Blackmagic has released a new version, now 20.2, of its increasingly popular software for video editing, colour correction, visual effects, animation and audio editing. Originally developed as pure colour correction software, more and more functions were added over time and the software has since found a large following—particularly because of its outstanding price-performance ratio—and because beginners are enticed to take their first steps with a free version. So far, the software can be purchased without subscription obligations. The software seems more like a supplementary “side business” for Blackmagic, alongside its many high-end hardware products for film and television production.

Anima-what?

Countless tests and tutorials by enthusiasts of the programme are circulating on the internet. We have also published articles on DaVinci and indicated that we wanted to take a closer look at the software’s animation capabilities. Blackmagic proudly announces on its website that DaVinci Resolve is Hollywood’s number one choice for post-production. The list of features is correspondingly long and may well overwhelm beginners. The latest version is said to contain over 100 new features for all areas of video editing and post-production, including new AI functions for audio editing.

As already explained in other articles, DaVinci Resolve uses 7 workspaces, which are arranged to structure work in DaVinci (an explanation of this system was already provided by Alexander Richter in his article Goodbye Adobe Premiere): “Media for ingest, Cut for the first rough cut, Edit for the actual editing, Fusion for compositing and motion graphics, Color for, you can guess, colour correction, Fairlight for audio and Deliver for final rendering of files.” Even if this all sounds rather complex, most 2D animation and video editing programmes work in a similar way, with “individual differences,” as our colleague already mentioned.

Since DaVinci Resolve is essentially a huge collection of different tools, we have, as promised, focused “only” on the one aspect of animation for now. Of course, you should understand the principle of the 7 Pages in DaVinci, even if you “only” want to animate.

Everything Moves

In principle, all motion effects, in fact, all animation of parameters of imported objects in DaVinci, are based on the program’s sophisticated keyframe technique. Edit is not only responsible for the correct cut; it also allows you to quickly drag transitions, titles, and filters directly into the timeline and manipulate numerous parameters via the Inspector. By setting keyframes at different points on the timeline (click the small diamond-shaped symbols on the far right), animations can be created quickly and relatively easily.

Recently, the Edit Page also offers access to a convenient view of the keyframe editor (also as a floating window), where keyframes can be copied and moved, and animation curves can be edited using Bezier handles (for example, Ease-In, Ease-Out, Ease-In/Out, and Linear) easily accessible easing functions… a feature welcomed by many users. This method of animating in DaVinci is also suitable for programme newcomers and promises quickly acceptable results.

Pathfinder

Another animation method promoted by Blackmagic is path animation, something competitor programmes also offer. Animations along a path are highly requested by many users. DaVinci offers complex possibilities here.

One of the simplest methods, for example, aligning and animating text along a path, requires only a few clicks, if you know where to look. A “stripped-down” example: in the Fusion Page, you create a text node with one click. DaVinci automatically connects this to the obligatory MediaOut node. Afterwards, the Inspector offers various options to enter and edit text. Almost all settings can be animated using the already mentioned keyframes.

Pathplayer

To bring a path into play, in the Layout tab (next to the text symbol) the type should be changed from Point to Path. Then a curve can be drawn directly in the view window. The text immediately adapts to this curve. The curve can be edited, and the points and Bezier handles can also be animated. At the bottom of the menu there is an item “Right-click here for shape animation.” Oddly enough in testing, this worked flawlessly, but not on every computer (curves seemed to be generated, but were “invisible”). Maybe we should ask the people at Blackmagic about this. Paths can also first be created (or imported) as Polygon or B-Spline nodes and then assigned.

The Fusion Page overall offers, thanks to its node-based approach and additional complex effects for texts, blurs, masks, 3D animations and particles, even more possibilities for visual design than are found in the Edit Page. In the Fusion Page, unlike the Edit Page, only a single clip is ever worked on.

