Camera RAW default project preset

Hi all,

I need your help because I'm on this for hours without success

Every time I open Resolve, the default Camera RAW > Master > RAW profile preset is always in "ARRI Alexa"! Since I use a RED camera I always need to manually change this to "RED" which is very annoying.
I have already created other presets, made "load" and it correctly apply to the current project, but if I close DAVinci Resolve and open it again, the project reverts back to Camera RAW > Master > RAW Profile > ARRI Alexa and even the created personalized presets have also reverted to the ARRI camera RAW setting!

So, how can I change this definitely to RED profile?

Thanks for any help!

That's just a list, not a setting. You choose the settings you want to adjust from that list.

That's just a list, not a setting. You choose the settings you want to adjust from that list.

Maybe I've explained myself in a bad way. Let me rephrase that:

1 - I want that every future project opens up with a RED camera raw profile setting automatically selected (instead of the default ARRI Alexa one).

2 - For that purpose, I've changed that in the Master Settings and then I've created a new preset that I've named RED.

3 - I've applied it to the current project by selecting it and click "load". I've right clicked in this personal preset and chosen "Save As User Default Config". Then I've closed project settings.

4 - If I reopen the project settings window I can verify that the RED raw profile is still there correctly selected and applied to the current project.

5 - I then save project, close DA Vinci Resolve.

6 - I open again Resolve with the same project and open Project Settings just to find out that in the Camera RAW tab the ARRI Alexa is selected again, instead of the RED RAW profile!

So my conclusion it's that the RED RAW profile it's not been applied to the project, although I've applied it before that project was closed.

If I'm making a wrong conclusion, where can I check that the RED Raw profile is been applied to that project (or to any new project) the way I need?

Important note - According to page 146 of the Manual:
"System Config: The System Config contains the default Project Settings that are
used for all new projects that you create, and consists of the installed defaults that
accompanied DaVinci Resolve. This config is uneditable, but you can use the Save As
button to duplicate it as the basis for a new preset."

So, if the System Config is used in all new projects and we cannot edit it, how can we choose another settings for new projects and what is the purpose of the right-click option "Save As User Default Config" ??

Thank you!

The reason Arri comes up (again and again) is probably because you didn't make a change which allowed for saving Red presets. This project preference panel, as best I understand it, is only of use if you select project wide defaults. But when you do so, choices in in the color page raw tab will be limited (greyed out).

But you're not actually getting Arri presets. That setting is irrelevant. The system reads the Red (or BMD or Arri) raw format and processes accordingly.

To retain flexibility, you need to select the "clip" option in the color page raw tab. But in all cases the system should automatically detect the raw format and fill the fields with relevant defaults.

The reason Arri comes up (again and again) is probably because you didn't make a change which allowed for saving Red presets. (...)

Not sure if I understand what you mean. I did change the settings in the RAW profile to RED and saved it.

This project preference panel, as best I understand it, is only of use if you select project wide defaults. But when you do so, choices in in the color page raw tab will be limited (greyed out).

Yes, that's what I want, to have the best possible project wide based settings as a good starting point specific for RED footage.

But you're not actually getting Arri presets. That setting is irrelevant. The system reads the Red (or BMD or Arri) raw format and processes accordingly.

Not sure if that's the case. I may be wrong but my conclusions with some tests was that with the ARRI Alexa profile the RED raw footage was not a nice flat one as it is when I select the correct RED profile.

Without seeing exactly what you're doing, it's impossible to comment. There are variables outside that preference page which could be determining the state of the footage, as you see it.

If you want all the raw options, you have to work on a "clip" basis, as provided in the raw tab of the Color page. Otherwise, you're getting defaults, of one sort or another. That may be fine for your purpose but, again, I can't see what you're doing from here.

That's not a setting, it's just a list. The reason ARRI comes out on top, the reason it will always be the default, is because it's an alphabetical list.

You use that list to select the Camera RAW settings you wish to change. That's all it's for. It doesn't do anything other than show you the settings for the chosen RAW format.

Jim, that's not quite accurate. Whether these preferences "stick" or not depends on the choices made. I'm not convinced that the OP has actually made choices which *can* be saved. OTOH, I haven't attempted to change these settings for Red footage, it's an issue hard to speak to, particularly given the vagueness of the account supplied so far.

I believe everything I've said is entirely accurate.

The highlighted item is not a setting. It's just a list of RAW formats Resolve can work with. You choose the RAW format whose settings you wish to change using that list. But that's all it does. It's not itself a setting which will effect change in the project.

RAW Profile.png (29.94 KiB) Viewed 2311 times

I believe everything I've said is entirely accurate.

