Blackmagic Design's team has been busy working on this major upgrade, and after thorough beta testing, it's ready for primetime. DaVinci Resolve 18 is a true, all-in-one non-linear editor, color correction suite, motion graphics creator, visual effects compositor (using Fusion), and audio software package (using Fairlight).
You really don't need to leave the app, AKA roundtrip, to get something done. With the official release of DaVinci Resolve 18, everything is available at the low cost of free (or $295 for DaVinci Resolve Studio).
If you talk to any editor, from those cutting major Hollywood films to a YouTuber editing their latest video, many will say Resolve is their primary editor of choice, at least for color grading. Some will have it be the NLE they use at home, and there is a huge community that editors can tap into to learn all sorts of tips and tricks.
So what's new in this update?
Credit: Blackmagic Design
New Features in Resolve 18
Firstly, Resolve 18 now includes access to the Blackmagic Cloud, which allows editors to work on the same project libraries and timelines from anywhere in the world in real-time. The Blackmagic Proxy generator helps with faster workflows, and there's more intelligent media management, new Resolve FX features, and an ability to convert legacy projects to FlexBus (Fairlight). Creatives also have support for the mega-fast Apple M1 Ultra SOC (system on a chip). But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Credit: Blackmagic Design
A highlight of features found in DaVinci Resolve 18:
- Blackmagic Cloud allows for sharing and collaborating on project libraries in real-time and securely via Blackmagic ID.
- Blackmagic Proxy generator creates proxy files based on original camera data to speed up workflows. You can choose between the proxies or original camera files.
- Blackmagic RAW SDK 2.6 support.
- Intelligent path mapping to automatically relink files.
- Subtitle improvements, including support for timed text TTML, XML, and embedded MXF/IMF subtitles.
- Up to 25 simultaneous Multicam angles in the viewer.
- Apple Neural Engine support: DaVinci Neural Engine acceleration on the M1 and M1 Pro SOCs.
- Text and Shape Acceleration: Real-time playback performance for bundled Fusion templates.
- 3D Depth Mattes: Automatically generate 3D depth-based keys.
- Object Mask: DaVinci Neural Engine automatic mask generation.
- Surface Tracking Overlays.
- Magic Mask: New object mask overlay.
- Convert old projects to FlexBus in Fairlight.
- Improved Dolby Atmos immersive mixing, including biaural monitoring and native support for Apple Silicon and Linux (Fairlight).
- Multi-button mode selection in the inspector for multiple tools in Fusion.
- Multiple new composition blend modes (Fusion).
- Support for 10-bit viewers on Windows and Linux in Studio.
The list goes on and on.
Things Creatives Should Focus On
We're excited to see Blackmagic Cloud finally getting a full release. While creatives already had access to it in the beta, the full release should be a lot more stable. With cloud-based workflows becoming the new frontier, it's exciting to see BMD offering a budget-friendly solution. It will definitely compete with the likes of Frame.io, and while it won't have the backing of a company like Adobe, BMD has always been the David to Adobe's Goliath. And we all know how that story ends.
The other cool thing we'll see with Resolve 18 is the ability to stabilize BMPCC footage using the new gyro metadata. If you haven't heard about that yet, check out this article to get more info.
Also, keep out for our review of the new BMPCC 6K G2, which is coming soon.
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2Credit: Blackmagic Design
Availability and Patches
The public release of DaVinci Resolve 18 is out now, and Blackmagic Design has also just released a small update (ver. 18.0.1). This fixes some issues such as incorrectly generated DNxHR cache files, grabbing power grade stills in network projects, issues with Fusion, and few other small fixes. However, we do recommend waiting to update if you really need your system for an important project, as there will be bugs with an initial release.
To get more details about DaVinci Resolve 18, visit Blackmagic's site. You'll find links to download the free version or to step up to the Studio version for $295.
