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How Do Timelines Get Updated, When The Edit Changes After Grading Starts?
Hi,
I’m very new to DaVinci Resolve and just finished Alexis Van Hurkman’s version 11 training series. What wasn’t really discussed was how changed edits become updated after grading has already begin (unless it is actually the Colour Trace Tool that performs this task).
On the Resolve site, the following statement is made: “DaVinci Resolve’s compatibility with editing systems lets colorists start grading before the final edit is complete. Every time changes are made in editorial they can be sent to DaVinci Resolve and the timeline will update automatically”.
I’m not sure how this process actually happens. In order for the original grade to attach itself to the new edit, would the editor have to be making changes to a timeline that has already been round-tripped from Resolve back into the NLE? What if the edit changes radically and a bunch of new shots are added? How does Resolve keep track of all these changes? Is it just clip metadata that makes this work? What is the exact process for applying the grade to the new timeline?
Film Editor, London UK
http://www.scottclementseditor.com -
10 Replies
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Round tripping is something i tend to do in the summer in the mountains with friends.
You know who you are 🙂Forget all that meta stuff..it wont work..
Make your editor think as an offline editor…he does content, you do stuff.
If working from proper Alexa/Amira media you only need an AAF.
When you grade on that and then a weak later get another edit you are able to re-use your gradings, scale and time changes will come through too.
But I tend to render .mxf files most of the time if they really need to finish in a No-Love-Editing System.
Best is to feed Resolve with subtitles, overlays and what not and finish there.
Color trace is doing magic…real magic.
New shots will of course be ungraded, but CT takes care of your tracking and animations..
If the Editor chose to change length and all you have to extend your tracks.
But seriously, if they are married to their edit workflow, it might be better to get a grading plugin.Have fun 🙂
A slice of color…
Resolve 11.1.2 – Smoke 2015 – Sapphire 8
Colorist / VFX Guru / Aerial footage nerd
https://vimeo.com/saschahaber -
Thanks. So, basically, in a nutshell, the workflow is this: you bring a new AAF into Resolve (of the new edit from Avid). Then you compare it to the original graded timeline with Color Trace. You automatically apply the grades to the new timeline from the old. That’s it?
Film Editor, London UK
http://www.scottclementseditor.com -
That is the purpose of Colour trace You have a timeline filled with shots that you have already graded. Right click on a timeline and select colour trace. It will ask you what timeline you want to trace from. This can be pretty much any timeline in your box. It will then give you the option of letting it do it “automatically” or you can manually go and select shots that you want to use the color from.
As Sasha said, Color trace – as it is based on timecode – will keep your tracking data and window animations in place, unlike using a stills page, where you have to retrack. If the shot is longer than the original, then obviously you will have to do some tweaking on the shot.
Glenn
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The current version of Resolve uses “local grades” as default. The older versions had a master timeline approach as default. The master timeline has all the material in the project, and using “remote grades”, the master timeline got graded as well. This behavior can still be selected in the current version. It has the advantage that when editorial changes are made and a new xml/aaf is brought into Resolve, the clips that have already been imported have the grades in place immediately after bringing the new timeline. No need for Color Trace. Of course if there are new clips, they have to be imported to the project and graded.
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And suggest not going back and rely on that technique but get very familiar with ColorTraceTM because it is probably the best feature in Resolve.
It’s the only one which is true magic and you can also use it for cut-downs, reformat versions, it carries your scaling info through and so on.
Remote grades lock you down to only one primary version where you will encounter problems rendering different local versions.
Just my opinion of course 🙂A slice of color…
Resolve 11.1.2 – Smoke 2015 – Sapphire 8
Colorist / VFX Guru / Aerial footage nerd
https://vimeo.com/saschahaber -
Sure, it’s a great feature. But I’d suggest also to get familiar with the remote grades and master timeline, in case someone is not familiar with them. I think it’s a great way to grade certain kinds of projects, for example interviews where there’s lots of long master shots. And if there are new XML:s coming your way every once in a while, it’s lightning fast to just import the XML and boom, your grade is ready. It’s not the only way to work of course, but worth learning I think. Just like the Color Trace.
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I am still on Resolve 11 and would like know if Remote vs CT is still a debate with Resolve 12.
Ive been updating via XML from a Premiere project for a few times now and redoing all the changes without using any of the options above.
I didnt bother to find a solution since I am just learning to deal with this kind of workflow (Premiere XML/Resolve round-trip) and I was having so much fun…at first.
Any other magical tools that will help speed this process up?
Can I turn a Local grade into a Master?
Is there any pitfalls to that?
Any tips is welcome 🙂 -
i’ll read up on the master / local / remote grading, but could i just quickly ask if the mode can be changed after a project is done?
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[nicolas horne] “i’ll read up on the master / local / remote grading, but could i just quickly ask if the mode can be changed after a project is done?”
Yes, this is one thing you can change after the project has started or even after it’s completed.
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