Brad Hurley
Forum Replies Created
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Forgot to mention that the other advantage of animating color corrections is that you can animate multiple corrections. For example, in the footage I’m working on where the sun was going in and out of heavy clouds, I’m making white-balance corrections too since there are pretty big differences in color temperature under clouds vs. full sun. In your case since it’s just an auto-exposure issue you might only need to adjust luma but if there are color balance issues as well you can correct them at the same time (e.g., if you use the color wheels to make luma corrections, you can move the pucks in the color wheels to also adjust color balance at the same keyframes).
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I don’t know of any way to do it automatically, but since version 10.4 Final Cut has been able to animate color corrections (including luma-only corrections) via keyframes. The keyframe button appears in the right side of the color correction title bar (the bar that includes the color correction type title, such as Color Wheels or Color Curves, and the mask icon).
The basic workflow is to set a keyframe one of the dark areas, do your correction there, and then move to an area where the luma was okay and make a small adjustment to set another keyframe there. Now the luma correction will animate over time. To fine-tune the transition you can add additional keyframes between these two. To adjust the placement of keyframes, type control-V to bring up the video animation bars, which reveal the keyframes you created and allow you to move them to exactly where you want them.
Obviously this isn’t automatic but what I like is that you don’t need to splice footage plus you can create smoother transitions. I’m using this same workflow to adjust luma on some footage where the sun was going in and out of heavy clouds.
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That’s because you’re looking in the effects browser. There’s a separate browser for transitions, just to the right of the effects browser. You can call it up by hitting control-command-5.
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Some people are reporting good results with the new Mac Mini plus an eGPU (even running DaVinci Resolve) so that may be another option to consider if it can handle what you’re working with and what you’re demanding of your machine. But it would be good to hear others’ suggestions.
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For me there’s no question that my next Mac will be the new Mac Pro; the ability to upgrade and repair/replace components is a far bigger selling point for me than anything else. You had that with your 2010 Mac Pro and you’ve kept it going a long time. I think the Mac Pro can be justified on a total cost of ownership basis (at least compared with other Mac options), if nothing else…I don’t think you’d still be using that iMac Pro a decade from now, but you could still be using this Mac Pro.
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There are a whole bunch of posts about AAF export on Blackmagic Design’s Resolve forum. I don’t think most of the issues were resolved (so to speak) until Resolve 16, the current version, and even so I’m not sure it works perfectly yet. But reports are that it’s better, and likely WAY better than what you’re experiencing in Resolve 14. Upgrading to 16 would require a database upgrade, and the computer spec requirements are a bit more rigorous (computers that run Resolve 14 smoothly may not be able to handle 16 very well).
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No downsides that I’m aware of; I use this same end-to-end workflow and (according to cinematographer John Brawley) most network television dramas in the US use it as well.
With the BMPCC 4K, you of course have the option of shooting in Blackmagic Raw (aka BRAW), which will give you smaller file sizes and more flexibility in terms of highlight recovery, changing ISO, etc., although Prores HQ in log may be robust enough for your purposes. If I were shooting documentary or otherwise shooting in uncontrolled lighting situations and where I am working fast, I’d probably use BRAW since it’ll give me the most flexibility for fixing exposure issues in post.
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Usually that kind of metadata is created by the camera (e.g., some cinema cameras, such as most of the ones by Blackmagic Design, can automatically create incrementing take numbers in the clip metadata as you’re shooting; they also give clips incrementing file names that include the date and time shot, which can be used to organize clips by shot order). I don’t see anything in the Resolve manual to indicate that it’s possible to set take numbers in the metadata of a group of clips to increment automatically.
If your clips’ filenames are date-stamped or include some other kind of incrementing information, you can filter by filename to organize your clips by shot order, but it looks like you’d have to enter metadata like take name by hand.
I bet it’s possible to write a script for this, and you’re not the first person who has asked for this feature. It might be worth adding it to the “suggested features” section of the DaVinci Resolve section of the Blackmagic Design users’ forum.
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Last time I looked into it, Google has use restrictions on its maps; you have to ask permission to use them in your projects. They probably wouldn’t refuse, but it is a hoop to jump through. The CIA offers some public domain maps; I use maps from an open-source GIS application (qGIS), which can be exported in high resolution.
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A useful distinction to keep in mind is file names versus clip names. File names are the names set by the camera; these are what you will see on your hard drive or other storage media. Clip names are names you assign to clips within your NLE; renaming a clip using FCPX’s inspector does not change the file name but instead creates a clip name within FCPX that is more descriptive or informative.
That said, it’s probably not worth the time to rename clips within FCPX. Consider assigning keywords instead, which will allow you to use smart keyword collections and filtering to find the clips you’re looking for. That’s much more efficient than searching through clip names. If you want to add more detailed descriptions (which are also searchable) you can use the “Notes” field in the inspector. The combination of keywords and favorites is very powerful in FCPX.