Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1039130
www.postmagazine.com 5 POST OCTOBER 2018 titles, SFX, etc., that we use in each episode. I've also set up Power Grades that help maintain an overall consistent look to the series. We oftentimes have new scenes that need to have the same look as scenes from previous episodes, but since they are shot in very different lighting conditions due to the Scout activities, we use the Power Grades to help achieve a similar look." AVOIDING PICTURE LOCK According to Strevy, the biggest overall benefit of using DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio is that it's an editing, grading, compositing and sound-mixing solution all-in-one. "For Old Scout, I don't have time to 'picture lock' an edit in one application and then roundtrip the color correction and sound design/mix processes to other applications. Having it all within one program saves me a lot of time," Strevy continues. "I also en- joy the flexibility of being able to adjust the edit, col- or correction, sound mix or VFX during any phase of the post production process. What if while sound mixing, I'd like to go back and push or pull an edit? What if I decide that the volume automation that I just performed to the music in a scene achieves the emotional impact that I want, so I need to dial back the color correction? I never want to be trapped by the idea of 'picture lock.' "I also like that if I've edited for 10 hours, I can take a color correction break and darken the room, turn on some music, grade a couple scenes and then go back to editing with a fresher head. "I'm not super experienced in VFX, but the presence of Fusion inside of Resolve has made it possible for me to experiment a little. Recently I was able to clone out an objectionable logo from a shot, and also add a 'Gate Weave' effect to a sequence meant to look like an old instructional film. If we would have had to roundtrip to a standalone application for these FX, we simply wouldn't have time to implement them, but with built-in Fusion, I was able to apply them in 10 minutes and not have to reconnect the clips with VFX or worry about how color correction would work on the VFX." According to Strevy, one of the biggest new fea- tures in DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio, from an editing perspective, is stacked timelines. "I find this feature's implementation to be very elegant," he says. "I like that I can quickly toggle between a clean single timeline without timeline tabs or several stacked timelines, and I really like that I can mark in and out points on one timeline, and then copy and paste that in a stacked timeline without having to make through edits." HAVING AUDIO IN THE MIX Since Old Scout's turnaround is so tight, Strevy typi- cally only has two-to-three hours to do an episode's sound mixing. "This simply would not be possible if I had to round-trip, but since I can just click over to the Fairlight page, I have so much more time to do a dialogue and SFX automation pass and a music automation pass," Strevy explains. "Using the new built-in Noise Reduction and Vocal Channel FairlightFX plug-ins has saved me so much time," adds Strevy. "Also, the new Sound Library Database has allowed me to easily use my collection of sound libraries, both self-re- corded and purchased. It's so nice to be able to add that library to DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio, search, preview, and quickly implement a sound effect or an ambience recording without ever having to leave the program. It's one of those features that I didn't know how badly I needed until I had it." DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio's new ADR toolset will also come in handy when working on the audio post for Old Scout. "Whenever I've needed to record ADR in the past, it has been a very cumbersome process of creating cue sheets, making custom timelines and designing my own streamers," Strevy recalls. "Every time I needed some ADR, I would look to see if there was a new app that would facilitate all of this work, but now I don't have to! I can just do it all in DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio if it's needed." The Old Scout weekly Web series is available online at www.youtube.com/user/tropicalstormcc/ videos?pbjreload=10, with new episodes available every Thursday. BITS & PIECES Christian Strevy working with Blackmagic gear to complete his Old Scout Web series.