Why Video Editors Are Switching To DaVinci Resolve In Droves

Video editors are flocking to DaVinci Resolve in droves, marking a major paradigm shift in the editing landscape that we haven't seen since the dreadful launch of Final Cut Pro X drove users to Adobe Premiere Pro. PetaPixel reports: Resolve has taken a convoluted path to becoming the main rival of the world's biggest non-linear editing (NLE) tool. More a conglomeration of tools than a single program, Resolve came through some acquisitions Blackmagic made when creating a broadcast and cine ecosystem. Comprised of an editing tool, a color correction tool, an audio editor, and an effects tool, Resolve is essentially multiple programs that all integrate so seamlessly that they function as a single application. The color correction tools in Resolve are particularly well regarded, and many films and shows were color graded in Resolve even if they were edited in another program. The same applies to Fairlight, the audio component of Resolve, the go-tool tool for many of Hollywood's most prominent audio engineers. In 2011, Blackmagic decided to release Resolve as both a paid and a free version. The free version had fewer features than the full version (as it still does), but instead of being crippled, the free version works well enough for most users, with the paid version feeling like a feature upgrade. In the dozen years since Resolve became free, it has picked up an ever-growing number of users, and the YouTube emphasis on the creator market has only increased the pace of adoption. The fact that most successful YouTube channels take years to become successful means a free editing tool is valuable. Blackmagic has never hesitated to put a feature into Resolve. The program has many options in contextual menus, user interface choices, menu items, keyboard shortcuts, and more. There is so much here that it can be overwhelming. [...] Blackmagic also releases dot-versions (like 18.1) that sometimes add enough features that it acts like a full number upgrade would if it were released by Adobe or Apple. Some of the features in Resolve 18.1, for example, unleashed the wave of recent switchers. Two significant features are buried in a list of around 20 new features in that update. The first is AI-driven Magic Mask tools that make masking people or objects a matter of drawing a line. The other prominent feature is voice isolation, another AI-based feature that removes noises from dialog tracks. Magic Mask alone is worth the price of admission. This tool makes it easy to color-correct significant portions of a shot without doing endless mask adjustments, and it also allows for instant alpha channel creation, allowing for items like text, graphics or even people to be superimposed on the same scene without needing a green screen. You can read the full article here.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.