Review: Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio

Blackmagic Design’s latest update to DaVinci Resolve includes no less than 80 brand new features—many of which are focused on offline editorial functionality. Colorists and editors alike will inevitably be impressed by Resolve’s new capabilities as both an offline editor and finishing platform.

For the purpose of this review I am using the Mac-based DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio ($995), but it’s worth noting that there is also a free version of Resolve available for download as well. The free version loses features like real-time noise reduction using CUDA and OpenCL GPUs and stereoscopic 3D editing capabilities, but is otherwise remarkably similar to the Studio edition. Both options are available on Mac and PC.

The new Resolve features a new media management system and automatic color adjustments for easier color grading. 

What’s New

Multi-cam editing, a new media management system, additional trim modes, updated curves tools, automatic color adjustments and media optimization are just a handful of the countless features added to Resolve 12. The interface has been given a facelift too, and now offers a slicker design and new font selection, which makes working on projects for long periods of time that much more enjoyable.

With that said, legacy users of Resolve will feel right at home with this release, as the structure and layout of the interface are still very consistent with previous iterations. Speaking personally, there was virtually no learning curve when transitioning from Version 11 to 12, as the UI changes that were made were seamless and highly intuitive.

User Friendliness

Without a doubt, DaVinci Resolve is the most user-friendly finishing system that I’ve ever worked with, and even users who have little or no experience with the software will likely pick it up very quickly. The interface consists of four main pages: Media, Edit, Color and Deliver, which effectively act as their own applications within the Resolve umbrella. For instance, a user may want to strictly use Resolve 12 as an offline editor, and can choose to work exclusively in the Edit and Media tabs. By the same token, a full-fledged colorist will likely utilize each of the tabs taking them from ingest to color to final delivery.

The simple redesign of the UI and logical naming conventions of the various functions will make it very easy for any editor to adapt to the software, even without prior experience with Resolve.

What We Liked

Across the board, Resolve 12 has become a stronger platform than ever by offering an end-to-end post-production pipeline, without sacrificing its compatibility with other applications. Below are a couple of my favorite new Resolve features, broken into categories.

EDITORIAL: While Resolve is of course a color-grading platform at heart, the editing functions in version 12 have really stolen the show and made the software more versatile than ever. Compound clips, optimized media, the new timeline layout, and multi-cam in particular are among the most effective new features that Resolve offers. And these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Like most editors, speed is one of my biggest concerns when choosing the right platform to work on, and the features listed above not only allow me to work far more precisely, but with more speed than ever before. The trim modes in particular (multi-slip, slide, ripple and roll) now have support for asymmetric trimming, which makes specific and complex editorial changes simpler than ever to implement.

COLOR: Resolve has always offered some of the best color-correction tools on the market, but with version 12 those tools feel even more refined, and the new additions are by far the most innovative I have seen to date. Many of the day-to-day tasks of a colorist (such as tracking and keying) are now made easier with the new 3D perspective tracker and 3D keyer, and even standard tasks, such as curves adjustments, are even more accurate thanks to the design enhancements of the UI.

One of my personal favorite new functions of Resolve is the ability to create compound nodes, which function much like a layer in Photoshop, only more functional. The new compound nodes functionality ultimately simplifies the view of your node structure, much in the same way that compound clips simplify your timeline. Working with complex node trees are very easy to manage now that there is such a simple way to group together numerous color corrections.

What We Didn’t Like

There’s very little to complain about when it comes to Resolve, especially considering the quality and abundance of features that the software offers. With that said, new users may have trouble with real-time playback, even without any color corrections made. Resolve is a very powerful piece of software, and as such calls for powerful hardware to run on.

For users who are working on slower systems, it will be crucial that certain settings—such as “Optimize for playback”—are activated in order to allow Resolve to run more smoothly, and playback footage in real time. Other NLEs such as FCP X or Premiere Pro offer easier solutions for optimizing real-time playback, whereas Resolve does require more customization to achieve optimal results.

How It Compares

As both a color-grading platform and now an offline editorial system, DaVinci Resolve is truly second to none. No other dedicated color software offers the same ease of use, functionality and offline editorial capabilities as Resolve, and that alone makes the software stand out from the competition immeasurably.

Even when assessing Resolve 12 strictly as an editor, it very much holds its own next to the likes of Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer. In many ways, Resolve 12 feels like an amalgamation of the best of the three major NLEs. But by the same token, it’s far more than that.

There are truly no compromises when using Resolve as an editing system. It doesn’t feel as if you are attempting to edit within the confines of a color software; it simply feels like you are using one of the most robust and innovative editing systems on the market—because you are.

We welcome new Rf product reviewer Noam Kroll to the team. Kroll is an LA-based filmmaker and founder of the production company Creative Rebellion (creativerebellion.com). He’s worked on music videos, advertising campaigns and feature films.