The difficulty, huge at times, was matching shots within a sequence. Sometimes we had shot indoors in controlled lighting and it was really a simple case of apply the look and walk away for 30 shots. Other times i had a controlled shooting situation but it had large light sources in shot and with the Arri/Fuji Alura zooms I was using all bets were off. The colour changed dramatically from shot to shot and in a 50+ shot sequence I had to individually grade every shot.

Creating Different Looks in DaVinci Resolve 11

Theo from Miesner Media, a budding young colourist, shares how he creates various different looks in DaVinci Resolve. As with learning anything – experimentation is crucial! I’ve previously posted other look creation tutorials from Theo in this tutorial round up.