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— Language: (Only available when outputting to the IMF format) This drop-down menu lets you choose the language of a particular output track when you’re outputting to IMF. Since IMF files can accommodate multiple audio tracks containing different mixes for different regions, it’s important to identify each output track you’re outputting by language.
— Content: (Only available when outputting to the IMF format) This drop-down menu lets you choose the content of a particular output track when you’re outputting to IMF. Since IMF files can accommodate multiple audio tracks containing different mixes and content, it’s important to identify each output track you’re outputting by content.
— Audio Normalization: You can select loudness standard presets from the Audio tab in the Render settings on the Delivery page to automatically have the deliverable normalized accordingly. These controls let you control the audio normalization on a per output basis.
— Normalize Audio: Check this box to run the Audio Normalization operation.
— Mode: Choose the type of normalization standard you want to apply.
— Target Level: Set the normalization level in dBFS.
— Output Track #: Check the box to apply the normalization to these outputs.
File
This panel contains all other parameters.
— Filename Uses: Three options let you automatically name the media file(s) that are output automatically.
— Use Custom Filename: Lets you enter your own name in the Custom name/File prefix field.
— Use Timeline Name: (When rendering a Single Clip) When this option is selected, the name of the Timeline is used.
— Use Source Filename: (When rendering Individual Clips) When this option is selected, the filename of each clip’s corresponding source media file is cloned, and used as the filename of media being output by DaVinci Resolve. This is preferred when you’re generating offline
media for use by an editor that you later want to reconform to the originating DaVinci Resolve project. When this checkbox is turned off, you can customize filenames using the other options in this section of settings.
— Custom name: Lets you use custom text to name all rendered files. If you’re not using the source filename, and not rendering to a file format that uses timecode, you can enter a filename here. When editing the Custom Name or File Prefix (or File Suffix), you can use “metadata variables” that you can add as graphical tags that let you display clip metadata. This is especially useful when rendering Individual Source Clips. For example, you could add the corresponding metadata variable tags %scene_%shot_%take and the File Prefix would be written as “12_A_3” if “scene 12,” “shot A,” “take 3” were in the source clip’s metadata. For more information on the use of variables,
as well as a list of all variables that are available in DaVinci Resolve, see Chapter 16, “Using Variables and Keywords.”
— File suffix: Lets you add custom text and/or metadata variables (described previously) to the end of all rendered files.
— Use unique filenames: (When rendering Individual Clips, and only when Filename uses is set to Custom name) When enabled, additional characters are added to every rendered media file to guarantee that each rendered media file has a completely independent name. This prevents
multiple rendered clips from the same source media file from overwriting one another when saved to the same directory. “Uniquely” named clips append the clip name with the track and clip number identifying a clip’s position in the currently selected session. For example, a clip that’s linked to a media file named “DropThatThingCU.mov,” and edited as the twenty-fifth clip on track V2, will be named “DropThatThingCU_V2-0025.mov” when rendered. When enabled, two other options are revealed.
— Use unique filename prefix/Use unique filename suffix: (When Use Unique Filenames is on) Radio buttons let you choose whether to add the unique identifier at the beginning or end of a clip. Choosing Prefix would result in “V2-0025 _DropThatThingCU.mov,” whereas choosing Suffix would result in “DropThatThingCU_V2-0025.mov” when rendered.
— Add source frame count to filename: (When rendering Individual Clips, and only when Filename uses is set to Custom name) When enabled, the source frame number of each clip is appended to the end of the rendered file name. This is another way to make sure that multiple rendered clips with custom names don’t overwrite one another.
— Use filename digits: Lets you specify how many digits to use when rendering an image sequence, although the specified digits will also be used for any media format. This is particularly useful if you’re outputting media to be used by an application that has strict requirements for image sequence numbering. Defaults to eight digits.
— Each clips starts at frame: (When rendering Individual Clips) This permits timecode to be written to the header, and frame count to be written to the filename of the image sequences, which is ideal for VFX workflows.
