The #1 PROBLEM with VFX – DaVinci Resolve Fusion Tips
Regular readers will know that I usually include something each week from Casey Faris somehow related to the subject of DaVinci Resolve.
What you may have also noticed is that over the past few months Casey has been zeroing in on the Fusion Page of Resolve to pull off some cool special effects.
This week Casey is continuing on in that vein demonstrating how to do a Star Wars style effect in Fusion.
However that’s not the entire story here.
At the beginning of the tutorial Casey goes over what I think to be a very, very important point for when it comes to all parts of video or media production.
That point is that there is a certain level at which any project or step you are trying to execute reaches when it is as Casey says, “Good enough.”
From my own perspective I encounter this problem with my wife’s YouTube videos on a weekly basis.
She strives for a level of perfection that far exceeds both the expectations of her audience and what is really necessary given the time available.
In itself that kind of a good thing however the time and effort it takes to get to that point renders the entire process completely inefficient and unsustainable.
It certainly doesn’t mean that you should put out any old crap but you have to be realistic in setting goals and understanding what the audience would find to be “Good enough.”
Use Markers for Precise Placement of Project Elements
This is a demonstration in CyberLink PowerDirector on using timeline markers to add elements or at least make a mark as to where you want those elements to go.
That’s all well and good but while I am on the subject of markers I thought I would also add my own take on using them.
Very often when I am working on a project my workflow follows a basic set of steps.
Initially those first steps are very “Macro” oriented which is to say I am operating with a very broad overview in mind.
These are steps like renaming assets to ones that make sense and pulling all the clips I am going to use into the library and on to the timeline.
The next steps are also quite general in that I will go through and make a rough cut of the video but I also know I am going go through again at a more granular level.
It is at this point I start to add markers and attach notes to those markers.
I mark places I am going to add a graphic or maybe add some music or do a zoom in or out cut.
All those little thoughts I have as I am making that first rough cut I add as a marker note so that when I come though the next time for a finer cut I am not trying to remember what I was thinking.
This AI Will Edit Your Videos For You
Not quite up to the level of the clickbaity title but let’s face it, AI is coming along!
In the video below the guys from Movavi go over some of the features of Runwayml.com which is certainly progressing as a platform for creating AI videos but more so for correcting and enhancing existing ones.
However I personally don’t use AI for very much at this point outside of correction features.
The cool part of this is that Movavi like many other video editors is incorporating access to AI features within the software instead of having to export, use the AI then re-import.
Here’s some of what is available in the movavi Video Editor.
Building Grow Effect Corel VideoStudio
This is a pretty simple yet effective trick you can pull off in just about any video editing software with the assistance of a reasonable image editor on top.
This one is demonstrated in Corel VideoStudio which is a software I have used for years now.
If you are working more advanced software you probably don’t need the image editing software as long as you understand the layering and masking concepts.
3 Masking Tricks: Adding Magic Power to Your Videos
OK so masking is pretty much a stock standard feature in today’s video editing software.
Now the marketing department will tell you that you can do all sorts of things with masking and let your imagination run wild!
Of course that all sounds good until you are at the point of letting your imagination run wild.
If you are anything like me your imagination doesn’t so much run wild as stumble blindly out the front door tripping over the dog in the process!
The real way to use masking and other tools like it is to first find out what it can and cannot do and see lots of examples of what is possible and how it can possibly be applied.
After that you can do the whole running wild thing.
Here are some examples done in Filmora for using masking.
How to Insert Video Clip Into Your Current Project in Filmora 13
There is nothing worse than getting well into an edit, inserting another element on to the timeline only to discover that everything else just moved or failed to move the way you wanted!
Of course you can ctrl+Z your way out of trouble but it is always best to not get into that position in the first place!
Here’s how to do it in Filmora and remember this is a common problem so all editing software will have some kind of function or system for dealing with it.
Editing In Davinci Resolve 19 – Edit A Video From Start To Finish
Full disclosure here I don’t actually use DaVinci Resolve for my bread and butter editing although I know a lot of people do.
I use it for two specific purposes.
First is as a “rough cutter” for videos that contain mostly spoken word content.
The reason for that is that the DaVinci interface has a very good display of the waveform in the timeline that I can expand and make quite large.
Most of my initial cutting is based on the dialogue so that makes it really easy.
The other thing I use it for is the Color Page to correct the colors and get it all looking good.
If you are using Resolve as your main editor or are thinking of using it here’s a full walkthrough of a project from start to finish.
You may pick up some tips or it may help you decide if it is what you are looking for.
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