Recent Posts

Tame Your Video Chaos: Master Smart Bins in Davinci Resolve

  Tame Your Video Chaos: Master Smart Bins in Davinci Resolve Are you drowning in a sea of clips? Is your media pool looking more like a cluttered closet than an organized workspace? Fear not, young video editor! There's a superhero tool waiting to save your sanity: Smart Bins. Imagine a magical sorting hat for your video clips. That's essentially what Smart Bins are in Davinci Resolve. These nifty little features automatically filter your footage, making it a breeze to find exactly what you need. Let's dive in and discover how to harness their power. What are Smart Bins? Think of Smart Bins as automated file folders for your videos and audio. They sort your media based on specific criteria, like whether a clip has been used, its audio type (dialogue, music, effects), or even its frame rate. This means less time hunting through endless thumbnails and more time unleashing your creativity. Getting Started with Smart Bins First things first, make sure Smart Bi
Post a Comment

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.

Download and Installation

Extract the Expression Builder zip folder to reveal the installation options and instructions.
It is important to note that on the first installation the "Workflow Integration Folder" does not exist, if you have a previous version of Expression Builder installed it is recommended you delete the "Expression Builder" folder from within the "Workflow Integration Folder".  

Please follow the operating system-specific instructions

Windows

Manual Installation
Place the "Workflow Integration Plugins" in this directory "%PROGRAMDATA%\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\"
If a "Workflow Integration Plugins" folder already exists the folders will merge.

If Davinci Resolve is running restart Davinci Resolve.

Windows Installer
double click on "ExpressionBuilder.exe" to launch the installer, and all files and folders will be created in the correct location.

If Davinci Resolve is running restart Davinci Resolve.

Mac
Manual Installation (currently only option)
Place the "Workflow Integration Plugins" in this directory  "/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Workflow Integration Plugins/"

If Davinci Resolve is running restart Davinci Resolve.

Linux
This plugin does not function on Linux.

Open the plugin.

To launch Expression Builder use the menu "Workspace > Workflow Integration Plugins > Expression Builder" The plugin will open a window on top of Davinci Resolve. 

NB. Expression Builder is a floating window and can be moved onto a second monitor, the window can also be minimized or closed when working in fusion

User Interface Overview


Menu Items
  • File 
    • Exit
  • Edit
    • Undo
    • Redo
    • Cut
    • Copy
    • Paste
    • Delete
    • Select All
  • View
    • Actual Size
    • Zoom In
    • Zoom Out
    • Toggle Full Screen
  • Window
    • Minimize
    • Close
  • Help
    • Donate
    • Tutorials
Expression Builder Menu
Navigate to search options, glossary and hints.
See the relevant sections below.

In addition to the main menu, there is a traffic light menu that consists of 'open, save, copy.' These are the methods for loading an expression, saving an expression, and copying an expression.

Expression Builder Area
Davinci Resolve simple expressions consist of a one-line height input field which is only the width of the inspector. Expression Builder has 11 lines and can scroll to accommodate more. The expression builder area is capable of opening a .txt, .setting, .comp, script, or fuse if required.

Filename Input
When saving your expression you are required to give it a "filename" and an "extension" before the save will function.

Expression Builder

Open / Load

Selecting "Open" will open your file system explorer window allowing you to load a .txt, .setting or .comp file into the expression builder area.

Save

A filename and extension must be entered into the filename input field prior to saving your expression. You will then have options on where to save your expression file, this can be at any convenient location on your computer, network, or cloud storage.

Copy

Once you have created your expression in the expression area selecting copy will copy the expression to the clipboard ready to be pasted into Davinci Resolve.

Search Page



A search page is provided to help you find the expression or part of an expression you are looking for. The search is active on the keywords, expressions, and description, this is the most comprehensive option to locate the expression you require. You can drag and select the expression or portion of the expression.

Glossary



The glossary is included for those that are unsure what expression they require or want to have a look at the options available. The glossary has categories and you can select one of the categories to jump to that section.

Hovering over a glossary entry will display a green dashed border, clicking on the selected expression will copy it to your clipboard. This can then be pasted into the expression builder area or Davinci Resolve.

Hints


There is no reason to reinvent the wheel more than once, hence I have included the hints page. This page will evolve with each update and is a gateway to further resources.

Special Offer

Expression Builder V2.0 beta will be launched in early December at a cost of £19.99, however, you can purchase V1.0 beta from my Ko-Fi page for only £5 and will receive V2.0 as a free upgrade on release.


BUY NOW!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DaVinci Resolve Expressions

DaVinci Resolve Expressions The world of expressions in both video editing and motion graphics opens up a world of possibilities. In this article, I am going to bring together expressions I have discovered and experimented with in DaVinci Resolve. This list is by no means complete but more of a working document I will come back to again and again.  When I experiment with an expression I have gotten into the habit of placing a Text Node into the composition and adding the expression in the styled text expression input. This allows me to see the output of the expression in a readable format. I can then tweak the expression to get my desired result. Another tip: Use the expression first before renaming a node as renaming a node will update the expression. Placing a “--” in a simple expression will ignore the characters to the right. As in “GetPrefs("Comp.FrameFormat.Rate") -- Returns TL FPS” It is a great way to add a reminder. What follows is a list of expressions with comments
Read more

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

Image
 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
Read more