Blackmagic Forum

Listen...we all love the fusion tab. It's amazing for compositing. But motion graphics? Still a bit of a pain when compared to after effects.

Yes I know that it's just "different" with nodes, and I should " just get used to it," but let's be honest there's so much still to be desired when it comes to Resolve and motion graphics

There's very rarely a Resolve convert that I talk to that doesn't still pay Adobe for After Effects. It's just better and faster for mograph for the majority of people – partly because that's what they used for years but also because that's what After Effects is built for now.

So when I found Cavalry I was pretty blown away. It's the mograph tab I've been looking for/dreaming of for Resolve. There's still some room to grow for sure. But if Resolve had this, it would round out the program and almost completely dissolve the need for AE. A layer-based motion graphics software is still so valuable when it comes to video editing.

So please, Blackmagic – acquire calvary and make the mograph tab a reality. Let's get rid of Adobe asap.

If you haven't seen cavalry – check it out for FREE here:
https://cavalry.scenegroup.co/

Overview for Cavalry (the future mograph tab)


And let's get the layer-based mograph tab we all want – even if Fusion is incredible. Let fusion be what it is – an amazing compositing software.

thanks for sharing

It sounds like you just need to use some tutorials. Software like Nuke also is node based. Fusion is easy to use once you understand the concept.

ShaheedMalik wrote:It sounds like you just need to use some tutorials. Software like Nuke also is node based. Fusion is easy to use once you understand the concept.

This argument most often comes from people who's brains are wired to work with nodes. But if you remember school, kids who have been good in art class most often sucked at maths, physics ect and vice versa. Not a rule, but a rule of thumb. And just like some people have a visual memory while others don't, node based and layer based systems will always work differently on differently wired people.

Personally, node based motion graphics is a PITA for me and I'd argue that most creative people have a much easier time using layers.

What I think is missing to fusion is the Calvalry's "Constrain" or/and Motion's "Behaviours"
Elastic animation applied to anything and linking process with drag & drop

It could be a brand new kind of fusion's "Modifiers" .. or nodes

I just checked the software, man, this is a great tool! And it's free? I'll try it out!

I think like Mathieu on this subject.

And for me, nodes are superiors in every way.
In one of their videos, they said that there is a "node graph" driving their tools, but it's presented in a "AE" style to the user.

What can be done with Cavalry can be done with Resolve... Blackmagic just need to implemented with new nodes, nodes settings and modifiers (like Mathieu said).

And thanks for sharing this video.

a really good example of combining the power of nodes and mograph is MOPS in houdini. maybe that could be a better direction to go for instead of cavalry.

Michel Rabe wrote:Personally, node based motion graphics is a PITA for me and I'd argue that most creative people have a much easier time using layers.

Nodegraph motion graphics is a pita for most people. Nodegraph simply exposes a different kind of view into the processing and this kind of view makes time management harder. As a Nuke user I’d use AE for mograph stuff although I don’t like using it.

Videoneth wrote:In one of their videos, they said that there is a "node graph" driving their tools, but it's presented in a "AE" style to the user.

Any layer setup can be converted to a processing graph and most probably is converted in most, if not all softwares, including AE. Operations ordering and dependency resolving is a foundational necessity.

Any layer setup can be converted to a processing graph and most probably is converted in most, if not all softwares, including AE. Operations ordering and dependency resolving is a foundational necessity.

Yeah I get that. But it's not always obvious for the general user, and since we interact with nodes directly in Fusion, I just wanted to point at what the guy from Cavalry said.

It points the huge space for improvements in fusion for Mograph

gjhobbs wrote:the fusion tab. It's amazing for compositing. But motion graphics? Still a bit of a pain when compared to after effects.

Well...

The "subject" isn't
- to know if Node are better than Layer or what you can do when you are an advanced user
- how to make fusion work with layer
So may be the good path for BlackMagicDesign is how to make Mograph simpler (but still as powerful) in Fusion.
As we can see there is many ideas in other software (Node or layer based)

EDIT
BlackMagicDesign try something with the "AnimCurves" Modifier..... but seem very heavy on CPU when multiple are used

Olivier MATHIEU wrote:The "subject" isn't
- to know if Node are better than Layer or what you can do when you are an advanced user
- how to make fusion work with layer
So may be the good path for BlackMagicDesign is how to make Mograph simpler (but still as powerful) in Fusion.
As we can see there is many ideas in other software (Node or layer based)

The thing is Fusion already works with layers. Load a layered Photoshop file into Fusion and take a look at it.

