Davinci resolve render individual clips with adjustment layer

[zerocool22]

Hi guys,

Something that annoys me so much is whenever you render individual clips in davinci resolve and are using a adjustment layer, it does not render the color grade from the adjustment layer (unless you make compound clips from each clip). 

Does anybody have a fix for this? If not would be a good feature request for bm.

 

cheers

[kye]

Not a solution, but maybe a workaround...

Maybe just prior to the export you could create a powergrade with the nodes in the adjustment layer, then append those nodes to all the clips and then render that out.

I'm not sure if you can grab a still from an adjustment layer, but I know you can't grab one from the Timeline.

[stephen]

Instead of using adjustment layer for color grading use/switch to timeline in color panel. You can apply color grading and everything else with nodes on individual clips but also exactly the same way on all clips in the timeline by simply choosing one or the other.

This is how I typically do it when would like to apply a color grade for all clips and this is in general one of the ways to do it. Saw this from a Hollywood/Company 3 colorist 🙂

[zerocool22]

Yeah this was how I did it in the past, however adjustment layers are handy as you can have multiple adjustment layers vs just one timeline. (Multiple cameras for example)

[kye]

11 hours ago, zerocool22 said:

Yeah this was how I did it in the past, however adjustment layers are handy as you can have multiple adjustment layers vs just one timeline. (Multiple cameras for example)

..and you can do stuff like put the adjustment layer over the clips, but under the titles.  Lots of my early edits had halation applied to the titles, and, well, it's A look, just not the one I wanted!

The other alternative is to create a default node tree that has a bunch of Shared Nodes at the end, and then copy that across all shots prior to grading, then when you change them they get applied to all the shots, but are still at clip level in the Resolve rendering pipeline.

There's probably a handy way to add those after you've graded the images too, but I'm not sure how.

[stephen]

Did a test and IMHO it works correctly. If I click on Render Timeline Effects checkbox for the export it will export all clips that are under adjustment layer as one clip with color grade coming from this layer applied, then individual clips as separate files but without the color grade from the adjustment layer. No compound clip or anything else was used. Will try with several adjustment layers on the timeline

Yes it works also with several adjustment layers one after another on the timeline.

[kye]

4 hours ago, stephen said:

Did a test and IMHO it works correctly. If I click on Render Timeline Effects checkbox for the export it will export all clips that are under adjustment layer as one clip with color grade coming from this layer applied, then individual clips as separate files but without the color grade from the adjustment layer. No compound clip or anything else was used. Will try with several adjustment layers on the timeline

Yes it works also with several adjustment layers one after another on the timeline.

Useful, but I suspect it doesn't solve the issue for most people who want to render out the clips separately.

[stephen]

What we get in export with adjustment layer is IMHO intended behavior. An alternative to adjustment layer for color grading that many prefer are Davinci Resolve group or remote grade functionalities. Grouping clips from one camera and then using Group Pre-Clip or Group Post-Clip instead of adjustment layer will give the same result and functionality as adjustment clip, while exported individual clips will all have color grade for the specific group in Group Pre-Clip or Group Post-Clip all applied. Exactly the way zerocool22 wants it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtXuabX-ims  

Before submitting a request to Blackmagic it makes sense to try clip grouping functionality. IMHO it is what zerocool22 wants to achieve in export while workflow changes will be minimal. 

[kye]

22 hours ago, stephen said:

What we get in export with adjustment layer is IMHO intended behavior. An alternative to adjustment layer for color grading that many prefer are Davinci Resolve group or remote grade functionalities. Grouping clips from one camera and then using Group Pre-Clip or Group Post-Clip instead of adjustment layer will give the same result and functionality as adjustment clip, while exported individual clips will all have color grade for the specific group in Group Pre-Clip or Group Post-Clip all applied. Exactly the way zerocool22 wants it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtXuabX-ims  

Before submitting a request to Blackmagic it makes sense to try clip grouping functionality. IMHO it is what zerocool22 wants to achieve in export while workflow changes will be minimal. 

That makes sense.

It is worth noting that this has a limitation that clips can only be in one group.  So if you want to use groups to manage camera grades between cameras, or to manage different grades between scenes, then you can do that, but you can't do both because a clip can only be in one group at once.  So if you have two cameras and an emotional arc then this won't work.

I think this is why BM added the Shared Node and Adjustment Layer functionality - it adds more flexibility.

I have a sneaking suspicion that BM might be playing a bit of ecosystem protectionism here as well.  Most people round-tripping to Resolve from another editor are likely using a professional colourist who wouldn't be used to using adjustment layers and so this limitation wouldn't annoy them.  The people that are used to using adjustment layers are likely to be the folks that are doing all the post work themselves and are coming from a different NLE.  So it's kind of a ransom situation where BM is effectively saying "if you want the greater colour grading potential of Resolve and you want to keep working the way you're used to, then you should edit in Resolve too.......  and ditch your other NLE".  

It's a subtle thing, but can be important if that's a limitation on your workflow.  I know that my workflow has definitely been hit hard a few times by "little" things like this before, even by things as small as if a function can be assigned to a hotkey or not.