To use Fusion effectively, you should embrace the node-based approach (there are quite a lot of nodes, not all of them reveal their purpose by name, but if you already know the desired name, you can help yourself with the Shift and Space keys while searching). The display of nodes can be enlarged via right-click and “Show/Show Tile Picture,” so that helpful thumbnails assist with orientation in the Node Editor. Still, you should expect a learning curve that is not too shallow.

3D Effects

In Fusion, DaVinci Resolve can create or import simple 3D objects, e.g. in Alembic, FBX, or USDZ format. 2D graphics can be converted into 3D objects and assembled into a scene with the 3D renderer and lighting nodes. The options of the 3D tools are extensive and complex. Building a 3D scene appears more laborious than in “usual” 3D tools, though perhaps it is only a matter of practice?

Conclusion

Simple animations can quickly lead to acceptable results even for beginners. The ability to control almost every scene parameter with keyframes in the timeline makes such animations easy. The Fusion Page, however, already introduces a corresponding learning curve. Node systems take some getting used to for some, although for professionals they are effective once accepted and understood. The range of functions with filters and effects is huge. The names of the nodes are not always self-explanatory. Many of the possibilities for effects and animations can already be created by experienced users with some of DaVinci’s basic tools (even with the free version).

The 3D tools appear relatively cumbersome, as is also evident from some of the many video tutorials circulating on the internet and they are obviously to be regarded more as a supplement to the “all-round programme.” Overall, DaVinci Resolve is not only suitable as a highly effective film editing and effects software, but also for many areas of motion graphics animation.

The post Resolve Animation: Everything moves! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ralf Gliffe.

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Resolve, currently in version 18.6.6, is available in a slightly slimmed-down free version or for currently 329 euros as a studio version online, or as a free add-on when purchasing high-quality hardware, such as film cameras from Blackmagic Design).
It is claimed by Blackmagic, but also by many users, that the possibilities of the free version of DaVinci already completely fulfil the requirements of most users for video editing, effects, grading and sound and would “put many paid-for software applications in the shade”.
A public beta version 19 is also currently available (users must register before downloading), which replaces the current version during installation if this is not explicitly prevented (backup of the current database and renaming of the DaVinci programme folder – instructions on how users can upgrade to the new version 19 and use several versions of DaVinci at the same time can be found on YouTube – e.g. here: is.gd/resolve18_and_19

What are we talking about today?

When looking at the current version of DaVinci, we have dispensed with all the possibilities of video editing, sophisticated grading or the complex options of sound editing (Fairlight) and have instead focussed on a few (small) “delicacies” of the programme.

Install beta

At the launch of beta version 19, which will also be available in German at the request of numerous users, an overview of the upcoming innovations is provided – including Postproductions with live replays, AI tracking with Intellitrack, Colorslice – grading with 6 vectors, improved noise reduction thanks to DaVinci Neural AI Engine, text-based timeline editing, film look creator, refined volumetric rendering of smoke and flame effects, audio-to-video panning (tracks objects in the viewer for spatial sound distribution).

And let’s go into parallax!

In “mini-projects”, in which we added some (rather suptile) effects and animations to static images – cinemagrams, parallax animations – some motion graphics for beginners, so to speak, we tried out some effects, animation options with keyframes and masking options.

Static images – moving effects

Applying animation effects to static images (photo animations/cinemagraphs) is a popular method of increasing the visual impact of digital media such as videos, animations or interactive presentations. The possibilities are almost limitless and only determined by taste.

Ready for Burns!

In addition to fast, attention-grabbing movements, such as those often used in PowerPoint presentations or on advertising websites, subtle movements and effects are likely to attract more attention when it comes to dynamically conveying information, concepts or stories. Slight camera pans or zoom movements on still images (also known as the “Ken Burns effect” after the American documentary filmmaker) can be created in DaVinci Resolve both as keyframe animations and automatically using the “Dynamic Zoom effect”.
Animations in which cropped objects in the image move at different speeds can convey a spatial impression (parallax effect). Object movements that take place close to the viewer’s eye appear faster than those further away. If a gentle zoom or a small camera movement causes foreground objects to move in front of more distant objects, the three-dimensional impression is further emphasised.