Michel Rabe wrote:

ShaheedMalik wrote:It sounds like you just need to use some tutorials. Software like Nuke also is node based. Fusion is easy to use once you understand the concept.

This argument most often comes from people who's brains are wired to work with nodes. But if you remember school, kids who have been good in art class most often sucked at maths, physics ect and vice versa. Not a rule, but a rule of thumb. And just like some people have a visual memory while others don't, node based and layer based systems will always work differently on differently wired people.

Personally, node based motion graphics is a PITA for me and I'd argue that most creative people have a much easier time using layers.

As someone who came directly from After Effects, I didn't understand the concept of Nodes either. I watched some of Casey Faris' videos on Fusion and dragged a PSD file into Fusion and was able to figure it out.

Now that I am using Nodes, it makes perfect sense and is superior to Layer based composition. The best way to figure it out is to load a layered Photoshop file into Fusion and you will be able to understand it.

gjhobbs wrote:Listen...we all love the fusion tab. It's amazing for compositing. But motion graphics? Still a bit of a pain when compared to after effects. Yes I know that it's just "different" with nodes, and I should " just get used to it," but let's be honest there's so much still to be desired when it comes to Resolve and motion graphics

I have to say, I'm driven mad by Resolve's built-in Titler. It's been kludgy for many years. (Avid owners complain that their titler sucks, too.)

I would love to see the Resolve Titler completely rewritten and provided with a much more user-friendly range of Title effects -- without having to get into the Fusion page.

ShaheedMalik wrote:It sounds like you just need to use some tutorials. Software like Nuke also is node based. Fusion is easy to use once you understand the concept.

Well that's the thing. I LOVE fusion for compositing. When I'm doing sky replacements or compositing actual footage – I think it beats after effects any day. Nodes make way more sense in that context than layers. But when it comes to mograph it's still super clunky, and gets messy fast.

Fusion feels like it's built for compositing and VFX. But 2D animation and mograph? Building complex lower thirds? Simple character animation? Feels like an afterthought most of the time. It's not so much about the nodes vs layers – I'll even admit that some of the tools in fusion are way better than AE. But overall, fusion doesn't feel like best tool for that job – hence the hole in Resolve that keeps people going back to after effects time and time again.

Marc Wielage wrote: I would love to see the Resolve Titler completely rewritten and provided with a much more user-friendly range of Title effects -- without having to get into the Fusion page.

Totally agree! And that's what I'm rooting for. It doesn't have to be huge overhaul. But titles and 2D mograph feel like they're sorely lacking in resolve!

Olivier MATHIEU wrote:The "subject" isn't
- to know if Node are better than Layer or what you can do when you are an advanced user
- how to make fusion work with layer
So may be the good path for BlackMagicDesign is how to make Mograph simpler (but still as powerful) in Fusion.
As we can see there is many ideas in other software (Node or layer based)

EDIT
BlackMagicDesign try something with the "AnimCurves" Modifier..... but seem very heavy on CPU when multiple are used

This ^^^ Exactly what I'm saying. It's not about Nodes or Layers – they both have their pros and cons. It's about making mograph fast/better in Resolve and leaving AE and Adobe behind.

Mograph needs to be realtime be it Nodes or Layers - Fusion in Resolve just isnt...or wont....until then, Resolve will be playing catchup to the Cavaly's or Left Angle's Autograph. It's a pretty contested software space atm...even Unreal is getting into it!

I totally Agree
Real time is mandatory

+100
For editors, broadcast or even corporate projects, real time GPU accelerated lower third animations and titles are a must. We are not asking for elaborate 3D or particle simulations, but simple text animations, some transparencies. Text with graphic backgrounds etc should be able to play real time without rendering in place each time, bogging down the whole project, or not being able to see final result when fx are disabled.