Powerful Free Editing Software: DaVinci Resolve

This is a re-edit of an earlier video I made at the Blue Angles Homecoming 2018 at Naval Air Station, Pensacola. I used my Sony FS5 with an over-the-shoulder rig. This allowed me to track the aircraft very organically. And it is all edited and color graded in the powerful software from Blackmagic Design called DaVinci Resolve.

Also, I shot this video in Sony's S-LOG 3 Cine. This gives the video a very dramatic film-like look. I color graded in DaVinci Resolve . Resolve is so powerful, it is becoming my main editing tool. And not only is it powerful, it doesn't have a subscription based software license like Adobe Creative Suite. There is a very powerful free version. And there is an upgraded $300 dollar version. That's it!

The Sony FS5 Digital Cinema camera used has Sony's Super 35 CMOS chip. And I used an over the shoulder rig similar to what you see above.

The node based Davinci is a product of Blackmagic design. They do some great work! I used a Kodak LUT and tweaked the output, gain, and lift, and and also pushed the blue channel up kind of high. The Blue Angles appear almost black as the deep blue of this video is a result of my picture profile settings in the camera. Perhaps next time I see them, I will shoot with Standard Pro settings. But I was really trying for a film look here. And I think I got it.

A LUT is a Look Up Table. This allows you to assign a color profile to LOG footage to give the creator very fine tools to tweak the color grade to their wants and needs.

After watching the video over a few months, there seemed to be a few places I realized I could fill in with some edits. So I made an upgraded edit.

DaVinci Resolve is consists of 6 modules with each having it's specific set of tools and functions. All in all it's a very logical well laid out non-linear digital video editor. And if you are tired of paying Adobe $50 a month to use their software, I would give DaVinci Resolve a try.

Although a free download, DaVinci Resolve is a very powerful editing tool. My take on it is that they are building a user base with the hopes they eventually buy the Blackmagic Design editing hardware that is compatible with Resolve.

Either way, here's the link to the free download. It is very different from Adobe Premiere. So, you may experience a bit of a learning curve. But, there are a lot of tutorials online from a massive user base. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/

Tony Castelluci is a filmmaker, writer, and raconteur. Having once served as a Water Safety Survival Instructor as a member of the elite special operations USMC unit 2nd ANGLICO, Tony still seeks adventure in air, land, and sea. Please subscribe, resteem if you can afford it, and share this post if you appreciate the content.