Cinemagrams

Cinemagrams, i.e. photo animations in which static images are supplemented with mostly subtle, repetitive animations of individual, smaller parts of the image, are neither pure photos nor videos and are intended to attract attention, create atmosphere and evoke emotional effects.
DaVinci Resolve Studio promises to offer all the necessary tools and effects in one application – and should therefore be suitable. In addition to the wide range of effects, the current Studio version also advertises simple cropping with the help of AI – sounds ideal for our experiments with the aforementioned “mini projects”. Even if this is a bit of “shooting with cannons on sparrows” – let’s try out some of the functions. As mentioned, DaVinci is not only powerful, but also extensive and complex. Nevertheless, the software promises an easy introduction even for programme newcomers – at least to the basic functions.

PingPong – animation in a loop

Probably the simplest way to animate images is to move an entire image that is larger than the video in the inspector and set keyframes. It is advisable to “round” the animation curves, i.e. to make them “smooth”. With a “ping pong” effect, the image will move smoothly in one direction, then gradually stop to return to the starting point. Of course, scaling and rotation can also be incorporated. Dynamic Zoom is much faster and more effective.

Dynamic Zoom

All you have to do is select the relevant clip (an image) in the edit page and then switch on Dynamic Zoom in the Inspector. A drop-down menu can be opened below the viewer window, which uses two coloured rectangles to set the start and end values for zooming. The direction can be reversed using the “Swap” option. To change the duration of the zoom effect (normally applied to the duration of an entire clip), it is advisable to use an Adjustment Clip.

Automated collages with images or videos

The “Video Collage” effect offers an interesting way of arranging and animating several objects (moving images) in a scene. A grid, a kind of table with adjustable rows and columns, is superimposed on a clip with this effect. As with comic panels in graphics software, images or videos can be placed under the effect clip, allowing several objects to be arranged quickly and correctly. The parameters can also be animated here.

Masquerade

If only parts of the image are to be animated, you need the individual parts. DaVinci offers various options for masking, editing and cropping objects. The mask tools include basic shapes such as rectangles, circles, polygon and BSpline curves, colour selections – and in the Colour Page – Magic Mask. The shape masks can be combined, inverted and the deformations animated. There is even an Onion Skin function to better control the animation of the mask curves.

There are several tutorials on YouTube in which users demonstrate how to create dynamic masks and even cartoons with the shape tools (to fill the shapes with colour or image content, a suitable background must be created each time, which then becomes visible within the overlying mask).
You can also use these masks to make objects “disappear” – like with Photoshop’s copy stamp. This is also possible with the Paint tool, e.g. in clone mode. If masks are applied to moving videos, you can try using DaVinci’s intelligent tracking. But: Since we are only working with single images this time and not with moving images, this does not apply. Next time!
Ideally, masks no longer have to be adapted to movements frame by frame, but “only” tracked – DaVinci tries to track the selected object and adjust the mask so that the masking is retained even when there is movement. One of the sensations of the new version is the “Magic Mask”, which now has a person and an object mode. With just a few strokes and a few adjustable parameters, DaVinci generates amazingly good masks of objects or backgrounds surprisingly quickly.

With the Magic Mask in particular, it is possible to quickly select objects in order to apply effects to them or, in conjunction with “Add Alpha Output” in the Node window of the Colour Page, to cut them out completely. This allows you to quickly place text in front of or behind (cropped) parts of the image, for example.
Convincing effects can be achieved with a little effort using DaVinci’s 3D tools. Real parallax effects can be created here due to the spatial depth. The depth of field of a camera can also be simulated.

The post Animating images with Resolve first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Ralf Gliffe.

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