Better Still Capture & Management

Hi!

While we have common Still Folders that are unique for each project and PowerGrade folders that are unique for each database, I think the gap is huge and offers some challenges if the database is used for multiple projects.

For example: If I use just one database for all projects and have multiple series, each with multiple episodes (one project for episode), then using PowerGrades to store stills from all episodes quicky goes out of hand because of the sheer amount of PowerGrade Bins that show to every project. And using regular Still Bins would require me to import (duplicate) the same DPX stills for each project, what can quickly become a time and space waste.

OBS: I know the most optimized thing would be to run a separate database for each series, but some organizational decisions might be beyond my scope as a freelancer hired for specific jobs in finishing facilities.

My first suggestion would be to add Folders to organize the PowerGrade Bins, allowing us to use the PowerGrades functionality while also keeping it tidy, showing only the Bins we'd want, while the others could be behind closed folders. Having the option to, in addition to the Folder structure, show only one folder can also be a very good thing.

The other problem is about the stills codec. I know DPX are one of the lightest lossless codec to encode, speeding up still grabing and ensuring high quality previews. But especially in the age of Macbooks and iPads, when we get little hard drive space, a 10bit PNG is much more convenient and would save a lot of storage. So my second suggestion is to add an option, be it in the Project Settings or in the global User Settings, to change the stills default grabing codec between DPX, 10bit PNG or lossy JPEG.

I hope it makes sense for you all!

You can have more than one PowerGrade album. Just right click on one.

And if you double-click on it, you can rename it to the specific series.

You can have more than one PowerGrade album. Just right click on one. And if you double-click on it, you can rename it to the specific series.

Yes, and I go a step further: I export all the PowerGrades to like-named folders, then keep the exports (DRX grade files and DPX still files) on a thumbdrive so in case I have to work on somebody else's Resolve system, I can port over all my PowerGrades very quickly. I don't think it takes much more than 5-6 minutes to set up (and I have 10 or 12 different PowerGrade folders).

I don't mind them using DPX files -- to me, storage space is so meaningless and cheap nowadays, it doesn't matter anymore. It did matter 15 years ago, but not in 2025.

You can have more than one PowerGrade album. Just right click on one.

And if you double-click on it, you can rename it to the specific series.

I know there can be multiple PowerGrade albums, my suggestion is to even be able to sort them in folders of albums. The way the Stills are named make it impossible to easily sort or distinguish from episode to episode, so in practice it ends requiring an album for each EP. Managing lots of PowerGrade albuns in a busy database with lots of TV shows, series and movies is not convenient. Having a way to organize them in folders would be perfect.

Also, a way to import and export multiple albums at once from another project, or from folders in the storage is also very much needed.

I can port over all my PowerGrades very quickly

Marc, in this case, I'm not talking about using PowerGrades as preset grades that you can save and reuse, I'm talking about using the shared between projects characteristic of the PowerGrades to store image references and grades of previous episodes. In that way, each system in a network database can use the same references, and the stills are to be kept for an extended period of time.

Also, storage isn't cheap for everybody, everywhere in the world. Being able to use a lossless codec that uses just a fraction of the space is convenient even for keeping stills internally in Macbooks or thumbdrives.

There is always room for improvement, and it's not just because something has been working well since ever that we can't think in ways to make it better and more convenient.

Having a way to organize them in folders would be perfect.

Ahhh.

Yeah, until then a separate Library for each series might be your best option. Then you get an album for each episode.

And a better Stills / Grade "storage" for multiple Resolve workstations on the same server. I don't know why some grade are missing when you open the same project on different machines.

I will not mind to have FOLDERS in the gallery presentation…

+1 for me (even if we do use different databases for different projects)

+1