— Start timeline timecode at: (When rendering Single Clip) This option is only available when rendering clips in Single clip order. Specifies the timecode that will be written to the media being output by DaVinci Resolve. For DPX files, timecode is written into the header data, and is simultaneously converted to a frame count that’s inserted into the filename of each frame
file, which provides a logical count of the frame numbers. For other media formats, timecode is written to the appropriate metadata container. You may find it useful to use custom start times, for example starting each reel of a project at a particular value, depending on the standards employed at your shop.
— Place clips in separate folders: (When rendering Individual Clips) Useful if you need to preserve the filenames of files you’re outputting when the filenames of clips coming from the same source media file may cause them to overwrite one another. This option is also commonly used when rendering VFX shots for additional post-production work, allowing the VFX department to identify clips quickly and distribute the work accordingly.
— Preserve Source directory levels: (When rendering Individual Clips) Retains a user-specified depth of the original directory structure used by a clip’s corresponding source media file, recreating it when rendering new files for output. The number you select determines how many levels of subdirectories DaVinci Resolve will automatically create within the currently specified “Render job to” directory to match the path used by the source files. Defaults to 0, which creates no matching subdirectories.
— After Head/From Tail: When setting how many directory levels of each clip’s file path to preserve (using the “Preserve x levels” parameter), click one of these buttons to specify whether that number of path levels is defined relative to the head or the tail of each media file path.
— Preserved Path: Shows you a preview of the preserved path you’ve set up so you know you’ve gotten it right.
— File Subfolder: (Only appears in Additional Output panels) Lets you specify a subdirectory into which to render the media files being output. If the specified subdirectory doesn’t exist, a new one with that name will be created within the currently specified “Render job to” directory.
— Use commercial workflow: (When rendering Individual Clips) Automatically renders every version that’s applied to each clip in the session, except for versions that have been flagged using the “Render Disabled” flag, found in the Version submenu for each clip in the Timeline. This option is typically used when you’ve graded multiple versions of a clip to be used for VFX work, and you want to deliver each grade as a separate media file. This is also used when rendering programs for commercial broadcast where you have two or more versions of a grade for each scene. When using this option, alternate methods of outputting each rendered media file are used, and four additional settings are revealed.
— Alternative pass offset: Lets you separate the timecode values written into each version of a clip with an offset. For example, if the default version timecode is 01:00:20:00, and you select a 10 minute offset in the Alternative Pass Offset timecode entry, then the second graded version of that clip will start at 01:10:20:00, the third version will start at 01:20:20:00, and so on until every version is rendered. You can offset the clips by whatever value you like, but the idea is to make it easy for editors and VFX artists to find the versions of each grade. If the clips are shared with a finishing artist, and they know that each alternate pass is 10 minutes apart, then it’s easy for the finisher to change the clip version just by adding 10 minutes to the referenced timecode. To simplify the workflow further, you can put separate source reels in separate folders using the next three options.
— Place reels in separate folders: Automatically places all media that’s output using a particular reel name into corresponding folders.
— Place clips in separate folders: Automatically places alternate grades of clips into separate folders.
— Use version name for folders: Labels each folder with the name of the version when using the Commercial Workflow option.
— Render speed: A drop-down menu lets you throttle the speed at which media is rendered. Ordinarily you’ll leave this set to the default of Maximum. However, some storage systems that are shared by multiple rooms in a facility use storage area networks (SANs) with insufficient bandwidth for multiple real-time image streams. DaVinci Resolve’s incredibly fast rendering speeds can cause playback problems with other users accessing the SAN if available bandwidth is insufficient. In this case, you can throttle the render speed to limit SAN bandwidth usage to between 1 to 50 percent of full rendering speed.
— Disk space currently used: Shows the amount of disk space available on the target volume.
— Disk space used after render: Shows the new disk usage based on the specified range of the current session that you’re rendering.