In Praise of the Davinci Resolve Speed Editor

[DJ Wes]

Amazon is selling the Speed Editor for $229.

 

[SethB]

Amazon is selling the Speed Editor for $229.

Speed editor only - no Resolve Studio at that price!

 

[Dale D]

While we all have our preferences of video editors, for whatever reason almost 2 years ago I chose Davinci Resolve. We've hashed that one out in other threads. I've been "out of commission" for several months, holed up for the winter and really no flying and the little I've done has really been for practice, often not even turning the camera on. Yesterday I did a test run of a project I've been meaning to do for a year. The flying wasn't my best but I came back with some footage, and wanted to see what I could do with it in post.

It was the first time I'd used the speed editor or did anything serious in DR in some time. I had to reacquaint myself with the program. I hadn't used the Cut page much, doing most of the work on the Editor page. My Speed Editor needed charging and after it got charged up I opened DR to see what video I had brought home. From a pure flying/capture standpoint it wasn't my finest moment, but there were some interesting segments.

So I started to chop up the footage into smaller "acceptable" pieces with the speed editor. Even having to remind myself which buttons, dials, icons, menus were which, I was shocked at how fast I went through all the footage, gleaning only the (ahem) best pieces. Shocked.

As an aside, I was using my new iPad to fly and had totally forgotten that every device needs to have its own settings set. I usually shoot in D-Log but shot in normal mode at +/-0 exposure and the footage was a little bright in the highlights (sidewalks), but still within useable standards. While it could be improved, should I try to make something out of this footage and mercifully the exposure and color temp were consistent throughout, I got color grading done in one or two minutes. I have to wonder if I'd have been as fast if shooting in D-Log. I digress...

I would say to anyone who is considering which video editing program to get, I have to say, if you're serious about the time you spend editing, spend the $300 for the DR Studio/Speed Editor package. I was thriilled with DR without it, but now that I have it...

So as you know, I use Premiere Pro. Just completed 31 days of editing with it and that was 8 hours or more each day! It was a real trek. I'd love to edit faster, but I think I have to also blame my computer, because whenever I switched from one mode (let's say "captions and graphics" to "editing" it takes a 15 second or more spinning circle.

I'd love to learn Da Vinci but I would need a live person to person teaching session for a day.

BTW- I have sent the Chile video out tonight hoping for it to appear in tomorrows's forum. It was 32 minutes- a slog, but reduced to the least, and barest minimum material with tons of assets left on the cutting room floor.

Dale
Miami

 

[vindibona1]

So as you know, I use Premiere Pro. Just completed 31 days of editing with it and that was 8 hours or more each day! It was a real trek. I'd love to edit faster, but I think I have to also blame my computer, because whenever I switched from one mode (let's say "captions and graphics" to "editing" it takes a 15 second or more spinning circle.

I'd love to learn Da Vinci but I would need a live person to person teaching session for a day.

BTW- I have sent the Chile video out tonight hoping for it to appear in tomorrows's forum. It was 32 minutes- a slog, but reduced to the least, and barest minimum material with tons of assets left on the cutting room floor.

Dale
Miami

Finish your epic project first. Then we can talk. To learn any major program (IMO) it's best learned in bite-sized pieces. Converting from another similar program is a bit harder than learning a program first because to some extent you have to overcome habituation. In hard core cases it may require an exorcism ... jk. In a way I'm glad that Adobe charges what it charges for Premier Pro- because their generally oversized, never ending monthly fee kept me from ever considering them as an option. I pay enough to them for Photoshop fees every month (hate it and wish I could just buy the license like I did CS3... which I can no longer activate). And then DR appeared and I went "whaaaahhhht???"... and never looked back.

 

[Dale D]

Finish your epic project first. Then we can talk. To learn any major program (IMO) it's best learned in bite-sized pieces. Converting from another similar program is a bit harder than learning a program first because to some extent you have to overcome habituation. In hard core cases it may require an exorcism ... jk. In a way I'm glad that Adobe charges what it charges for Premier Pro- because their generally oversized, never ending monthly fee kept me from ever considering them as an option. I pay enough to them for Photoshop fees every month (hate it and wish I could just buy the license like I did CS3... which I can no longer activate). And then DR appeared and I went "whaaaahhhht???"... and never looked back.

You may not have checked your e-mail but I individually sent the video to you today as a "pre-release." I have completed the project. It took exactly 31 days April 13 to May 13. It is 32 minutes.

With respect to video editing, I have managed to get the Adobe discount for the complete suite (not that I need it) for $29.00 a month instead $59.99/month for all apps, whereas the photography package is $10.00 per month for Photoshop/Lightroom. So I am paying $19.00 a month more and getting all apps which of course, includes Premiere, After Effects, PDF, etc. In total, I am paying about $350.00 a year. I can afford this and not paying it will not move the needle for me. I wouldn't mind learning DaVinci and one day, when all is well, you can teach it to me. The flight to Chicago might be worth it.


Here is the Chile video which should appear in tomorrow's Forum. Don't be turned off by the first minute or two which a hand held camera tour of the beautiful Explora Lodge in Atacama (with the OM4).

Dale

 

[DJ Wes]

Speed editor only - no Resolve Studio at that price!

Still, a pretty good price.

 

[Lister]

Professional editors who use Resolve universally love the Speed Editor.
I'm not one of those professionals, but I did teach Avid at one time.
I love my Speed Editor. A visceral connection to the timeline.