15b4 : Fusion

I will report betas experience too from today...
First try : Fusion (looks like I'll report mostly on it btw).

So I have this mapping, which involves a picture projected by a camera, in which I applied 5 shapes connected to a merge to re-build the 3D planes and then move another camera inside.
Firstly made on Fu 8 studio, I'm impressed about how it imported ok without any issue , regardless to the first message at import (kind of "no such tool" for the loader, was it only because the pic wasn't yet in the media pool ?).
Really impressed anyway.

Now, a few questions :
- Speaking of that, let's start with it : why not auto-converting Fu standalone loaders into MediaIn on the fly ?

- If I import a comp, how can I work on it and save it for later ? It happened twice that I worked on this very imported comp, went to the media pool and went back to the Fusion tab and poof, the whole comp had disappeared (since nothing was on the TL on the edit page I guess). How can I save a comp which has not any connection yet with the Resolve project ?

- Imho, the menu > console actiion to reach the cosole has to be changed. Maybe it's only in the beta but for me it's obvious that we need an icon on the lower right bar to pop it up

That's all for today. Good job BMD, go on

No one, really ?

Ok, let's make it shorter then : what's the best WF to import a external comp made on Fu standalone in Resolve 15 (preferably without involving a TL in the Edit page) and keep it anywhere in the project ?

Hi,

I have been struggling with this as well and love to get some hot WF tips on the subject.
A tip. You may get some answers in the “new feature guide” manual.

http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/DaVinciResolve/20180419-520cf4/DaVinci_Resolve_15_New_Features_Guide.pdf

Look into chapter 10 and 13. It’s also mentioned in chapter 13 (page 213) that the clips should get a small star symbol in the edit page if it’s a fusion composition.

At present, if there is not a clip on the Timeline, the Fusion comp has nothing to anchor to. Under most circumstances, you can't even begin work in Fusion if there isn't a clip to base it on. The clip doesn't have to be footage, though. What I've been doing is using one of the animated Fusion Titles to start my comps, and I just delete the macro before getting started.

I imagine an automated Loader -> MediaIn process is probably under construction, but if you're in a hurry, you could script it yourself. According to Andrew Hazelden, the Loader's information is carried in CustomData on the Dummy node that replaces it. You'd need to retrieve the Clip information from the Dummy, import that file/sequence into the MediaPool, then create a MediaIn node to hold it.

For Savers, you'll probably need to do something with the MediaOut Ultra macro in the Reactor Essentials collection available in Reactor. Resolve currently allows a MediaOut to only feed the Timeline and thence to the Delivery page. The macro circumvents that system by exploiting the mechanism for saving a frame from the Viewer.

Hey Oyvind,

Thx for your input. Although we might not write about the same topic (see below), your post took me to the new features guide again, and that's a good thing anyway. As I read it quite quickly weeks ago, I also understood tiny things it's important to keep in mind, like the time when actions are taken into account (the order, attached pic) on different panels.

I've been a fusioneer for months now, and actually I just want to add stuff I made in Fu standalone to some of my ongoing Resolve projects, so inside Resolve now, that's to say neither by exporting from Fu standalone nor even by Fusion Connect : really by including them into the Resolve projects.

But when I imported a comp - perfectly well btw - and modified a couple of nodes, I went to another tab like Edit or whatever and when I came back to fusion tab, the imported comp had disappeared... Just a mediaIn and a mediaOut there, logically corresponding the the clip on the Edit TL. I wished that the imported comp was still there, nothing more.
Then I presume it's only because the imported comp had to be saved by any means in Resolve's Fu tab BEFORE going to any other tab, and the more relevant and obvious way that popped up to me is... a macro.
What an idiot I was, I should have done it the way I always used to in Fusion, instead of looking for a new revolutionary way just because I'm in Resolve...

Now, I suggest BMD to add a warning message anyway, because I think a lot of fusioneers will try to use the import function too and it may happen a lot (in Fu, the nodes flow is still there wherever you go [spline, console, ...]). So a "hey, beware, the comp you just imported will fade away from the fusion tab if you don't do more to save it" would be appreciated
Thx again anyway

EDIT : yep Bryan, your "At present, if there is not a clip on the Timeline, the Fusion comp has nothing to anchor to" was my (too) late conclusion too

@ Bryan

Thx for your input.
No, I'm not in a hurry, I just fooled myself and wanted to share the experienced for others to be aware of it.
I'll make macros indeed, and either I'll use Reactor or I'll export the Resolve's Fusion comp if needed, so the loader and saver things are not a real problem finally.
Failing once is learning too : next time I'll import any comp, the first action will be to turn it into a macro before anything else, you can believe me

Hey Oyvind,

..
But when I imported a comp - perfectly well btw - and modified a couple of nodes, I went to another tab like Edit or whatever and when I came back to fusion tab, the imported comp had disappeared... Just a mediaIn and a mediaOut there, logically corresponding the the clip on the Edit TL. I wished that the imported comp was still there, nothing more.
Then I presume it's only because the imported comp had to be saved by any means in Resolve's Fu tab BEFORE going to any other tab, and the more relevant and obvious way that popped up to me is... a macro.
What an idiot I was, I should have done it the way I always used to in Fusion, instead of looking for a new revolutionary way just because I'm in Resolve...

Now, I suggest BMD to add a warning message anyway, because I think a lot of fusioneers will try to use the import function too and it may happen a lot (in Fu, the nodes flow is still there wherever you go [spline, console, ...]). So a "hey, beware, the comp you just imported will fade away from the fusion tab if you don't do more to save it" would be appreciated
Thx again anyway

Thanks for sharing your experience… Btw I was referring to the manual in case it gave you some new ideas, it was not a “look into the manual” sort of post . Good thing that you got something out of it.

Yep, I understood it was no RTFM yell
Thank you anyway.