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Friday, October 21, 2011

Piece by piece the good news arrives (FCP X)

Or, given the context, maybe that should be tile by tile (colour joke).
We've mentioned the unbelievably free colour correction software Da Vinci Resolve frequently at the wefcpug, with a promise of a run-down/review soon.   Which is to say, once I've read my way through the 300+ pages of the manual and conquered the usual fear-of-unknown-interface problems.

As of today, there's more reason to do this - and to rejoice.   Following the update of FCP X, adding XML import/export to the app (admittedly its own very special dialect of FCP X), there's now an update to da Vinci Resolve (yes, including the free version) that speaks this dialect.  So FCP X'ers are liberated from the underwhelming colour correction interface in 'X' and can turn to Resolve.
It's a very welcome development - according to Blackmagic:

The new Resolve 8.1 software update includes support for Apple Final Cut Pro X XML round trip, new layer node composite effects, ACES colorspace support, compatibility with Avid AAF for round trip with Avid Media Composer™, Final Cut Pro 7 clip size and position support, new copy commands for grades, upgraded EDL features, support for UltraStudio 3D for Thunderbolt™ and compatibility with the 2011 MacBook Pro 15” computer.
With this new update, DaVinci Resolve can now import and export Final Cut Pro X timelines using the new Final Cut Pro rich XML file format. When working in Final Cut Pro X, customers will get full timeline round trip where projects can be moved between Final Cut Pro X and DaVinci Resolve,retaining the multi track timeline with frame accurate cuts, dissolves and even speed changes. DaVinci Resolve will also use rich XML from Final Cut Pro X to link to original camera footage. DaVinci Resolve supports full media management for Final Cut Pro X projects including additional source clip folders and alternate image source when conforming edits in Resolve.
Because DaVinci Resolve supports grading of high resolution and bit depth files, edits can be exported out of Final Cut Pro for finishing in the highest quality. An alternative workflow is to use DaVinci Resolve 8.1 to manage extremely high resolution raw image formats such as RED, ARRI, CinemaDNG and DNxHD and then to grade and render to ProRes or uncompressed media for Final Cut Pro X.

Read all about it here 
Download the software (and the hefty manual) by registering here

This is big news for FCP - not just for colour graders but (fingers crossed) someone somewhere might be creating linkages for the rest of the post-production work that's done.  Soundtrack Pro (or better) - it's you we're talking about.