Workflow in DaVinci Resolve Fusion

[Nicolas Hanson]

I'm trying to sort out what is the best way to set up a simple composting workflow in DaVinci Resolve Fusion. 
I have my main color graded shot and a couple of external shots that should be brought in and  comped in on top of the main shot.

My main concerns are that I'm prevented from creating a "new fusion clip" from the edit tab because (1) My main shot is graded and I want to be able to continue grade on it after the comp is done. (2) When I enter the Fusion tab I'm presented with the log shot but I want to do the comp one top of the graded shot (3) I want to be able to change what part of the external clip to use in the comp.

So,

That leads me to working inside of the Fusion tab without merging the clips using the "new fusion clip" command in the edit module. Then I can import the external clips with the loader node instead which lets me adjust what part of the external clips to use. It also allows me to regrade the main shot after the comp. But, I'm still can't comp on the graded shot. I know I can load a LUT but that will not do it in this case.

I understand that comping a log shot with external log images is the preferred method sometimes, but what about those cases when you have linear images such as a jpg to be tracked onto a bus etc? Then I guess it would be better to comp on a graded image etc and not apply a grade on top of everything.

Any thoughts?


 

[Jussi Rovanperä]

Change the clip into a compound clip and open that in Fusion, then it would have the grade baked in.

 

[Nicolas Hanson]

What if I want to change the grade after the comp is done?

[Nicolas Hanson]

And what if I want to grade the external clip?

[Jussi Rovanperä]

For some simple screen replacement-style things, you could leave the original clip on video layer1, then duplicate that clip to layer 2 and do the fusion comp there, but only use the original clip for tracking, and output just the screen with alpha. Then you would have background and the screen on separate video tracks that can be graded separately.

But most of the Fusion stuff I've done has been in the standalone Fusion, because the Fusion page in Resolve 15 has been so unstable and the ram cache has not worked. We've just recently switched to Resolve 16.

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Jussi Rovanperä

[Nicolas Hanson]

You mean importing the external clip with a loader and output the alpha to the color module? 

[Jussi Rovanperä]

To have the clips on separate video tracks in the edit page. No special routings in the color. Top clip has alpha, and both can be graded separately.