Davinci Resolve - Render quality issues

[eutx9795]

Fabulous video. Can you share the details of which drone captured it and what "mode" you were in (cine/d-log or other)? Codec? Other pertinent info? Also... What was the source of the background music. I'd like to find something for a project I'm currently working on. TIA

it is not a question of drone camera quality. Indeed, footage was shot along of 2 years with a Mavic Pro, Mavic 2 PRO using diferrent color profiles, frame rates, resolution, h264 / h265, ...etc

 

[eutx9795]

Thanks for the reply. Luckily I do very little panning, but some rising reveal ( I guess that's vertical panning) but a lot of POI shots where the camera stays on the subject as it moves across the sky. I was afraid go to 24fps as my base frame rate because slomo really makes it choppy. But I find that my shots tend to linger and speed up, so 24fps shouldn't be that much of an issue, I would think.

Going forward I think I'm going to set the drone on D-log, 4k, 24fps H265 and then worry about everything in post. I'm wondering if I have to find a basic LUT or manual correction/grading would be just as easy? I have to wonder how I might create my own LUTS? My one cross-over strength is color correction having done it in Photoshop for decades. A little different with learning to use nodes instead of layers, and other tools, many operating in the same way, but with different names, handles, buttons and dials. So much to figure out.

About HDR? Do you have an HDR monitor to edit? If not, you have to convert to Rec709 to edit it

If you have an HDR monitor, you have to use a color space that support HDR as Rec2020, & HLG gamma scene, and render it in a format that it support also, as DNxHQ. Don't forget to use Dolby Vision or HDR levels while editing

 

[vindibona1]

About HDR? Do you have an HDR monitor to edit? If not, you have to convert to Rec709 to edit it

If you have an HDR monitor, you have to use a color space that support HDR as Rec2020, & HLG gamma scene, and render it in a format that it support also, as DNxHQ. Don't forget to use Dolby Vision or HDR levels while editing

I do not have a HDR monitor, but a decent one, a dell U2717D. It is calibrated with a colorimeter.
So what would be the (specific) process in Resolve to "convert" to Rec709 to properly edit footage? Video today is a lot more complicated than still photography color correction. My eyes just glaze over when I look at the options and settings.

While I've got your attention, I was doing a short test project last night and want to make sure I understand the initial settings in DaVinci as I get started. If you could please provide some guidance...

I started by shooting in D-Log hi def (not full FOV) at 24fps, color=manual sunny. It was just a 5 minute run over some trees, a canal and a few houses. Davinci Timeline resolution = 3840x2160 @23.976fps (should playback be set at 24fps or 23.974, or should I just leave the timeline rate at regular 24fps??

Video formatting??? My Dell U2717D supports 2560 x 1440 . The default video format setting currently in DaVinci is 1080p 24. Lots of options available. Should I leave it there or make it higher? How does the video formatting work with the timeline resolution? Bit depth=10bit Bilinear (what does that mean)?

Other settings:
Optimized media resolution= Choose Automatically
Optimized media format DNxHR HQX
Render Cache Format= DNxHR HQX

Having a better handle on how to set up DaVinci Resolve initially and being able to take advantage of my computer (Alienware R7Aurora 32GB ram, w NVIDIA GTX1070 graphics card (16GB) will be a big step forward in my education. Thanks in advance for any advice I could get.

 

[vindibona1]

Render at 130.000 kb/s doesn´t have too much sense as your raw footage will have a maximun of 100.000 kb/s. Choose Best option.
Set data levels to video and check "retain sub-black and super whites ...".

Uncheck "use optmize media" os your render will be done with low quality cache video created during edit

Perhaps this is the most overlooked setting when rendering. Many of the terms are vague and easy to misunderstand, as one might wonder what "optimized media" really is and how it can be used or accidentally misused. So many settings... so little time .

 

[Bransty]

Render at 130.000 kb/s doesn´t have too much sense as your raw footage will have a maximun of 100.000 kb/s. Choose Best option.
Set data levels to video and check "retain sub-black and super whites ...".

Uncheck "use optmize media" os your render will be done with low quality cache video created during edit

I hope this will help you

Thank you eutx9795! That has definitely given me something extra to work with. I shall re-attempt over the coming days. Thanks again for your answer!

 

[Bransty]

Render at 130.000 kb/s doesn´t have too much sense as your raw footage will have a maximun of 100.000 kb/s. Choose Best option.
Set data levels to video and check "retain sub-black and super whites ...".

Uncheck "use optmize media" os your render will be done with low quality cache video created during edit

I hope this will help you

I don't know if this will work every time, but it certainly fixed my issues last night. Mushy image after rendering, then I tried your recommended settings. Sharpened everything up great!
Thank you very much eutx9795.