Blackmagic Design: Fusion and DaVinci Resolve Explained

August 30, 2022

The Blackmagic Design ‘Fusion’ and ‘DaVinci Resolve’ range come at a hefty price tag. But are they worth the investment?

In film production, there are five stages that every movie must cycle through. But the most important ones, a.k.a. the big three, depend on these steps:

Pre-production
Production
Post-production

During these phases, filmmakers need the highest quality products for a top-grade outcome. This is where Blackmagic Design: Fusion and DaVinci Resolve come into the picture.

Fusion is Hollywood’s secret weapon for cinematic visual effects. Paired with DaVinci Resolve tools, you can have the best of both worlds in your editing experience!

In this post, we will break down the basics of Fusion software and how it can change your editing game. And throughout, there is an explanation of DaVinci Resolve, including the ‘control devices’.

Blackmagic Design Fusion Explained

Blackmagic Design Fusion is a powerful visual effects compositing software. It is built into DaVinci Resolve and features a node-based workflow with hundreds of 2D and 3D tools.

The Fusion and DaVinci Resolve combo simplify the VFX workflow. Great for cloning out an unwanted mic or placing characters into 3D scenes.

Ideal for everything from quick fixes to creating true Hollywood calibre effects. This SFX software has served the motion picture industry for over thirty years.

In fact, as per Blackmagic Design, it has been used on over 1000 major Hollywood blockbuster films! If you have seen The Martian, Avengers Age of Ultron or Gravity, to name a few, then you have already seen Fusion in action.

Fusion is your new secret weapon for visual effects and motion graphics!

Creating Effects with Fusion

Fusion understands that you cannot afford to waste any time, especially on a big project. A promising advantage of working with Fusion is it allows you to create effects the fastest way!

There is no need to send out graphics, retouches or full-blown SFX shots to another system. All the tools you need are in-built. This enables you to seamlessly move between the edit, Fusion, and colour pages with a single click.

Multiple masks can be created, tracked and passed to the colour page. This saves time and makes complex secondary colour corrections easier than ever.

Moreover, Fusion lets you design lower thirds and animate 3D infographics. Even better, pull perfectly clean keys on a greenscreen.

Whether you are working solo or with a professional team, Fusion really does come in handy.

Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Explained

DaVinci Resolve helps you bring a story to life. It combines just about everything you need to create and edit professional-quality videos.

The DaVinci Resolve is known for its outstanding features, and best of all, there is a free version! Even better, it is packed with more features than most paid software applications. This is a one-in-a-million offer that you do not want to miss out on!

Working with this amazing, non-paid software allows you to:

Combine editing
Colour correction
Visual effects
Motion graphics
Audio post-production

You can do it all with this All-in-one software tool!

Working with DaVinci Resolve

Its modern interface is fast and easy to learn for new users yet powerful for professionals. It lets you work faster and at a higher quality and work with camera original quality images.

Unlike other software, there are fewer apps to learn and no need for switching to different tasks. It is like having your own post-production studio in a single app. How cool is that?

And the most promising with learning DaVinci Resolve is you are using the exact same tool used by Hollywood experts!

You can edit and finish up to 60 fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160. Extensive colour grading tools also come with the package. It includes luma, HSL and 3D keyers, colour warper and HDR tools, to name a few.

Working on the same project with a team? Using DaVinci Resolve also enables collaboration for simultaneous work.

Once you have learned how to use the free version, you can move up to DaVinci Resolve Studio. The Studio has over 50 advanced features, including:

DaVinci Neural Engine
Resolve FX
Stereoscopic 3D

DaVinci Resolve Keyboards, Panels, and Consoles

Hollywood’s #1 post solution comes with the ‘next generation’ of editing devices. These are the keyboards, panels, and consoles — making the workflow even better!

1. Keyboards

The future of editing keyboards is here! DaVinci Resolve keyboards are designed with a cut page for 100x faster editing.

You have control in your hands – physically. This makes the experience much better than software-only editing.

Instead of a mouse, you use a machined metal search dial featuring a soft rubber coating. It allows for a very accurate search and positioning of the timeline. It gives you the feeling of holding the timeline in your hand.

Moreover, the trim keys allow the search dial to be used for live trimming, which is a lot faster. Editing and trimming with the search dial is indeed a whole new way to work.

Get your DaVinci Resolve Keyboard here!

DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard

Product code: CM88126

It is more than just a keyboard. The DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard provides a significantly faster editing experience.

The all-metal construction comes with a hand rest and high-quality keys with a tiered profile. The keyboard features professional edit keys and a high-quality search wheel. Plus, an integrated search dial.

Simply connect it to any computer’s USB-C port, and you are good to go!

2. Panels

Work faster and get more creative control with DaVinci Resolve colour control panels!

The panels give you fluid, hands-on control over multiple parameters simultaneously. This way, your creative options are streamlined, and you can work much faster than is possible with a mouse.

Designed in collaboration with the world’s leading colourists, it features a logical layout. This puts the most essential controls under your hand, hence a faster workflow.

All knobs, dials and buttons are high quality. They also have been custom designed to produce the perfect amount of resistance. This allows for accurately fine-tuning any parameter.

Get your DaVinci Resolve Panels here!

DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel

Product code: CM88127

The DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel is a small, portable hardware control panel. It provides more control and a faster workflow than working with a keyboard and mouse alone.

It uses a USB 3.0 Type-C interface to connect to a computer or laptop and power the panel.

DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel

Product code: CM88128

This compact professional control panel features three high-resolution weighted trackballs. Plus, twelve control knobs for essential tools.

It is designed with an upper deck with two 5″ LCD screens that can display menus or the tool parameters you are using. The mini panel also has eight soft knobs and eight soft buttons.

A level-up in functionality from the Micro panel but lacks all the features of the advanced panel.

DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel

Product code: CM88125

The advanced panel consists of the main console, two auxiliary consoles, and a slide-out keyboard in the centre. It enables one-touch access to virtually every control and parameter within the software.

It gives you complete command of every colour grading session. All thanks to the three ergonomically connected control surfaces and a pull-out keyboard.

3. Consoles

Get yourself professional audio mixing and editing with a Fairlight Desktop Console!

The Fairlight page includes a software-based mixer that you can use with a mouse and keyboard. But using it with a hardware console lets you work much faster.

Take the Fairlight desktop console, for example. It is a full audio control surface featuring a bank of twelve touch-sensitive faders and pan knobs.

Moreover, it comes with in-built LCDs above each channel strip. Other features include:

Channel control buttons
Automation transport and navigation controls
HDMI graphical interface output for connecting monitors

Using Fairlight panels lets you get a streamlined workflow. Whether using a PC or a modular console, you can work faster and at a higher quality than any other system.

Get your Fairlight Desktop Consoles here!

Fairlight Console Audio Editor

Product code: CM88149

Works much faster than a traditional mouse with the Fairlight Console Audio Editor! It provides precise, quick-access controls for high-speed audio editing for DaVinci Resolve.

The design features a full keyboard with multi-function picture keys. Other features include:

5 auto-switching layouts
12″ interactive LCD
Touch-sensitive control knobs

Fairlight Console Channel Fader

Product code: CM88153

Your DaVinci Resolve’s best companion for full mixing and automation control! The design features smooth gliding and high precision motors, and sculpted and weighted faders for comfort.

Each channel strip features an LED display for track status along with the mute, solo, call, and more. Other features include:

Ethernet connectivity
Internal power supply
12 touch-sensitive motorised faders
Crisp LCD per channel
Buttons to map tracks & buses to faders
USB type-C port for configuration

Fairlight Console LCD Monitor

Product code: CM88164

The device adds a high-resolution LCD to every bay of your console. You also get instant graphic feedback for that channel, access to more controls, etc.

It features Ethernet and HDMI interfaces, and SDI connectivity.

The Bottom Line

Considering the promising benefits, best of all – the Hollywood editing experience, they are worthy of investment. We hope this basic guide of Blackmagic Design: Fusion and DaVinci Resolve was helpful!