DaVinci Resolve 17 Edit Training - Visual Effects in the Edit Page

CHRIS: Hi, I'm Chris.

I'm an editor and a Blackmagic
certified master trainer.

And in this video,
we're going to look

at some of the effects
that can easily

be achieved in the Edit Page.

I'm just going to start by
restoring a Project Archive.

If you right click in an empty
space in the project manager,

and choose the Restore
Project Archive option--

If you then navigate to
the Edit Page Effects.dra,

you'll have downloaded from
the website to follow along.

Once the archive
has been restored,

simply double click
it to open it up.

Here, we've got a project
that's got four simple examples

of a variety of
different effects

that you may find useful
in your day-to-day work.

I'm going to start by
just simply resizing

the interface slightly.

I'm going to hold
down the Shift key

and use the scroll
wheel on my mouse

in order to be able to resize
the timeline track height.

Also, it's useful to make sure
that you're in full-extent zoom.

This way, you'll always be
able to see the full duration

of your timeline.

As you can see, what
we have here is,

we have a simple opening title
for our Living in the Age

of Airplanes documentary film.

In this case, we've actually
got a fusion title together

with three images, which
have been composited

using a series of mattes.

The mattes can either be a
simple black-and-white image,

or actually have an image that
has a built-in alpha channel.

Either way, you
can use it in order

to be able to put that
texture into the image

that you're using.

So we're actually going
to add a separate image

in the bottom right-hand
quadrant of the timeline viewer.

So first of all, we need to edit
that image into the timeline.

If you simply right click on any
of the timeline track headers

and choose Add Tracks,
this will enable

you to add multiple different
tracks for either video

or audio, depending
on your need.

We only want one video track.

So just change the number
of audio tracks to zero.

We also want the track to be
inserted at a specific position.

Change the insert position
to above Archive 3.

And choose Add Tracks.

This creates a new track in
exactly the right position

on the timeline.

And it just means
that we don't have

to move clips up or
down between tracks

in order to position them in
the hierarchy of the timeline.

Select the V5 button in order
to target our edit onto the V5

track, and just press X
to mark the full duration

of the timeline clips.

In the compositing bin,
select the media bin

and find the clip,
Archival_Air_Races1.

Double click to load
it into the source.

Now, we're actually
going to do what we call

a fit-to-fill edit for this.

And what will happen is,
Resolve will automatically

adjust the speed of the
clip in order to fit in

and the out points
on the timeline.

Because we're using
the whole clip,

we don't actually need to
set any in or out points

on the source viewer.

Simply take the clip
from the Source Viewer

and drag it across to
the Timeline Viewer,

and choose Fit to Fill.

And the clip is edited
at the correct duration

and on the correct
track in the timeline.

Instead of adding more tracks
than we need to this timeline,

in order to keep it simple,
what we're going to do is,

we're actually going to convert
this clip into a compound clip.

This means that we can then
step into the compound clip,

and add the elements we need
without overly complicating

the timeline that
we're working in.

In the Media Pool, select
the Compound Clips Bin.

This means we're going to
create the compound clip.

It's going to go into
this bin, along with all

the other compound
clips for this project.

In the timeline, right click
the clip on the V5 track,

and choose New Compound Clip.

Name this Archive 4.

Click Create.

By placing this clip
in a compound clip,

we can now open the compound
clip in its own timeline.

From the Timeline View
Options pop-up menu,

Enable Stacked Timelines.

Then right click Archive
4 in the timeline,

and choose Open In Timeline.

The compound clip is now
opened in a separate tab

in its own timeline,
next to the main timeline

that we're working in.

This means it's just
an easy way that we

can switch back and forth
between the different timelines.

We now need to add the
matte to this compound clip.

To do that, we need to create
a new video track below the one

that we've currently got.

So right click,
Choose Add Tracks.

Change the number of
audio tracks to zero,

and the insert position for the
video track below first track.

Click Add Tracks.

From the mattes bin,
select Matte 4A.

The other three mattes that
are used in this project

are actually just simple
black-and-white images.

And they're labeled Luma.

When we composite this
image, we will actually

set the composite mode
for this clip to be alpha.

If you're working with a
simple black-and-white image,

you just set it to Luma.

Open that clip in
the Source Viewer.

And then edit it into
the Video track 1.

