It’s needless to say that DaVinci Resolve became even more popular among independent filmmakers and creative professionals since the release of its latest version that has brought so many highly demanded editing features and other enhanced tools to the table. On top of that, Resolve 12 users can still get all the goodness absolutely free of charge. And before, someone accuses me of being a Blackmagic Design advocate I would encourage those to point out other full-fledged colour grading and editing suite that provides so many features in a single pack for the price. Personally, I could hardly recall any.
On the other hand, there is one serious drawback that still keeps many people working on a budget away from the software. And, these are the extremely expensive control interfaces that you need to get in order to have a full control over the software as we all would agree that moving the pointer with a mouse while colour grading is one hell of a nightmare, to say the least.
Fortunately, a guy called Steven came up with an affordable solution that seems to be a viable option for people who desperately need some type of hardware control for DaVinci Resolve.
Cheap DaVinci Resolve Control Panel Concept from RaisingHeller on Vimeo.
In a nutshell, Steve utilizes a relatively inexpensive Behringer BCR2000 and a Kensington trackball along with Controllermate software. As expected, this set up also has its flaws and imperfections, however, it can deliver some decent results once it’s been set up properly. Steve promises to provide his pre-arranged setup instructions and presets for a small fee to most eager users who want to test out his alternative solution.
Furthermore, it seems that you have everything you are going to need to replace most of the functions a professional control panel would provide. For instance, you can assign multiple controls to the platform along with the ability to set the Kensington trackball as a direct control surface for the Resolve’s Color Wheels. All in all, it’s a nice dirt cheap combo that gives Resolve users the much-anticipated hardware control over the colour grading process. Considering the price you should pay for this setup, it definitely deserves consideration or maybe even a try.
And if you really want a dedicated, yet extremely affordable solution you can try the Tangent’s Ripple interface that will set you back $350 only once it becomes available.
Designed for the occasional colourists, editors, and enthusiasts alike, Ripple provides the essential 3 trackerballs that speed up primary grading. It’s small enough to fit in your backpack and it will also sit comfortably beside your Macbook Pro wherever you go. This entry-level professional solution comes with high-resolution optical pick-ups for the balls and dials, independent reset buttons, light-weight compact size and definitely won’t cost you an arm and leg. Ripple is due to be on sale in early 2016.
So, there you have it. These are two extremely affordable options that won’t substitute entirely some high-end professional control interfaces costing $30,000 and beyond, but definitely are a great starting point for all users who want to get their hands on an affordable colour grading hardware control interface right off the bat on a minuscule budget.
[source: RaisingHeller, Erik Naso]
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