Fusion Comps with full control and timeline sync?

Hi There,

I've watched several vids on Fusion comps/clips but am totally confused sorry. I have the Studio version so let me know if using Fusion as a separate app gives more understandable/traditional results.

Is there a way to...

1.
Auto-sync timeline clips (imported via Clips tab in Fusion) to use the Resolve timeline as a background reference? I'm creating a separate Fusion clip because simply switching to the Fusion tab removes separate start/end control over Fusion elements in the Resolve timeline (as far as I can tell).

2.
Can I edit a Fusion clip from the Resolve timeline? Editing via the Media Pool seems to edit a different version?

3.
Sometimes Fusion clips are completely black in Resolve. The media-out displays correctly in Fusion (select media-out and hit '2') but it's black when in Resolve. Is this me or a bug?

4.
Sometimes when switching to Fusion (via media pool 'Open in Fusion page') most of the node tree is missing. But if I switch back to Resolve and open again, the nodes show-up. Is this normal?

I'm sure I'm missing something basic because the experience so far is totally bonkers sorry! Why wouldn't you want to open a Fusion clip from the Resolve timeline? And why does editing a clip from the media pool not update the Fusion clip that's on the timeline? Separate versions absolutely have their place but not by default - right?

Any help would be much appreciated.

All right, this is going to be a lot, so bear with me hahaha

1. A Fusion Clip is a very specific type of Fusion composition within DaVinci Resolve. You create one by selecting the clips you want to be part of the comp in your timeline and right-clicking > new fusion clip.
What this does is it encapsulates the clips in a sort of compound clip, like a nested timeline. Each layer of that compound clip is then passed to Fusion and becomes a MediaIn. You only get in Fusion what you had in the timeline, though: so you're limited to your timeline's resolution and also the in and out points of each clip.

This will create an item in the Media Pool, which is the compound clip (no Fusion effects attached). When you click on it, you get to edit whatever's inside the clip, BEFORE anything goes to Fusion. To edit the actual Fusion effects, you have to have your playhead over the Fusion clip in your timeline and then go to the Fusion page.

2. Another type of Fusion comp is called Fusion Composition (which, to me, sounds a little more like what you were talking about). That's the one you can create directly in the media pool in the right-click menu, or from the Effects tab. All a Fusion Composition has is a duration in frames. You can edit it in Fusion directly in the media pool by double-clicking it there, or right-clicking as you mentioned. However, this will only affect the Media pool version of the fusion comp. Meaning every time you drag it to a timeline, you're creating an INSTANCE of that composition. If you want to edit the instance, you have to open it in the timeline.

3. If you want to edit a fusion comp and have it update all instances, there's a workaround: you have to first add it to a timeline, then right-click the fusion comp clip and make a Compound Clip out of it. That's what you then duplicate and put wherever you want. However, to edit it, you need to open the Compound Clip in its timeline (right-click > open in timeline). If you edit the Fusion comp you created in the media pool, nothing will happen.


I know I didn't answer your questions directly, but I hope that by clarifying some of the concepts you seem to not have understood completely yet, you'll get a better grasp on how Fusion comps work in Resolve and figure out what's happening in your specific case.

All right, this is going to be a lot, so bear with me hahaha

Thank you for taking the time, very much appreciated!

I'll take some time to digest your post and test but I was mistakingly saying 'clip' when I was using a 'composition' so thanks for that (title updated)...

Just a quick question to ensure I'm not going insane; am I right in saying it's confusing because of technical issues? Or is it by design and I'm missing something basic?

e.g...

1.
Why wouldn't you want to open and edit a Fusion comp from the Resolve timeline?

2.
Why wouldn't you want a 1-to-1 relationship between media pool & timeline compound clips by default (and only break the link when needed)?

OK, so after watching more vids, this one explains what you're saying the best...

Please, if I'm missing something basic, let me know.

Otherwise, I'll assume it's f'd-up for no reason and will either use the nested compound clip workaround or ONLY EVER edit the Media Pool version and drag it back to the timeline every time it's edited.

Cheers