DaVinci Resolve Lite 8.1.1 released with unlimited nodes and DNxHD included

[Paul Russell]

The exodesk is not far away from mass production, at an estimated retail price of $1300

 

[Bruce Allen]

This is all cute but the problem with iPad grading or your desk being a touch-sensitive TV is that you have to look down at the TV / iPad and not at the thing you're grading.

You need some sort of Kinect-style representation of where your hands are about to manipulate things up on the screen.

If touchscreens without an accompanying HUD were the best solution for complex tasks, they would be more in use by professionals in other fields.

A racing driver wouldn't use an iPad to change gears or steer - he wants to look up at the road, not at a stupid screen.

That said, there are a lot of great uses for touchscreens in grading. But you need to develop a heads up display to go with it - so that you can see where your hands are, while keeping your eyes on what you're grading.

Until then, three trackballs plus rings works pretty well.

Bruce Allen
www.boaicnema.com

 

[Subhadip Sen]

Kinect for Windows releases in early 2012. In fact, Kinect already works in Windows, and there's an SDK out there for developers. I agree with Bruce, the next big step forward comes with NUI and Kinect for Windows. I am sure Microsoft has big plans for Kinect with Windows 8, in particular. In addition to tracking your hand and body, it can also do things like read your lips. Yes, all of that is just months away.

That said, fine and precise control will still probably need more traditional input - which will work in conjunction with touchscreens and NUIs.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

This is all cute but the problem with iPad grading or your desk being a touch-sensitive TV is that you have to look down at the TV / iPad and not at the thing you're grading.

You need some sort of Kinect-style representation of where your hands are about to manipulate things up on the screen.

If touchscreens without an accompanying HUD were the best solution for complex tasks, they would be more in use by professionals in other fields.

A racing driver wouldn't use an iPad to change gears or steer - he wants to look up at the road, not at a stupid screen.

That said, there are a lot of great uses for touchscreens in grading. But you need to develop a heads up display to go with it - so that you can see where your hands are, while keeping your eyes on what you're grading.

Until then, three trackballs plus rings works pretty well.

Bruce Allen
www.boaicnema.com

Look, I'm a huge fan of three trackballs plus wheels.

I do think people undersell the human ability to find and remember distances with their hands. If you are a touch typist, you cant set your hands anywhere and start typing. If you record that ... you'll find that your fingers hit the "buttons" of your real keyboard.

Haptics is the tech for providing touch feedback, and there is quite a bit of interesting research in this area.

The technology for you to have a heads up grading panel that is built around a multi touch surface is here. The exodesk is a small step now, and probably an easy part of the job.

That said ... a device like an Exodesk coupled with an MC Color could probably replace a full Resolve (or Baselight) panel for most users. Its a great blend of real interface and virtual interface.

 

[Maxi Claudio]

A friend build a DIY control surface with 3 $20 USB trackballs, a Midi controller with dials, potentiometers, all connected to an Arduino board. then to the computer. It emulates about 50% of a Tangent Wave. It uses the Tangent Wave drivers /protocol in Resolve. So for $150, he has three Trackballs for color correction. 20 key assignable, keypad, and 9 dials (via the midi controller).

 

[Nikhil Kamkolkar]

Ha, that funny. After ridiculing the few, that are still arguing the point, you go ahead and start arguing the very same point How ironic...

heh. Didn't think I was doing that (ridiculing). But sounds like I was, and so I do apologize, sir. And i'm happy to accept apologies on behalf of all the indie filmmakers if anyone is willing to offer them.

 

[Rosario Balistreri]

A friend build a DIY control surface with 3 $20 USB trackballs, a Midi controller with dials, potentiometers, all connected to an Arduino board. then to the computer. It emulates about 50% of a Tangent Wave. It uses the Tangent Wave drivers /protocol in Resolve. So for $150, he has three Trackballs for color correction. 20 key assignable, keypad, and 9 dials (via the midi controller).

Awesome!
Can I have some images, tutorial of how to build it, videos of its efficiency or his email contact?

I've built a 100keys keyboard that works with a Magic Trackpad to emulate the control surface...
We can merge our ideas and force to build something better!

EDIT: Actually I have 100% of DaVinci GUI usable with this remapped keyboard and the Magic Trackpad without using the mouse.

 

[Nikhil Kamkolkar]

A friend build a DIY control surface with 3 $20 USB trackballs, a Midi controller with dials, potentiometers, all connected to an Arduino board. then to the computer. It emulates about 50% of a Tangent Wave. It uses the Tangent Wave drivers /protocol in Resolve. So for $150, he has three Trackballs for color correction. 20 key assignable, keypad, and 9 dials (via the midi controller).

Innovation enabled! Very cool.

 

[Maxi Claudio]

The reality is, even at $1500 or $3000, you are just buying trackballs and some buttons. Oh, I forgot those cool color changing LEDS.

 

[Marc Wielage]

In 2014 I think you'll be able to run Resolve on an iMac in 5K resolution premium debayer and work real time for almost an entire grade on a feature film. No Rocket ... just Thunderbolt devices.

And don't forget you need a spitload of drives, plus a very fast network. All of that will cost far more than Resolve or the Macs involved. Realistically, I'd be surprised if the Mac version is still available in 2 or 3 years.

Also, I think Black Magic understands that $20,000 for a Resolve Panel is a bitter pill for the vast majority of the market. For the very few of us who grade well budgeted projects all the time ... it makes sense.

I believe the Resolve Control Surface is $29,995, the last time I checked. It makes a huge difference in speed and flexibility with Resolve, in my opinion. I've used at least 11 or 12 different control panels for color-correction in the last 25 years, and this one is one of the best I've ever used. Very clean, comfortable, and (generally) logically set up.

For you guys who think this is expensive: a very similar panel, connected via Ethernet, cost $100,000 just three years ago, before Blackmagic bought DaVinci.

 

[ERIC PECK]

A friend build a DIY control surface with 3 $20 USB trackballs, a Midi controller with dials, potentiometers, all connected to an Arduino board. then to the computer. It emulates about 50% of a Tangent Wave. It uses the Tangent Wave drivers /protocol in Resolve. So for $150, he has three Trackballs for color correction. 20 key assignable, keypad, and 9 dials (via the midi controller).

I would like to see more information on the above, specially in regards to the part of the Tangent Wave driver talking to the Arduino.