DaVinci Resolve 18 has been announced with major new updates that focus on collaboration, DaVinci proxy workflow, new AI-based Resolve FX, improved subtitling and Fairlight Fixed to FlexBus.
DaVinci has rapidly become a powerhouse in the video editing world, and the latest update sees a huge leap in the collaborative tools it offers production teams.
These new video tools enable multiple editors, colourists, VFX artists and audio engineers to work on a project at the same time from anywhere in the world.
This collaborative way of working with video has been made possible by Blackmagic’s Cloud, which enables the hosting and sharing of projects and the new workflow.
The latest Beta version can be downloaded from the Blackmagic website; links for this are at the end of this news post.
The core of this update is those new features that enable production teams to work on a project together. This new feature means that multiple people can log in to the Blackmagic cloud and work on the same project with the same files in real-time from different locations.
To make this possible Blackmagic has devised the all-new Blackmagic Proxy generator that automatically creates proxies linked to the camera originals. The proxy App creates media in H.264, H.265 or Apple ProRes, which can then be extracted into separate folders for offline work.
This means that teams can switch between the camera’s original footage and proxies in a single click, with DaVinci doing all the hard work of linking in the background, so there’s no manual relinking of media.
A highly efficient workflow means those working on projects can live stream their DaVinci Resolve Studio viewer and display it on a remote computer or a reference grading monitor to view DeckLink anywhere.
This ability to stream the low latency, 12-bit image enables remote editing and colour grading.
New colour grading tools
As grading becomes more skilled and valued, Blackmagic has enhanced the tools available to colourists. In the magic mask palette, a new object mask can recognize and track the movement of unique objects. The DaVinci Neural Engine can intuitively isolate animals, vehicles, people, food and other elements for advanced grading and effects.
A new depth map enables colourists to generate 3D depth matte so that foreground and background can be graded differently.
Advanced VFX power is available to apply graphics to surfaces that warp and alter perspectives, such as T-Shirts, Flags or even the side of faces with a tracker.
New Ultra beauty gives advanced control over a subject when performing corrective beauty work by being able to address general imperfections by smoothing skin and recovering detail to produce a natural effect for the subject.
Enhanced subtitle support has been expanded to include TTML and XML with timed texts and embedded MXF/IMF subtitles.
Fine-tuning of options in the Transitions in the effects library now enables the ability to reverse transitions with a quick click of a box.
DaVinci Resolve 18 packs in a huge volume of additional features that we’ll cover in the full review soon. For now, here is the full list of new features.
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 a private server.
• New object mask automatically recognizes and tracks the movement of thousands of objects.
• New depth map generates a 3D depth map 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 on 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+ colour 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.
Availability and Price
DaVinci Resolve 18 public beta is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design website.