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Expression Builder Plugin V2.0

Overview Installation UI Overview Expression Builder Open / Load Save Copy Search Page Keywords Copy Glossary Categories Copy to Clipboard Hints Links Expression Builder is for Davinci Resolve Studio version 18. Expression Builder lite will be available soon for Davinci Resolve. Overview Expression Builder assists those learning Fusion Expressions and contains hundreds of examples, however, expressions can be almost limitless and we are adding more every day. New expressions will be available through or update schedule, which is why it is important to include your correct email address. The plugin is capable of saving and loading your own custom expressions for modification or reuse. Expressions can be saved as a .txt .setting or .comp file but must be given a name and extension prior to 'save'. If you wish to contribute your expressions to be included in a future update then you can do so here. Submit an Expression Download and Installation Extract the Expression Builder zip f

Davinci Resolve is Struggling - Lets Fix it!

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I haven't posted for a while as I am building a Workflow Integration Plugin but today I saw yet another question about Davinci Resolve being laggy and not performing on 720p footage on a decent machine. So I thought I would write an article to help anyone suffering from this unnecessary problem fix it once and for all. Important! There isn't a magic wand that fixes everyone's problems, what follows are suggestions to try but in general, if you follow these steps it will make a huge difference. I am also a Windows OS guy so no Mac advice here! Also, your computer must meet the minimum specifications for Davinci Resolve, don't blame me if you have 4GB of RAM and an integrated graphics card made by Lego. Optimise Your Computer. If you are working with Davinci Resolve to earn money then a dedicated computer is the way to go as other apps and processes are going to take CPU and GPU cycles away from Davinci Resolve. Now I know most people who are reading this can't do tha

Organising The Fonts Folder

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I don't know about you but the list of fonts inside resolve is longer than I need, there are so many system fonts and fonts I just don't use. In this article, I am going to walk you through setting up a dedicated Davinci Resolve fonts folder. You can place a fonts folder anywhere on the system, however, Blackmagic have provided us with a documents folder that is perfect for this. Navigate to your Documents > Blackmagic design folder, create a new folder and rename it "Fonts". Add your favourite fonts to this folder, you can do this by dragging and dropping fonts from the system fonts folder to your newly created Blackmagic fonts folder. If you get fonts supplied with an asset you have downloaded you can just place them in this folder too.  Davinci Resolve scans and loads fonts on startup, which means you can add and remove fonts from this folder as and when required. We need to set resolve up to find our new fonts folder, this is straightforward. Open Resolve Navig

Easy Character Level Styling on the Edit Page.

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Although I love the Text+ there are times when you need a quick tweak to a character but don't want to jump into fusion. Well, Blackmagic have you covered with the Text Title. Drag the Text Title to a track on your timeline and you now have access to a rich text editor with Character Level Styling available. To use the Character Level Styling (CSL from now on) you just need to select the characters in the rich text box which you want to style. The basic controls below will now work on those selected characters rather than the whole text. Currently, Drop Shadow and Background remain global but the rich text controls and stroke work per character. This is a really handy tool that is often overlooked, however as it is definitely not a fusion tool you can't take it into fusion and animate it. Although you can use the video transitions in the effects library to animate the text. That's it! A quick and easy way to add CSL to any title on the edit or cut page. Thanks for taking th

Transition Mattes & Style Mattes Solved!

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I came across some files on my computer which I hadn't looked at in a while, they consisted of a shattered glass wipe effect and some sound effects. I dragged them to my timeline over a cut transition and it looked awful. After a little research, I discovered that DaVinci Resolve treats transition Mattes and style mattes a little differently. To get them to work correctly took a little bit of experimentation but when I finally got there I wondered how many other people would be having this same problem. I fired up OBS and recorded my screen, the video is at the end of this post. I had a .mov which was a png sequence and a .mov file which was an Alpha Matte. The first oddity was you have to bring the matte in via the media page as a matte and not a video. I created some bins to keep everything organized "Matte" "SFX" "Wipe" & "Footage". I had to set the timeline to be the same frame rate as the transition otherwise the video of the transit

Things You Didn't Know the Text+ or Text1 Could Do!

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 I have backache from decorating so I have decided to stop and write another post. Today we are talking about String Theory so we will be focusing on Text. I picked this subject as it is a very popular form of graphic in a project.  String Theory Although I think the Text+ or Text1 node is the most powerful node in resolve, I am not going to go through all the controls.  Think of this post as the bits everyone else seems to miss out on. (yes, I know there are exceptions). In no particular order, although I might have to build a title by the end of this post. This 8 line box is extremely powerful Typing! what's that all about? I am better at copy & paste but we don't even have to bother with that as the Text+ or Text1 can read a txt file.  Currently, there is a caveat, which is I have only figured out how to do this using the default DaVinci Resolve Document folder. Yes, you have one it is in your document folder. You currently have to place the text document you want the Te

Adding a Button in a Macro

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Why on earth would we want a button in a macro? A button can run any OS command, so you can do a lot. I am however going to keep this practical and for all the people out there that make macros for others. Our button will open a webpage, this webpage could be your website or even a YouTube video with instructions. NB. A button can execute a script, run a fuse, or any known operating system command. Adding a button is the same as adding a label or drop-down and can be completed inside resolve. However, you may want to edit the code to ensure the button works correctly on both Mac & Windows. Also, we can move the button to any location via the code. Assumptions You are on the fusion page You are either modifying an existing tool/effect or creating your own. The result will be a GroupOperator/MacroOperator The result can be for fusion, edit page, or cut page. Select the node you want the Button on. Right-click and choose "Edit Controls" Over Type Name: "New Contol"