You might just need to
trim the clip at the end,

just so that it lines up with
the end of our archive shot.

Now select the alpha
clip on track 1.

Open up the Inspector,
and scroll down

to the composite area.

Change the composite mode
from normal to alpha.

That's told Resolve
that we now want to use

that matte as an alpha matte.

Select the clip on
the video 2 track,

and in the Inspector
Composite Controls,

change the composite
mode to foreground.

As you can see, the
video image is now

using the underlying
matte in order

to be able to create a much
more interesting frame.

If we now switch back to our
Title Composite Timeline,

you can see just how
that image is now being

composited onto the background.

At the moment, it's still
looking a little big.

So we just need to use the
transform controls in order

to be able to resize
it and reposition it.

Make sure you select
Archive 4 in the timeline.

Then, from on-screen controls,
enable the Transform.

Using on-screen
transform controls,

simply resize the image, and
just move it into position.

Once you're happy
with the position

of your composited image, turn
off your on-screen controls,

allow the composite to cache,
and then play back the opening.

This is just one example of
some of the compositing features

that we have available
to us in the Edit Page.

But we can do far more with some
of the built-in resolve effects.

In this case, we're
actually going

to configure the interface.

First of all, close
down your Media Pool.

Open up your Effects Library.

And just make sure that
your Effects Library is in

expand mode.

With the Inspector
open, also, make

sure the Inspector
is in expand mode.

This way, it's easy for
us to locate the effects

that we need in the
Effects Library List.

And also we've got
a larger inspector.

So we don't have
to keep scrolling

up and down the controls.

Select the timeline
to make sure you're

looking at the Timeline Viewer.

And from the Options menu,
choose Timeline Sort Order

Alphabetical.

Then, from the
Timeline pop-up menu,

you can choose the
appropriate timeline

from the alphabetical order.

The default for
this timeline list

is actually to display the
timelines at the top of the list

that you've used most recently.

However, in this case, it's
actually more appropriate

that we actually find the
timeline by the name, hence

the reason why we need to
organize it alphabetically.

Choose the 3D Keyer Timeline.

This is an example of a task
that many editors are required

to perform, a green-screen key.

Select the clip on the timeline,
and from the list in the Effects

Library, select your filters.

Scroll through the
list of effects

to find the Resolve
Effects Key category.

The 3D Keyer is actually the
same keyer that you may use

in the Color Page to do
some keying previously.

Select the 3D Keyer.

And double click
it in order to be

able to add the keyer to
the clip in the timeline.

You can tell that the clip
now has the effect on it

from the little FX badge in
the bottom left-hand corner.

In the inspector, switch
to the Effects tab.

The first thing
that we need to do

is actually sample the
green screen for removal.

First of all, we need to come
to our Open Effects Overlay

on-screen controls.

Then click and hold the
mouse, and draw a line

across the area of green
that you want to sample.

Instant results--
well, not exactly.

In this case, there is actually
a little bit of green fringing

that hasn't been picked
up in that initial sample.

But not to worry.

If I just come back
into this image

here, and click and drag on
the edge, near that fringing,

you can see I can remove a
little bit more of the green.

Also, on the edge
of the image here,

there's a little bit of
fringing that I can see.

So again, I'll just make
another selection there.

And that certainly got
rid of most of the green

within the image.

And I can now see the
background plate underneath,

where I can see the planet.

We can still refine
this even more.

In the Inspector, find
the Output Controls

and change the Output pop-up
menu from final composite

to Alpha Highlight
Black-and-White.

This actually shows us which
areas of the image are solid,

which are represented in white,
and which areas are transparent,

represented in black.

You can see, I've still got a
little bit of fringing around

the edge of the window.

In the Inspector, I can use
the Matte Finesse Controls

in order to be able
to first of all, clean

the black part of the matte,
and then the white part,

just to help clean up
that matte a little bit.

As you can see, there
are many more controls

for finessing your
matte, but in this case,

a simple tweak is all we need.

Change the Output pop-up
menu back to final composite.

And then disable your Open
Effects on-screen controls.

Scrub through the shot?

Yes, we've got something
that's kind of working.

However, there's a lot of
green spill in this shot.

The reflection of
the green screen

is actually being reflected
in the guy's uniform,

and also in his skin tones.