I fear that you exaggerate a little; those italics are deadly. Here's a screenshot of a *saved* project, reloaded -- i.e., settings that stick. I'm using braw footage, because that's what's on hand:

brown.JPG (55.31 KiB) Viewed 2306 times

You didn't achieve the same (assuming you tried) because you didn't make a selection which *could* be saved. In the case above, it's the "Project" choice which is crucial. What won't change, as I already noted, is the interpretation of the footage. Red footage with an Arri setting won't be interpreted as Arri raw. The preference only applies to certain defaults. The system automatically detects and debayers the raw format, and there's no changing that.

Here's a screenshot of a *saved* project, reloaded -- i.e., settings that stick. I'm using braw footage, because that's what's on hand:

Huh. That's interesting. I never knew you could get the RAW settings to "stick." What happens when you've got more than one RAW camera?

I stopped trying to use system presets a long time ago, because they broke so easily. Part of the problem was/is that it's hard to tell what settings in the "Project Settings" dialogue are actually project-scoped and which ones are system-scoped. A few versions ago, BMD moved a lot of system-scoped stuff over to System and User preferences, but there are still things in both places that don't make a lot of sense, like why specify the Cache file location in two places?

The manual explains that the System->Media Storage->Media Storage Cache Location defines the default value of Project Settings->Master Settings->Cache files location, and that if you change the latter, the former is ignored. Dumb, yes, but also inconsistent with the way the RAW settings override the scope context of the Project Settings dialogue. Additionally, with the RAW settings, you also have overrides on the Color page, and now in the inspector, too.

In the user interface and experience design industry, this is what's known as a "hot mess."

So, if the System Config is used in all new projects and we cannot edit it, how can we choose another settings for new projects and what is the purpose of the right-click option "Save As User Default Config" ??

Resolve used to be very user-centric in the sense that when you sat down to use it, it required a user name and password, and you'd have your own environment tailored to your needs. This was because studios would spend tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Resolve console, which their colorists would share. For the last decade, BMD has pushed towards a broader market. But the old user-centric underpinnings are still supported for large studios, just tucked away for everyone else.

I find that exporting a .drp works better as a "preset" than the config files in the Project Settings dialogue, for a couple of reasons.

1 - .DRP's live on disk, unlike the config files which live in Resolve's internally-managed, non-human-readable database. You can email .drp's, back them up, and manage them like you would any other file on disk.

2 - If you're working on episodic content, a .DRP lets you save a more complete starting point; not only project settings like resolution, frame rate, color management, but also organized bins, pre-populated with commonly used assets, graphics, bugs, sfx, even Fusion effects, transitions, etc.

After some more testing, my conclusion is:

1 - The Camera RAW tab inside project settings, have several specific adjustments for each camera brand, and we can adjust them to shape the way Raw footage is interpreted when the corresponding RAW file is imported.

2 - It was indeed correctly saved in a preset (in my case named "RED") and it is indeed correctly applied to new projects (I can confirm that in the color page, inside the Camera RAW tab).

3 - My confusion was because after a Resolve restart, if I go to the project settings and look into the Camera Raw tab, ARRI profile was shown and not RED (as I was expected). But as it was explained by other members here (thanks!) this is just a list of possible RAW files that DVR can deal with and in spite of ARRI is always shown first by default (alphabetic order) the correct RAW profile (im my case RED) is indeed applied to any RED footage, because I've saved it inside my preset (that I chosen as a user default config).

So everything is working as supposed, it was just a misunderstanding from my part, because I was wrongly assuming that the RED profile was not applied just because it was not the first one in that RAW profile list in the Camera RAW tab.

Thanks to everyone who helped me understanding this.

Cheers,

The real problem for me is that there are manufacturer and/or BMD "default" settings for RAW which cannot be changed.

Let's say that in Project Settings I set Camera Raw > Decode Using to Project (Clip is not available as a default), and set Gamma to Slog2.

In Color, as soon as I change Camera Raw > Decode Using from Project to Clip, Gamma is automatically changed to Slog3.

Color Space, as well as other settings are also changed to baked in values I do not want and cannot change. And each clip must manually be changed back to the values I prefer before grading the clip.

These unnecessary extra steps make grading in Camera Raw tedious and frustrating.

When Camera Raw > Decode Using is changed to Clip, the settings that are user specified in Project Settings should be the ones set, rather than those chosen by Sony.

I believe everything I've said is entirely accurate.

The highlighted item is not a setting. It's just a list of RAW formats Resolve can work with. You choose the RAW format whose settings you wish to change using that list. But that's all it does. It's not itself a setting which will effect change in the project.

RAW Profile.png

Well, I believe it is not just a list, it is a bug.
A setting shown under settings must be a setting and nothing else!

The whole preset function is one of the very few downsides of DR.
You get crazy to edit/update a user default config.