Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve 18, a major new cloud collaboration update that allows multiple editors, colorists, VFX artists, and audio engineers to work simultaneously on the same project, on the same timeline, anywhere in the world.
DaVinci Resolve 18 supports the Blackmagic Cloud for hosting and sharing projects, as well as a new DaVinci proxy workflow. This update also includes new Resolve FX AI tools powered by the DaVinci Neural Engine, as well as time-saving tools for editors, Fairlight legacy fixed bus to FlexBus conversion, GPU accelerated paint in Fusion and more.
You can now host project libraries using Blackmagic Cloud and collaborate on the same timeline, in real-time, with multiple users globally. The new Blackmagic Proxy generator automatically creates proxies linked to camera originals, for a faster editing workflow. There are new Resolve FX such as ultra beauty and 3D depth map, improved subtitling for editors, GPU accelerated Fusion paint and real-time title template playback, Fairlight fixed to FlexBus conversion and lots more.
DaVinci Resolve 18 supports Blackmagic Cloud, so editors can host their project libraries on the DaVinci Resolve Project Server in the cloud. This allows users to share projects and work collaboratively with editors, colorists, VFX artists, and audio engineers on the same project at the same time, anywhere in the world.
Blackmagic Proxy Generator App
The new Blackmagic Proxy Generator App automatically creates and manages proxies from camera originals. You can create a watch folder and new media is automatically converted into H.264, H.265, or Apple ProRes proxies. Editors can extract proxies into a separate folder for offline work.
You can switch between camera original footage and proxies in a single click. With Blackmagic Proxy Generated proxies, DaVinci Resolve knows where in the file tree to find them, and it can then instantly link to the camera originals in the media pool. You can edit with proxies, then relink to camera originals to grade.
DaVinci Resolve 18 Features
- Support for Blackmagic Cloud to host and manage cloud based project libraries.
- New Blackmagic Proxy Generator App automatically creates and manages proxies.
- Ability to choose between working with proxies or camera original files.
- Support for intelligent path mapping to relink files automatically.
- Improved project library performance for private server.
- New object mask recognizes and tracks movement of thousands of objects automatically.
- New depth map generates 3D depth matte of a scene in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
- New surface tracker for tracking warped surfaces in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
- Refined ultra beauty tool in Resolve FX beauty for advanced corrective work.
- Expanded subtitle support for TTML and XML timed texts, and embedded MXF/IMF.
- Support for reversing shape, iris and wipe transitions in the edit page.
- New 5×5 multicam enables viewing of up to 25 simultaneous different angles.
- Faster GPU accelerated paint tool with smoother strokes
- Support for live previews when using the Text+ color picker.
- Ability to convert historical fixed bus projects to FlexBus in project settings.
- Improved Dolby Atmos immersive mixing, including Binaural monitoring
- Decomposition of nested timelines with all track data including FX and automation.
- Innovative space view scope in Fairlight shows position and relationship in 3D space.
DaVinci Resolve 18 adds intelligent media location management so that when customers are collaborating customers can quickly link media to their unique file paths. You don’t need to manually relink or search for assets when customers work remotely. The collaboration update also provides major performance enhancements if customers are using a secure private network. You can get immediate updates on editorial and color changes when collaborating on a remotely hosted project library. This allows for creative decisions to be made in real-time based on the latest changes.
Users can live stream their DaVinci Resolve Studio viewer and display to a remote computer monitor, or a reference grading monitor, via DeckLink anywhere in the world. The low latency, a high-quality 12-bit image is ideal for remote editing or color grading giving instant feedback on changes.
Color Tools
DaVinci Resolve 18 features a lot of new tools for colorists. Located in the magic mask palette, the new object mask is able to recognize and track the movement of thousands of unique objects. The DaVinci Neural Engine intuitively isolates animals, vehicles, people and food, plus countless other elements for advanced secondary grading and effects application. The new depth map effect lets customers instantly generate a 3D depth matte of a scene to quickly grade the foreground separately from the background, and vice versa. Customers can bring attention to the action in the foreground, help interview subjects stand out, or add atmosphere in the background of a scene.
You can apply graphics to surfaces that warp or change perspective in dramatic ways, like t-shirts, flags, or even the side of a face with the surface tracker. Its customizable mesh follows the motion of a textured surface. This lets you apply graphics, composite tattoos, or even cover-up logos.
A new feature called Ultra Beauty gives editors advanced control over a subject when performing corrective beauty work. Developed with professional colorists, the ultra beauty tool helps to address general imperfections by smoothing skin and then recovering detail to produce natural and complementary results to the subject.
Subtitle support has been expanded to include TTML and XML timed texts and embedded MXF/IMF subtitles. You can now 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.
Transitions in the effects library’s shape, iris and wipe categories now feature a checkbox, which allows customers to easily reverse the direction of the transition. This gives users additional flexibility when using these types of transitions.
A new 5×5 option in the multicam viewer allows customers to view up to 25 different angles in a single multicam clip at the same time. This is ideal for large multicam projects, and it makes viewing, cutting and switching between more angles much easier and quicker than moving between pages to see different angles.
In DaVinci Resolve 18, GPU acceleration allows paintbrush strokes to be generated and displayed in real-time. This allows for a more intuitive approach when performing cover-up work or graphic design. Instant visual feedback allows customers to assess their work and make corrections in any stroke style or shape.
Text, text+ and shape templates now have improved speed and playback performance in DaVinci Resolve 18. New memory management and data handling mean that Fusion templates are claimed to be up to 200% faster. Customers should see accelerated results in the viewer and be able to put together motion graphic compositions faster than ever.
FlexBus is Fairlight’s flexible audio busing and routing system designed for managing high track counts, extensive plug-in processing, perfect synchronization and multiple project deliverables. Now customers can convert legacy fixed bus Fairlight projects to FlexBus with a single click.
The Dolby Atmos deliverable toolset has 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.
New options in the decompose menu allow 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, existing paths or new tracks can be left unpatched.
DaVinci Resolve supports the latest 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.
DaVinci Resolve 18 looks to be a huge update with more powerful tools and the ability to use the new Cloud service for the most part is free to the end-user. You can share and collaborate with the nonstudio version. The very impressive release today is a beta version. This is common with almost if not all DaVinci Resolve new releases. I will say that for the most part Blackmagic Design beta software works well but don’t update if you are in the middle of a project. That is never a good idea.
You can download DaVinci Resolve 18 Beta and Studio 18 Beta today.