After first announcing the update back at NAB last April, Blackmagic Design has now released the new DaVinci Resolve 12 in one of the biggest leaps forward in the development of the software’s history.
Traditionally known as an industry standard colour grading system since the early 1980s, Resolve has now been reborn to include a full nonlinear editing system with version 12 so that users can edit, grade, and finish their film projects entirely in one piece of software.
Blackmagic Design, who has said it had one hundred software engineers working on the update, is also continuing to make Resolve available for free with version 12.
Impressive new features include a 3D tracker that follows objects as they move and change perspective over time, a 3D keyer, and a multi-camera editing toolset that lets editors cut programmes from multiple sources in real time as well as automatically synchronise different clips and camera angles together based on timecode, given in/out points, or even sound. Other updates include enhancements to core editing tools, new transition curves so editors can create and edit custom curves for transition parameters, a new mixer, improved colour grading and correction tools including an easier to use curve interface and automatic colour analysis and matching between two or more clips, and more.
On top of these improvements, the paid DaVinci Resolve 12 Studio also adds further updates needed by larger facilities, such as native support for both Intel Iris and Iris Pro GPUs. This will improve performance on a wider range of systems, including laptops, so editors and colourists have a much smoother time working remotely or on-set.
Resolve 12 Studio also adds temporal and spatial noise reduction, optical quality motion blur effects, 3D stereoscopic tools, multi-user collaboration tools, and remote rendering enhancements.
“Since we announced DaVinci Resolve 12 at NAB, the response has been absolutely incredible,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “The public beta was hugely popular and the feedback was amazing, which made our engineers work even harder to make it perfect! We also heard from thousands of editors during the public beta, many of whom said it was the best NLE they’ve ever used. We couldn’t be more excited that some editors have already started calling DaVinci Resolve 12 Hollywood’s next professional editor!”