Thankfully, the 3D Keyer
actually has a simple control

in order to be able to
eliminate spill like this.

Simply come up to
the Keyer Options,

and check the Despill box.

That's cleaned up
that image nicely.

Simple compositing
tasks like this

are often things that
many editors need

to do on a day-to-day basis.

Another thing that
we're often asked to do

is sometimes to be able
to replace a screen that

might be at an angle.

From the Timeline
Viewer pop-up menu,

choose the Transform Timeline.

This is a short scene of the
owner of the Citizen Chain

Cyclery arriving for work.

And in this case, we've got the
Citizen Chain logo composited

over the opening shot.

What we want to be able to do
here, is to actually composite

the Citizen Chain logo into
the window of the shop,

using the new Transform effect.

Simply select the Citizen Chain
Logo Graphic on the timeline.

And then from your
Effects library,

scroll down until you find
the Resolve Effects Transform

category.

Double click the
Transform Effect.

And then access the Effects
tab in the Inspector.

At first glance, it might appear
that this effect has simply

replicated some of
the controls you

may be familiar with
in the Video Inspector.

However, there are a
number of different modes

in which you can
actually use this effect.

Re-enable your Effect
Overlays on-screen controls.

And change the control mode
for the Transform Effect

from Sliders to
Interactive Canvas.

You're now presented with a
grid, which you can actually

use in order to be able to
twist and distort this graphic.

Using the corner
quadrants of the grid,

simply click and drag
on-screen controls in order

to be able to position
the corners of the graphic

into the corners of the window.

Try and get it as
close as possible,

but don't worry too
much if you can't.

Don't forget, though,
you can always

zoom in, using the scroll
wheel on your mouse.

And holding down the
middle mouse button,

you can always change the pan
of the image within the viewer.

When you're finished,
simply press Z

in order to be able to fit the
image back into the viewer.

Turn off on-screen
controls in order

to be able to see
the composited image.

We can actually use
Composite Modes in order

to help this image
blend a little bit more

naturally into the background.

In the Inspector,
go to the Video tab.

And from the Composite section,
change the Composite Mode.

You could also play
with the opacity,

as well, to make it
a little less obvious

that that graphic is there.

This is all very well.

We're helping to
sell that image.

But this is always on the
first frame of the shot.

If I actually play
this timeline now,

you can see that the
camera movement actually

shows up the fact that
this image isn't actually

part of that window.

Now, the Edit page
doesn't actually

have the advanced
tracking functions

that you would find
in the Fusion page,

but many editors
are often happier

about putting in some
keyframes in order

to be able to manually follow
the movement of the camera,

particularly if that camera
movement is smooth enough.

If I return the playhead
back to the beginning

of this clip in the
timeline and return

to the Effects tab
of the Inspector,

under the Control Options, I've
got the Control Canvas Keyframe.

And I'm just going to simply add
a keyframe at the first frame

of this clip.

I'm going to use
the down-arrow key

to jump to the next edit point.

But I actually need to see the
last frame of this graphic.

So I'm going to
come one frame back.

And now, if I re-enable
on-screen controls,

I can now change the position
of each of those corner points.

And what this will do
is, it will actually

record the changes in a
new keyframe automatically.

Disable your on-screen
effects, return the playhead

to the beginning of the
timeline, and play back.

It's simple compositing
tasks like this

that as editors, we
often need to accomplish

on a day-to-day basis.

Now, it doesn't
necessarily mean that this

will be the finished effect.

Sometimes all we need
to do is put together

a rough approximation
of the effect,

just so that the
director understands

how the shot will work when you
hand it off to a visual effects

artist.

The next example
we're going to look at

is the new Video Collage Effect.

From the Timeline
Viewer pop-up menu,

choose the Video
Collage Background.

We actually have
a timeline that's

got four clips, all stacked
on top of each other.

You'll notice that
three of those tracks

are already disabled.

The image in the first
track is of Chris Lang,

who's the owner of the
Organ Mountain Outfitters

chain of stores.

If we enable the clips
on video track 2,

you can see that we have
an image of a girl walking

through a canyon.

On V3, we actually have a
wide shot of a mountain.

And on V4, we actually have
this rather wonderful image

of Organ Mountain
from the distance.

Now, we actually want to
use this topmost image

as the background.

