Being a good colorist isn't just knowing what all the buttons do.

DaVinci Resolve is quickly gaining popularity as one of the best non-linear editors available for novice editors. Ever since it’s update to v12, Blackmagic Design introduced many editing features to the color grading program to amp up its editorial capabilities. The company’s goal is to have someone do an entire workflow within DaVinci. Now you have the ability to ingest, edit, color grade, and deliver your entire project, right within Resolve. Some of the key features that they added to v12 include multicam workflows, a slew of built-in video and audio effects, keyframing, trim tools of all the sorts, and a brand new media management system. Though not a new feature, Resolve allows you to change and/or import keyboard shortcuts from another platform like Final Cut or Premiere so that you can quickly get up and running with the program.

Though all of these features are a welcome addition to the already robust toolset that the program provides, because Resolve’s basic version of the software is free, this now means that there is a very low cost of entry for many people to have incredibly powerful tools to create content. Adobe Premiere gives you a 30 day free trial, but then charges you $50 annually to gain access to it's tools. This in return makes the post-production field ever more competitive, as there will be more and more people quickly learning and obtaining these valuable skills. The appeal of a colorist/editor is less the technical skill, but rather the artistic and storytelling abilities that they can bring to a project. Nobody gets hired because they know what all the buttons do. They get hired for projects because of the content that they are able to produce and the stories that they are able to tell with the tools they’re given. In film and television production, story is king, and without the ability to improve or even tell the story in the case of an editor, the project will go to somebody else. This is exactly the same with DaVinci Resolve. The program is getting far easier and more friendly to use, but the core skills are still required to be considered a quality colorist or editor.

To find out more about DaVinci Resolve (which was just updated to version 12.5 yesterday and introduced lots of awesome new features), click here.