fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Here’s how to create super fast video renders in DaVinci Resolve

by Leave a Comment

No matter what video editing application you use, one of the biggest pains is the speed at which your final video renders out. Even with a pretty powerful system, they can take a while, especially if you’re using high res footage with lots of effects. It turns out that Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve has a way to speed them up massively.

I recently switched to DaVinci Resolve, and so I’ve been following a few YouTubers pretty closely. One such YouTuber is Jamie Fenn, who puts out Resolve videos a couple of times a week. In this particular video, he shows us how we can optimise our settings to get some extremely fast renders in Resolve.

[Read More…]

Watch a photographer’s Blackmagic Pocket 4K become home to a colony of ants

by 4 Comments

Some of us have had ants in the kitchen, or maybe we had to deal with these little creatures while camping. But have you ever had your camera swarmed by ants? Dakota McLearn was unpleasantly surprised recently when he saw that his Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K had become home to a colony of ants. He shared his experience in a video and it’s as fascinating as it is scary.

[Read More…]

How to quickly and easily create awesome transitions in DaVinci Resolve

by Leave a Comment

One of the things I’ve found most challenging in my switch to Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve is transitions. Sure, there are a few that come supplied with Resolve, but when it comes to anything custom or fancy, you have to delve into Fusion – which feels like being dropped into an alien world after you’re used to Premiere Pro and After Effects.

So, this pair of videos from filmmaker and YouTuber Alex Matravers has come in particularly handy for me. Alex released a couple of transition packs recently for Resolve, but he also made a pair of videos to go along with them that shows exactly how he created them and how we can make for ourselves, and customise them to our own needs.

[Read More…]

How to create a teleport transition effect in DaVinci Resolve using Fusion

Blackmagic has done some pretty amazing things with DaVinci Resolve over the last few versions. It’s gone from being just colour grading tool (I say “just”, but it always led the way in that field) to a fully-fledged editing application that now incorporates both Fusion for motion graphics and visual effects as well as Fairlight for audio processing.

I’ve even started to make the switch to Resolve myself lately. As such, I’ve been following a few new people on YouTube who make Resolve tutorials; Particularly those working with Fusion. Jamie Fenn is one such YouTuber, and in this video, he shows us how to make a pretty epic teleport transition using Fusion within Resolve.

[Read More…]

2019 DIYP Holiday Gift Guide – Accessories & Gadgets

by Leave a Comment

All photographers and filmmakers have accessories and doohickies in their bags to help them with their pursuits. And now that we’ve covered cameras, lenses, lights, bags, tripods, sliders & gimbals out of the way, it’s time to crack on with those in today’s final 2019 DIYP Gift Guide. Here are some of the things we find absolutely invaluable in our work and some of the new tools and toys that have come out this year.

[Read More…]

2019 DIYP Holiday Gift Guide – Cameras

by 1 Comment

Black Friday may be well and truly over, but there are still a lot of sales going on and we’re well into the Holiday Season now. Have you already got your loved one (or yourself) that perfect gift? If not, here are some options for you. This is the first of our 2019 gift guides, and we’re going to start with cameras. These are some of the new cameras that have come out over the last year as well as some of the steadfast favourites that we’ve used throughout the year.

[Read More…]

This is why TV cameras are still huge and ridiculously expensive

by 1 Comment

Over the past couple of decades, very high-quality video-capable cameras have down a lot in both price and size. So, why then, are the camera setups used for shooting broadcast TV content still so huge? and why are they so expensive?

In this video, Zebra Zone breaks down exactly what’s involved in these types of setups, exactly why they’re needed and why they cost as much as a house. He also busts a big myth that it’s the camera that’s huge. Much of the bulk and cost are the extras bolted onto it.

[Read More…]

Blackmagic update for the Pocket 4K adds anamorphic lens support and USB control

by Leave a Comment

Blackmagic just dropped a big update for the Pocket 4K and Pocket 6K cameras. It comes as part of the Blackmagic Camera 6.6 update, which also includes updates for Blackmagic RAW support in Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro.

The update brings 2.4:1 4K 75fps, 2.6K 120fps and 2880×2160 up to 80fps for anamorphic lenses with 2x and 1.33x desqueeze preview options. Both cameras also receive USB PTP control support (yes, it should finally talk to your gimbal!), a built-in horizon levelling tool and an up to 8x pinch-zoom function for the touchscreen LCD.[Read More…]

The final version of Blackmagic’s free DaVinci Resolve 16.1 is now available to download

by 3 Comments

DaVinci Resolve has come a very long way over the last few years. From its humble existing as the colour grading tool of choice, it’s grown into a full-blown editor that now easily competes with the established big boys in the non-linear editing world, like Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Avid. After several months of beta testing, Blackmagic has now announced the final release of version 16.1, including a lot of updates.

[Read More…]

Blackmagic’s newest Video Assist 12G offers internal 4K60 12-Bit BRAW recording

by Leave a Comment

The Blackmagic Video Assist range of monitors has been a popular choice for many camera operators since the first versions were released. Now, Blackmagic has updated the Video Assist, with internal 12-bit BRAW recording in both 7″ and 5″ sizes. We caught up with Blackmagic at IBC 2019 to find out more about the capabilities of the new monitors.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts