In a recent article here on the DVT blog, we unpacked the highlights of DaVinci Resolve 14, the latest version of Blackmagic Design's flagship vehicle for post-production. There's all sorts to love about this new iteration of a familiar software, but the biggest news was the inclusion of a completely revamped audio processing suite built right into the program.
Given Blackmagic's acquisition of pro audio company Fairlight in September 2016, we always knew this would happen eventually. Even so, it was still surprising for Fairlight's technology to be incorporated so quickly. We took a quick peek at the new audio editor in our last article, but today we're going deeper, delving into the bells and whistles that seem set to make DaVinci Resolve 14 an industry leader in audio as well as video.
What's under the hood?
The heart of the DaVinci Resolve 14's audio editor is a low-latency engine designed to handle hundreds of tracks of 192kHz 24-bit audio, but to unlock the full power of this you'll want a system equipped with a Fairlight Audio Accelerator. Not only will the Accelerator make working with up to 1,000 tracks lightening quick, it also won't lag if you decide to pile all of them up with various plug-ins for real-time EQ or dynamics processing.
"We didn't want to have to export our project out, send it out over to a music industry guy, and then bring it back."
This engine continues the Fairlight tradition of combining cutting edge sound quality with high processing speeds – the two characteristics that have made the brand a staple of audio facilities for years. Now, that same quality and speed is available in a format designed specifically for film. Blackmagic's CEO Grant Petty explained at the company's NAB press conference that this was a driving factor in the acquisition of Fairlight.
"We didn't feel there was any audio for the film and television industry. There are fantastic tools, but they're music industry tools. That's the culture in this industry, and we felt that was the big problem to solve – we didn't want to have to export our project out, send it out over to a music industry guy, and then bring it back."
But wait, there's more!
Just the introduction of just a new audio engine would be a big deal, but Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve doesn't stop there. There's an entire new audio page with all sorts of different bells and whistles for recording, editing, mixing and otherwise tweaking audio files. It's a tinkerer's dream, and even a deep dive into the new software can't cover everything. Here are just a few of the standouts.
Powerful and intuitive mixing: Mixing can be a challenge when there are hundreds of tracks floating around a project, but DaVinci Resolve 14 attaches every single one of them to its own channel on the mixer, along with a dedicated 6-band EQ, expander/gate, compressor and a limiter. This makes it easy to quickly get every single track – even if it's a sound effect or small snippet of dialogue – sounding exactly how you want it.
Easy automation: Automated parameters are a necessity in many mixes, and the latest version of Resolve makes it simple to record automation for pretty much every parameter you can think of. This includes all of your VST plug-ins, giving unprecedented control over the mix.
Built-in recording: Of course, not all audio gets recorded on set, and DaVinci Resolve 14 has all the tools you need for capturing everything from voiceover to foley. The real-time punch in feature allows engineers to start recording anytime during playback, and a suite of ADR tools ensures every line matches up perfectly with the action on screen.
3D audio soundspace: Regardless of which environment you're designing sound for, Fairlight technology makes it easy to position sound in a wide range of different spatial options – including 5.1, 7.1, DTS multi dimensional array and Dolby.
Advanced Monitoring: Finally there's Fairlight's advanced monitoring technology – a staple of recording and mixing studios all over the world. You can easily switch between different speaker sets – with the option of running up to 16 sets at any one time – to give you the very best representation of your mix.
There's still a lot more to discover in DaVinci Resolve 14. To find out more about the software and the best products for supporting it, contact DVT today.
