User Manual

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Comparing two versions of a timeline: You can make a visual comparison a timeline
with another version of that timeline to spot differences for evaluation.
Filling holes in timelines with missing or unlinked clips: Two options found in
the Master Project Settings panel of the Project Settings, “Show offline clips
through conform gaps,” and “Show offline clips through missing clips,” let you set
DaVinci Resolve to display Offline Reference Clip media to fill gaps in the Timeline
or replace the contents of unlinked clips. This is typically done to resolve emergency
situations when you need to proceed with a screening or review session despite
the fact that you’re missing media for whatever reason. For more information, see
Chapter 3, “System and User Preferences.
NOTE: Typically, the flattened version of the program you’re given uses a low-quality
codec, and contains effects and color correction that’s not final, which is why it’s called
an Offline Reference Clip.
Assigning a Clip or Timeline for Offline Comparison
There are two ways you can assign an Offline Reference Clip or Timeline to a particular timeline
for comparison. The easiest and most flexible way is to open a timeline, and then drag and drop
a clip or timeline with matching timecode that you want to compare to from the Media Pool onto
the Source Viewer in Offline mode.
To assign any clip or timeline to a specific timeline for comparison:
1 Open the timeline you want to make the assignment to in the Edit page.
2 Set the Source Viewer to Offline mode.
3 Drag a clip or timeline with matching timecode that you want to assign onto the Source
Viewer. The clip or timeline you dragged is immediately assigned to the open timeline
as an Offline Reference Clip, and synced via timecode.
4 In the Media Pool, right-click the Timeline you want to review against the Offline
Reference Clip, and choose the reference clip or timeline you assigned from the
Timelines > Link Offline Reference Clip submenu of that timeline’s contextual menu.
You can also add a clip to the Media Pool specifically as an Offline Reference Clip, making it
easy to associate such a clip with a particular timeline by right-clicking that timeline in the Media
Pool and choosing it from the Link Offline Video submenu. The idea is that if you or your client
exports a flattened version of their edited sequence at the same time as they export the EDL,
AAF, or XML project file they want graded, then you can compare the project data that’s
imported into DaVinci Resolve to the actual video of the offline edit.
To assign an imported Offline Reference Clip to a specific timeline for comparison:
1 Open the Media page, and use the Media Storage browser to find the flattened Offline
Reference Clip that you want to use for comparison.
2 Right-click the Offline Reference Clip file and choose Add as Offline Reference Clip.
3 That clip appears with a small checkerboard badge in its icon in the Media Pool.
Chapter – 46 Preparing Timelines for Import and Comparison 892