Davinci Resolve: Did It Make or Break My Feature Film? (2024)

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In filmmaking, the magic doesn’t end when the cameras stop rolling. Instead, it’s just the beginning of another crucial phase: post-production.

At the heart of post-production is editing, the central hub around which everything else revolves.

The Giants of Editing Software

When it comes to editing software, two names stand out:

1. Avid Media Composer and
2. Adobe Premiere Pro.

For the longest time, these have been the go-to tools for editors around the globe. Personally, I had been a dedicated user of Adobe Premiere Pro for two decades, starting long before the Creative Suite era and continuing well into the Creative Cloud era.

Making the Switch to Davinci Resolve

A few years ago, I decided to explore a new option: Davinci Resolve. With a few months remaining on my annual Creative Cloud subscription, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see if Resolve could measure up to Premiere Pro. The short answer? It absolutely did.

Why Davinci Resolve?

Davinci Resolve offers a comprehensive suite of tools that cater to both editing and color grading, making it a powerful contender in the post-production landscape. Here are a few reasons why I found it impressive:

1. Integrated Workflow: Unlike other software that might require you to switch between different programs for editing, color grading, and audio post-production, Davinci Resolve integrates all these functions into one seamless workflow.
2. Advanced Color Grading: Resolve’s color grading capabilities are unmatched. As someone who values the visual storytelling aspect of film, this was a game-changer.
3. Cost-Effective: While Adobe Premiere Pro requires a subscription, Davinci Resolve offers a free version that includes many of the features needed for professional editing. The paid version, Davinci Resolve Studio, is also competitively priced.

I’ve used DaVinci Resolve to edit documentaries, fashion films, and lots of YouTube content. As of version 16 and above, Resolve can compete with the best.

Is the Free Version of Davinci Resolve Good Enough for Editing Feature Films?

Absolutely!

If you’re a filmmaker or editor on the hunt for a top-notch, professional-grade editing tool that won’t cost you a dime, Davinci Resolve is your best bet.

There’s no need to resort to pirating software like Adobe Premiere Pro when Resolve offers a free version that’s fully capable of handling feature film editing.

The Workflow of Big Feature Films

In the world of big-budget feature films, the workflow is typically divided among various specialists. Titles, end credits, overlays, and visual effects are often handled by different teams. One company might focus on chroma keying, another on wire removal, and yet another on compositing. These tasks are often distributed across multiple companies, sometimes located all over the globe.

The Role of the Editor

Color grading usually takes place after the edit is locked. However, even at this stage, changes can still be requested by the director or studio. This is where the editor plays a crucial role.

The editor is the one who knows the current state of the film inside and out. If the wrong shot version is used during these changes, it can lead to absolute chaos.

In contrast, low-budget films often have to make do with just a handful of people handling all these tasks.

Sometimes, a single person, perhaps a bit adventurous (or maybe a bit crazy) like me, will take on the challenge of doing everything themselves.

Why Davinci Resolve?

For both big productions and indie projects, Davinci Resolve offers a robust set of tools that cater to every aspect of post-production. The free version includes features that rival those of its costly competitors, making it a fantastic choice for filmmakers at any level.

The Hero Box

What is a hero box?

A hero box is a single machine with one software that combines editing, visual effects, and color grading.

Let’s say an editor insists on using their own system for editing. Once editing is complete, the project is moved to the hero box for color grading, effects, and finishing.

If, halfway through color grading, the director wants to re-edit the film (it’s a lot more common than people think) the hero box becomes invaluable.

Instead of sending the project back to the editor for re-edits and then round tripping it for finishing, the person operating the hero box can switch to the editing part of the program, make the edits in real time, and then switch back to color grading. This can all be done in minutes.

The same goes for visual effects; a lot of chroma keying and effects work can be handled in the hero box. Skin retouching is one of the prime functions of a hero box.

The most popular hero boxes were Autodesk Smoke for lower budget projects, and Autodesk Flame and Inferno for higher-end work. Smoke and Inferno are no more, which should tell you a lot about the state of the industry.

I used Autodesk Smoke when it was a Mac-only product, and it worked well. Autodesk Flame is mostly used in the commercial and fast-paced TV world, as far as I know.

Is Adobe Creative Cloud a Hero Box?

Ever since Adobe CS3, you had the ability to seamlessly move between Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. It wasn’t the same software technically, but you could make changes in one, and it would update in the other (the feature improved over time, not all at once in CS3).

At the time you also had Encore, a DVD authoring app and Flash integration. Adobe was unbeatable.

Then one day they decided to kill Speedgrade.

Suddenly, Adobe didn’t have a color grading app. Typically, you finished the film in the color grading app. Premiere Pro and After Effects do have some built-in color tools, but none of those will replace the full functionality of a complete grading app.

I should know, I graded my first feature film in After Effects.

Adobe’s strong point today is still After Effects and Photoshop. I also love Adobe Audition. It has some great plugins.

However, because there is no professional-grade color grading application, you can’t call Creative Cloud a Hero Box.

Avid and Final Cut Pro never kept up with Adobe. Color grading apps started losing their value over time, and many companies went bankrupt. Blackmagic Design bought Resolve.

The evolution of Davinci Resolve

Initially, Resolve was just a top-notch color grading app, but you still needed to use another editing program. Soon, they added editing features and Fusion for visual effects, and it changed into a hero box.

Today, Resolve is not just an editing application; it includes a top-notch node-based compositing application, an incredible color grading application, and Fairlight, a professional-grade audio app.

The Power of Davinci Resolve

• Editing: Resolve provides a powerful and intuitive editing platform suitable for everything from indie films to major studio projects. Its user-friendly interface and robust features make it a favorite among many editors.
• Node-Based Compositing: Resolve’s node-based compositing application is a game-changer. It allows for complex visual effects and compositing workflows, giving creators the flexibility to achieve high-quality results.
• Color Grading: The color grading capabilities of Resolve are unmatched. Known for its precision and depth, Resolve offers tools that enable colorists to bring out the best in every frame, ensuring a visually stunning final product.
• Fairlight Audio: Fairlight, the audio component of Resolve, is a professional-grade app that provides comprehensive audio post-production tools. While breaking into the audio world dominated by Avid Pro Tools is challenging, Fairlight offers a competitive alternative for many users.

Where Resolve Falls Short

Despite its many strengths, Resolve does have limitations, especially when compared to Adobe Creative Cloud. For projects that require extensive motion graphics, Photoshop work, Illustrator text, web publishing, and social media integration, Resolve can’t quite compete.

Adobe Creative Cloud remains the industry standard for these types of projects due to its extensive suite of applications tailored for various aspects of content creation and publishing.

Whether it’s for televised content, commercials, or any project requiring a high degree of motion graphics and multimedia integration, Adobe’s tools are more specialized and interconnected.

The disadvantages of a hero box

There are a few potential disadvantages to owning and operating a hero box:

• One person has to be good at many apps, and this is unlikely. Typically, those who operate a hero box is good at visual effects and some color grading. The editing skills are handy just for simple edits. They are not expected to edit an entire movie.
• If the hero box fails the downtime is bad for everyone involved. The film loses time and money, and the freelancer or operator or company loses productive hours.
• You’re stuck to the tools in the app itself. You don’t have the luxury of mixing and matching applications to suit your tastes or needs.

Where Resolve doesn’t fall short

Feature films, especially for low-budget filmmakers who need a single app that’s free and can handle most film needs, Davinci Resolve is the hero box.

I use the paid version of Resolve, called Resolve Studio. I started my edit in version 17 and finished in version 18. Since version 16 it’s been rock solid.

I’m still using an 8-year-old 1080 Ti Threadripper system to edit and grade 8K Canon RAW footage.

Once the film was locked, I used Resolve for the overlays and end credits, which was the only time I used Fusion. The title sequence was done by a third party, the only part I didn’t handle myself.

Audio is where proxies really shine. For my film, we had about 55 ADR tracks, 50 or so Foley tracks and about 35 Sound Effects tracks, all of which I had to sync and edit myself in Resolve.

With some decent audio hardware, I believe I could have used Fairlight for most of the sound editing tasks but I didn’t touch Fairlight for this film.

The music was composed in Logic Pro. The exported tracks had to be synced too.

After handing off the audio bounces to my mixer, the project was moved to the Color tab. My film was entirely graded and finished in Resolve. The exports passed all QC for a theatrical release, and there were three different companies. I had to watch the film on different screens to ensure my grade translated well.

Of course it did!

Is There Any Competition to Davinci Resolve for Color Grading?

When it comes to color grading apps, Davinci Resolve stands out with little competition. I’ve used Baselight, another industry standard, and while it has its strengths, it doesn’t compare to Resolve in terms of being user-friendly and affordable.

Plus, Baselight is too expensive for indie filmmakers.

I spent about a year in post-production, and Resolve was solid every step of the way. The free version should be enough for most low budget filmmakers. If you need the extra features, go for the paid version. It’s a no-brainer.

Your skills will be the limitation, not Resolve.

Bottom line:

The quality, functionality and stability of Davinci Resolve is good enough for feature films for any release platform.

What do you think?