[Marc Wielage]

[Stanislaw Zarychta] “I found my project inside this ridiculously hidden folder:”
That’s where it’s supposed to be.

Don’t try to copy this manually. The right way to backup a Resolve database is to use the utility within the Project Database itself. Again, if you read the manual on the pages I noted above, all is explained.

[Marc Wielage]

The Resolve 16.2 manual would be the newest one.

[Marc Wielage]

Normally I would say it _is_ a bad idea to rename camera files, but that’s why I qualified my remark to include a) unless you have duplicate file names and b) you do this before editing has started.

For more info, two books I would recommend on the subject:

“Modern Post: Workflow & Techniques for Digital Filmmakers”
by Scott Arundale
https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Post-Workflows-Techniques-Filmmakers/dp/0415747023

“The Guide to Managing Postproduction for Film, TV, and Digital Distribution”
by Susan Spohr & Barbara Clark
https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Managing-Postproduction-Digital-Distribution/dp/1138482811

[Marc Wielage]

Tero’s approach looks right to me. Whether it’s “old school” or not doesn’t matter: as long as the pictures are right, it’s right.

[Marc Wielage]

The workaround would be to avoid duplicate file names whenever possible, because this will kill you with any potential workflow. I would do something like manually adding an _001, _002, or similar name to the end of the file name, and do this to the original file and the transcode before editing starts.

For a lot of reasons, it’s a good idea to avoid using cameras that don’t name files correctly, because this can be an absolute trainwreck in post.

[Marc Wielage]

[Adrielle Esteban] “Is it possible for me to transfer the Baselight project to Davinci Resolve? If yes, how? Or at least grab the color settings done in Baselight to Davinci Resolve?”
No it is not. It’s also not possible to go from Baselight to Nucoda or Mistika or Lustre or any other programs. In defense of Baselight, it’s not their fault: unlike edit lists, there are no real standards in place for transferring complex color correction sessions.

My suggestion would be to render the Baselight session and just match the new session to the reference file by eye as best you can in Resolve. There are things that are faster or easier in Baselight than Resolve (and vice-versa), but it’s fair to say it’s a different experience.

By the same token, you also can’t exchange full session settings and operations between Pro Tools and Fairlight or Logic or Audition or any other sound program. And you also can’t exchange VFX session data between After Effects and Fusion or Nuke or Motion.

[Marc Wielage]

This sounds like a problem with which you’re going to have to contact BMD support directly. If the database is munged and won’t open, I can’t see what to do. I have never seen a password request for a database in Mac OS or Windows, but you do have to do it with an external Linux Project Server (usually set to “DaVinci”).

[Marc Wielage]

[Sascha Engel] “When I want to change from BRaw to proxy, I delete the BRaw from The media Browser – footage on TL goes offline. Then I made a a new bin, imported the proxy file and then it forced relinked Itself to it.”
That is a very clever workaround.

In theory, turning off “use Proxies” and then using “Reconform from Bins” should work. In theory. For a lot of reasons, I’m more in favor of using a manual Proxy workflow where you create physical transcodes, and then we routinely either delete those and bring in the Raw files, or we Reconform from Bins, or we Change Source Folder. One of those will work.

[Marc Wielage]

Contrast is also a matter of MIDTONES, so it’s not just the blacks per se: it’s your overall perception of contrast in the entire image. You can make an image look more contrasty by peaking the whites at 100 (or what we used to call 100ire in old-school video).

I would refer you to Alexis Van Hurkman’s book Color Correction Handbook for a good explanation of contrast:
https://www.amazon.com/Color-Correction-Handbook-Professional-Techniques/dp/0321929667

And the Tektronix guide on using scopes for color-correction tools is also good:
https://www.tek.com/document/primer/guide-using-waveform-monitors-artistic-tools-color-grading-high-resolution

[Marc Wielage]

[Sam Caino] “My concern is that zooming it to 1.34 in the Transform Settings is effectively blowing it up and losing quality, as would be using the “fill” setting under Retime and Scaling. What about the ‘Crop’ setting in Retime and Scaling? Is that what I’m looking for? Am I on the right track here?”
Cropping would be a better choice. It always helps to use a framing chart on set so that you know in post that you’re seeing exactly what the DP and director intended to be seen.