In addition to the new Pocket Cinema Camera 4K announced earlier today, Blackmagic Design also released a major update to its video production software DaVinci Resolve. According to Blackmagic, DaVinci Resolve 15 comes with “hundreds of new features and improvements” but the major addition is a new Fusion module that fully integrates visual effects and motion graphics tools into the DaVinci Resolve workflow.
If you were wondering if Blackmagic is serious about making this a class-leading application, this update should help answer that. Already an industry favorite for color-correction, DaVinci Resolve 15 now includes four high-end video production applications in one: there’s a module for editing, a module for color correction, a module for audio production, and now, the new Fusion module for VFX and motion graphics as well.
Previously available as a stand-alone application, Fusion—which Blackmagic Design calls the “world’s most advanced visual effects and motion graphics software”—is now built right into DaVinci Resolve 15.
“DaVinci Resolve 15 is a huge and exciting leap forward for post production because it’s the world’s first solution to combine editing, color, audio and now visual effects into a single software application,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “We’ve listened to the incredible feedback we get from customers and have worked really hard to innovate as quickly possible. DaVinci Resolve 15 gives customers unlimited creative power to do things they’ve never been able to do before. It’s finally possible to bring teams of editors, colorists, sound engineers and VFX artists together so they can collaborate on the same project at the same time, all in the same software application!”
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According to Blackmagic, the Fusion module gives visual effects and motion graphics artists a true 3D workspace with over 250 tools for compositing, vector paint, particles, keying, rotoscoping, text animation, tracking, stabilization and more. You’ll still be able to purchase Fusion on its own, but Blackmagic plans to fully integrate the entire application into DaVinci Resolve 15 “within the next 12-18 months.”
Today’s release isn’t the final version, but rather a public beta that is available as a free download to all current DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio customers. The free version of DaVinci Resolve 15 will remain free, while the Studio version—which adds multi-user collaboration, support for frame rates over 60p, more filters and effects, and more—is available for $ 300 with “no annual subscription fees or ongoing licensing costs.” Take that Adobe…
To learn more, check out the full press release below or visit the Blackmagic Design website.
Press Release
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 15
New upgrade fully integrates visual effects and motion graphics, adds even more audio tools plus hundreds of new features and improvements that editors and colorists have asked for!
NAB 2018, Las Vegas, USA – April 9, 2018 – Blackmagic Design today announced DaVinci Resolve 15, a massive update that fully integrates visual effects and motion graphics, making it the world’s first solution to combine professional offline and online editing, color correction, audio post production, multi user collaboration and now visual effects together in one software tool. DaVinci Resolve 15 adds an entirely new Fusion page with over 250 tools for compositing, paint, particles, animated titles and more. In addition, DaVinci Resolve 15 includes a major update to Fairlight audio, along with over 100 new features and improvements that professional editors and colorists have asked for.
A public beta of DaVinci Resolve 15 will be available today and for immediate download from the Blackmagic Design website. DaVinci Resolve 15 will also be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2018 booth at #SL216.
DaVinci Resolve 15 continues to revolutionize post production by combining 4 extremely high end applications as different pages in one single piece of software. The edit page has all of the tools professional editors need for both offline and online editing, the color page features the world’s most advanced color correction tools, the Fairlight audio page is designed specifically for audio post production, and the new Fusion page gives visual effects and motion graphics artists everything they need to create feature film quality effects and animations. All it takes is a single click to instantly move between editing, color, effects and audio.
This gives individual users unlimited creative flexibility because they can learn and explore different toolsets. It also enables collaboration so people with different talents can work together on the same project at the same time. The DaVinci Resolve 15 collaborative workflow dramatically speeds up post production because customers no longer need to import, export or translate projects between different software applications, and work no longer needs to be conformed when changes are made. Everything is in the same software application.
The free version of DaVinci Resolve 15 can be used for professional work and has more features than virtually every other paid application for post production. DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio, which adds multi user collaboration, 3D, VR, dozens of additional filters and effects, unlimited network rendering and other advanced features such as temporal and spatial noise reduction, is available to own for only US$ 299. There are no annual subscription fees or ongoing licensing costs. DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio costs less than all other cloud based software subscriptions and it does not require an internet connection once the software has been activated. That means customers don’t have to worry about losing work in the middle of a job if there is no internet connection.
“DaVinci Resolve 15 is a huge and exciting leap forward for post production because it’s the world’s first solution to combine editing, color, audio and now visual effects into a single software application,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “We’ve listened to the incredible feedback we get from customers and have worked really hard to innovate as quickly possible. DaVinci Resolve 15 gives customers unlimited creative power to do things they’ve never been able to do before. It’s finally possible to bring teams of editors, colorists, sound engineers and VFX artists together so they can collaborate on the same project at the same time, all in the same software application!”