And in traditional compositing,
what we would normally do is,

have this as the
background image

at the bottom of the Layers.

But that's not how the
video collage works.

The video collage works
in the background mode

by effectively creating holes
in this image, from which we

can see the underlying shots.

So in this case, I'm going
to select the clip on V4.

From my Resolve Effects
Transform category,

I'm going to find the
Video Collage effect,

and double click to
apply it to that selected

clip in the timeline.

As you can now see, it's
almost looking through a window

frame of the underlying shot.

But before I start to position
the lower clips within each

of those little holes,
what I want to do

is actually customize the layout
of what we call the tiles.

In the Effects
Inspector, you can

see that you've got the
controls for the video collage.

And they're actually in two
tabs, Globals and Tiles.

Click the Preview
Layout in order

to be able to preview
each of the tiles.

You can change the number
of columns and rows

by using the sliders.

So for example, if I
wanted many images here,

I could actually change
the columns and rows

to the appropriate number.

I only need two
columns and two rows.

However, I actually want to
remove this tile number 4.

I don't need it.

And I actually
want tile number 2

to actually be
larger and take up

the position of tile number 4.

To do that, I'll need to
go into the Tiles Control.

Click on the Tiles Control,
and change the active tile

to the tile that we
want to change first.

In this case, tile 4.

If you now click the Manual
Tile Management checkbox,

you can then delete
tile number 4.

Switch to tile number 2.

And in the Custom Size
and Shape controls,

change the end row to row 2.

So using a coordinate
system of columns and rows,

you can choose where a
particular tile starts

and where it ends.

Opening up the Tile Styling,
you can choose to add a border.

I'm going to add a slight
border to those tiles.

I'm also going to change the
tile color to a bright green.

Opening up the Drop
Shadow controls,

I'm going to increase the
strength of the drop shadow

and the distance
of the drop shadow,

and also adjust the angle
so that the drop shadow is

a little bit more vertically
underneath the clip,

and adding a little bit of blur,
just to help soften the shadows.

The Video Collage also has a
series of automatic animations

that you can apply.

So you don't need
to worry too much

about getting into complex
keyframe animation,

although you have the ability
to be able to do that, as well.

In the Tile Animation
section, I'm

going to change the Animate
pop-up menu to intro only.

We now have a set of
predefined animation presets.

In this case, I don't want
to use the Shrink preset.

But I do want to use the Fade.

I'm going to uncheck
Shrink and check Fade.

And I can now specify a
duration for that animation.

In this case, I'm going
to set it to 24 frames.

Now, you can see I can
scrub through the timeline

in order to be able to
preview the animation.

Now that I've set up the tiles
and adjusted the animation,

it's all ready for me to
actually put the images

into each of those tiles.

I'm going to uncheck
Preview Layout,

then select the
clip on Track V3,

go into on-screen
Transform controls,

and resize the image
so that it sits

nice and neatly inside the tile
in the top left-hand corner.

The great thing about
this is, because I've

specified the size
of the tiles, I

don't need to be too concerned
as to how each of these clips

is lining up.

The math that the video
collage is creating

means I just simply need
to frame it appropriately.

Selecting the image on V2, I'm
going to do the same again,

resizing and positioning the
image of the girl in the canyon.

Now, as I set it
here, you'll also

notice that the image
is actually encroaching

into another part of the mask.

So in this case, I'm going
to switch on-screen controls

to crop.

And this will then allow
me to crop the image

so that it doesn't actually show
in any of the other matte holes.

I'm now going to select the clip
on V1, go back to my Transform,

and reposition my interviewee,
with a little bit of resizing,

into the mask that
I created for him.

Turning off all the
on-screen controls,

I can now play back the
effect to see the results--

SPEAKER (ON VIDEO):
--aspects of our business.

CHRIS: So this is one use
for our video collage effect.

But the other way that we
can use the video collage

is to use it to create the
individual tiles themselves.

From your Timeline
Viewer pop-up menu,

choose Video Collage Tiles.

Now in this case,
we have a timeline

that's already set up with
the Organ Mountain background,

actually on the Video 1 track.

We've also got an animated
logo that fades in.

On Video 3, we've
got a compound clip

of a girl turning towards
the camera and smiling.

Video 4, we've got
a man, looking.

And Video 5, we've got
the girl from the canyon,

walking across the mountain top.

