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System for a student just starting out
I’m new to this forum and to DaVinci Resolve, so thanks for your patience with a newbie. I am just starting to learn Resolve and need a good system to learn on. I have read about so much conflicting info about what to use. My goal is to work on color grading indie films. I want am eager to learn the craft but don’t want to overspend on a system I either don’t need yet or may never use. I do have a dongle with the full version, but some say I only need Lite both to learn and for what I want to do. Some say Mac, others Windows.
I do want to project the future, but over the next year or so, I’m only about learning this inside and out. I just don’t want to go through problems with slow response, crashes, etc., while I learn. I would love to hear what you think is a system I can use to learn with and maybe even grow with. Side note: I happen to already own a Avid Euphonix MC Color & MC Transport station which I would also love to use one day, but my understanding is I would need to be using the full version of Resolve, so it might have to wait, I assume.
Thanks for any help and advice.
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4 Replies
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[Anthony Buono] “I would also love to use one day”
MC Color works on the lite version. MC Transport doesn’t work at all because it’s not supported, unless you want to program some macros.
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Thanks. That’s good to know. Will MC Color work with either the Mac or Windows computer? I still need to figure out what computer to get to learn on. I have a MacBook Pro 2.7GHz with 16 ram and a 650M graphics card with only 1 GPU. I’m told by some that this could run Resolve Lite just fine if I’m just learning. Some day I need at least 2 GPU. But I want to learn AND work on film projects as I learn so want to know what system configuration will have enough power that I can work on color grading indie films. I’m fine learning with one system for a while and then switching later when I know what I’m doing. Just need to know what to have for both scenarios. Would love to hear anyone’s hardware journey. Thank you.
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If you’re color-grading indie films, you’re going to need all the horsepower you can get. One GPU won’t handle 4K in real-time, and that’s tough to overcome. The real problem is monitoring, and having a calibrated, color-critical monitor is really a must. I would get that before the MC Color panel, but in truth you need both a surface controller and a monitor you can believe in.
You can color-correct short films (like 10 minutes), but again, 4K and 5K will be tough, and debayering raw files on the fly is not easy for inexpensive computers.
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Something helpful to keep in mind: what level of films are you aspiring to work on? Anticipating the camera formats of your current and future work could help you make a more informed purchase.
Most of my work is on the go, so I stick with my MBP retina, which works great with my ultra portable Logitech gaming mouse. I only made the slight upgrade to the mouse after a regular mouse and keyboard became prohibitive to my productivity and speed. My advice is to only upgrade when absolutely necessary. I’m no seasoned pro by any means, but I have also experienced this problem. Hope that helps! 🙂
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