A few years back Apple made a bold move that many considered a mistake; we were some of them. They redesigned their iconic editing software Final Cut Pro 7 into a beefier version of their annoying iMovie, which they titled Final Cut X.
The goal of apple was to reach a larger audience by creating a brand new post-production software that used "intuitive tools" and artificial intelligence to make the editing process easier for everyone. Unfortunately, this sucked for many professionals editors, as there was an organic simplicity about Final Cut Pro 7 that was nowhere to be found in the computer-assisted update.
10 years or so later, enter Davinci Resolve 14/15. Davinci Resolve is created by Blackmagic, a company that has been the standard in "color grading/color correction". If you're unsure what that means, check this video out which will give you a better idea of what that is all about.
There are many folks who consider Davinci Resolve the Final Cut Pro update that should have really happened after FCP7. It is a robust software with tons of new features to empower the modern day digital storyteller; however, it is also the type of system that allows editors to use it without having to fight - or submit - to the AI-powered workflow of FCPX.
That all said, the best reason why you should consider using this software is that it is free. There is a paid version on the blackmagic site as well, but the free version will do basically everything, including exporting videos of any length without any annoying "test" watermark. Free? Yep, free. We admit we were very skeptical at first. How is it that this great software is free? How does that make any sense? Then we realized that actually is a devilishly brilliant marketing move from Blackmagic, since their long term plan is to dominate the HD camera and the editing market, just as they did with color correction.
Ok, enough yippity-yappity about the software. How do you actually use this thing? Right?
Well, Davinci Resolve works like most NLE editing software. This means you will be able to import your footage, organize it, and choose sections of that footage to bring to a main timeline where you will ultimately craft your digital story. We will have specific tips about this process in the next updates. In the meantime, we recommend all beginners to watch the tutorial video below and - most importantly - to try to make and finish/export one simple video example before you tackle your digital story. You can send that example to us for feedback or ask us any specific questions you may have about this or any other editing software by writing us here: italaustin@gmail.com
Remember our next ITAL contest will challenge you to lip-sync to the first part of the hit song "Tran Tran". This could be a fantastic opportunity for you to take the Davinci Resolve out for a spin and see what happens! You may fall in love with it... though we tell you what... our hearts will always be with the one and only FCP7!