DaVinci Resolve 15 Detailed Overview
DaVinci Resolve 15 features an entirely new Fusion page for feature film quality visual effects and motion graphics animation. Fusion was previously only available as a stand alone application and is the world’s most advanced visual effects and motion graphics software. It is now built into DaVinci Resolve 15. The new Fusion page gives customers a true 3D workspace with over 250 tools for compositing, vector paint, particles, keying, rotoscoping, text animation, tracking, stabilization and more. Adding Fusion to DaVinci Resolve has been a massive project that will be completed over the next 12-18 months. Customers can get started using Fusion today to complete nearly all of their visual effects and motion graphics work. The standalone version of Fusion will continue to be available for customers who need it.
In addition to bringing Fusion into DaVinci Resolve 15, Blackmagic Design has also added support for Apple Metal, multiple GPUs and CUDA acceleration, making Fusion in DaVinci Resolve faster than ever. To add visual effects or motion graphics, customers simply select a clip in the timeline on the Edit page and then click on the Fusion page where they can use Fusion’s dedicated node based interface, which is optimized for visual effects and motion graphics. Compositions created in the standalone version of Fusion can also be copied and pasted into DaVinci Resolve 15 projects.
DaVinci Resolve 15 also features a huge update to the Fairlight audio page. The Fairlight page now has a complete ADR toolset, static and variable audio retiming with pitch correction, audio normalization, 3D panners, audio and video scrollers, a fixed playhead with scrolling timeline, shared sound libraries, support for legacy Fairlight projects, and built in cross platform plugins such as reverb, hum removal, vocal channel and de-esser. With DaVinci Resolve 15, customers no longer have to worry about audio plugins when moving between Mac, Windows and Linux because the FairlightFX plugins run natively on all three platforms.
DaVinci Resolve is the fastest growing nonlinear video editor in the industry. It’s also Hollywood’s favorite color corrector. Blackmagic Design has listened carefully to feedback from professional colorists and editors. DaVinci Resolve 15 includes over a hundred new features and improvements that editors and colorists have asked for.
Colorists get an entirely new LUT browser for quickly previewing and applying LUTs, along with new shared nodes that are linked so when one is changed they all change, multiple playheads for quickly referencing different shots in a program, over 5x performance improvement for stabilization, improved noise reduction, and new Super Scale HD to 8K up-rezzing. DaVinci Resolve 15 also expands HDR support with GPU accelerated Dolby Vision metadata analysis and native HDR 10+ grading controls. In addition, new ResolveFX let customers quickly patch blemishes or remove unwanted elements in a shot using smart fill technology. There are also new ResolveFX for dust and scratch removal, lens and aperture diffraction effects, and more.
Professional editors will find new features in DaVinci Resolve 15 specifically designed to make cutting, trimming, organizing and working with large projects even better. DaVinci Resolve 15 has dramatically improved load times so that large projects with hundreds of timelines and thousands of clips now open instantly. New stacked timelines and timeline tabs let editors see multiple timelines at once so they can quickly cut, paste, copy and compare scenes between timelines. There are also new markers with on-screen annotations, subtitle and closed captioning tools, auto save with versioning, greatly improved keyboard customization tools, new 2D and 3D Fusion title templates, image stabilization on the Edit page, a floating timecode window, improved organization and metadata tools, Netflix render presets with IMF support and much more.
For the ultimate high speed workflow, customers can add a DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel or a DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel. All controls are logically placed near natural hand positions and are made out of the highest quality materials. Smooth, high resolution weighted trackballs and precision engineered knobs and dials feature the perfect amount of resistance for accurately adjusting any setting. The DaVinci Resolve control panels give colorists and editors fluid, hands on control over multiple parameters at the same time, allowing them to create looks that are simply impossible with a standard mouse.
In addition, Blackmagic Design also introduced new Fairlight audio consoles for audio post production that will be available later this year. The new Fairlight consoles are available in 2, 3 and 5 bay configurations. Prices for the new Fairlight control panels are approximately 80% less than the previously available panels with prices ranging from US$ 21,995 to US$ 48,995.
Availability and Price
The public beta of DaVinci Resolve 15 is available today as a free download from the Blackmagic Design website for all current DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio customers. DaVinci Resolve Studio is available for US$ 299 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.
The Fairlight consoles will be available later this year and will be priced from US$ 21,995 for the Fairlight 2 Bay console. The Fairlight consoles will be available from Blackmagic Design Resellers worldwide.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)