Now in this case, I'm going
to do the setup actually,

on the first shot of the girl
turning towards the camera.

And then, once we've got the
tile set and the animation

working, we can then simply
copy and paste the effect

to the other clips.

So I'm just going to
leave the clip on Video 5

and Video 4 disabled
for the moment.

Select the compound clip
of the smiling girl,

and double click the
video collage to apply it.

As you can see, the
background is now

viewable through the matte holes
that are created in the image.

From the Effects Inspector,
change the workflow from Create

Background to Create Tile.

Now, you can see that
the girl is actually

composited as a
picture-in-picture effect,

very similar to.

If we'd have scaled the clip
down, using the Transform

controls, and moved
it into position.

Click the Preview
Layout tab in order

to get the familiar layout.

We want to have three columns
for each of the three images,

but only one row.

Use the Rounding control
to create circular tiles.

Then use the Vertical Offset
control to position those tiles

above the mountains.

Now that we've got the
tiles into position,

let's customize them in terms of
the border and the drop shadow.

Let's go to the Tiles tab,
and open up the Tile Styling,

and increase the tile
border ever so slightly.

Change the tile color
to about 90% brightness.

Open the Drop Shadow controls
and increase the strength.

Change the drop angle so that
the shadows are appearing

directly beneath the tiles.

Increase the drop
distance and the blur

to your particular liking.

Now that we've got
the tiles stylized,

we just need to work
on the animation.

First of all,
position the playhead

so that the logo is
just about starting

to appear in the Viewer.

Then open the Tile
Animation controls.

We're actually going to manually
keyframe the fly animation.

But first of all, we need
to choose the direction

of that animation.

Change the Fly Animation
pop-up menu to fly up.

This means that the
tiles will actually

come from the top of the screen,
not that they will actually

go to the top of the screen.

At this point, the fly progress
is in the correct position.

So simply add a keyframe by
clicking the white diamond

to make it go red.

Now move the playhead back to
the beginning of your timeline

and adjust the Fly
Progress slider

so that the tiles disappear
off the top of the screen.

You should now be able
to preview the timeline

and preview the animation.

You can also adjust the
acceleration of that animation

very easily, as well.

In the Easing and Blur
of All Tiles control,

change the Animation
Effect Ease to out.

And then adjust the ease
amount to your liking,

so that when you play
the animation back,

the tiles will come to a gentle
rest rather than an abrupt stop.

Again, now that we've
got the animation sorted,

we can now start to customize
the actual tile image itself.

At the top of the Inspector,
uncheck the Preview Layout

option.

Then open up the
Resize controls,

and use the Pan
and Tilt controls

in order to be able to reframe
the girl within the circle.

That's great.

We've now got the animation
working for this tile.

All we now need to do is to
actually take that plugin

and copy it onto the other
two clips in the timeline.

With the smiling girl
clip still selected,

press Command or Control-C
to copy the clip.

Now enable Track 4, and
select the Looking Man clip.

Press Option or Alt-V
for paste attributes.

And choose the Plugins
option and apply in order

to paste the effect.

Now, all that has done is
actually create a duplicate copy

of the effect with all
of the same settings

onto this new clip.

We now need to adjust those
settings to take into account

the differences in this clip.

With the Looking
Man clip selected,

go to the Effects
tab in the Inspector,

and change the active tile
from Tile 1 to Tile 1.

Now, adjust the resize
content controls in order

to fit the guy's
face into the circle.

And now, I need to paste
the attributes again

for the third tile.

Enable the track for
the Walking Girl clip.

Select the Walking Girl clip,
and press Option or Alt-V

for Paste Attributes.

Because we've already
pasted the plug-in,

you can see it's
already selected.

So all we need to
do is click Apply

and again, in the
Effects Inspector,

change the active
tile to Tile 3.

And change the Resize Content
controls so that the girl fits

into the new circle.

We turn the playhead to
the start of the timeline

and preview your animation.

I hope you've enjoyed
this demonstration of some

of the visual effects that
we have on the Edit Page

in DaVinci Resolve 17.

Don't forget, you can always
join us on the forum pages

if you've got any
further questions.

And also, on the DaVinci
Resolve product pages,

there's a whole section
dedicated to training videos

and training guides that
are all available for free.

Thank you very much.