Potential Bug in 19.1.1 Build 8 on Mac Silicon with Markers

I’m having a bit of a puzzling issue with markers in Fusion. When I switch between Fusion and the timeline, the names and colors of my markers keep disappearing. I wanted to use timeline markers in Fusion to time keyframes for my music, so I created a bunch of markers, renamed them, and assigned colors to make them stand out in Fusion. Except for a few audio tracks, my only video track in the timeline is a Fusion composition that includes my animation.

I opened that composition in Fusion using the page navigation. Inside Fusion, in the keyframe panel, my markers are displayed correctly with their colors and names. I did some timing there, moving keyframes around. Then I switched back to the timeline to add more markers or move them, switch back to Fusion, do some timing, and so on. After a few switches, suddenly most or all of my markers lose their color and/or names. That’s a real pain!

Am I missing something, or can anyone confirm this behavior and possibly report it as a bug?

Upon further investigation, I discovered that the issue arises when accidentally moving a marker within the Fusion Keyframes Panel. Subsequently, performing an „Undo“ action using the Command+Z keyboard shortcut. Upon subsequently returning to the timeline after the „Undo“ operation, the markers are altered..

Try adding the Markers to the audio clip instead of the timeline.

I’m having a bit of a puzzling issue with markers in Fusion. When I switch between Fusion and the timeline, the names and colors of my markers keep disappearing. I wanted to use timeline markers in Fusion to time keyframes for my music, so I created a bunch of markers, renamed them, and assigned colors to make them stand out in Fusion. Except for a few audio tracks, my only video track in the timeline is a Fusion composition that includes my animation.

Were the markers added to any particular track or on the timeline level? I am not sure if you can see markers if its on clip level, but you can see them if they are on time lime level. So better to use those.

I opened that composition in Fusion using the page navigation. Inside Fusion, in the keyframe panel, my markers are displayed correctly with their colors and names. I did some timing there, moving keyframes around. Then I switched back to the timeline to add more markers or move them, switch back to Fusion, do some timing, and so on. After a few switches, suddenly most or all of my markers lose their color and/or names. That’s a real pain! Am I missing something, or can anyone confirm this behavior and possibly report it as a bug?

Its hard to say what you might have done in the process. But I can't replicate it by simply switching back and forth.

By the way, some times for making it easier to work with audio and markers in they fusion keyframe editor. Not sure if you know some or all of them.

You can show markers list for list of markers where you can add, rename and sort them. And spreadsheet can be used for key-frames. This can be at times easier to get precise timing or organize many key frames or markers. SHIFT + G in the keyframe editor or right click on the ruler will show it.

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You can also scrub trough the audio to show cashed waveforms and you can purge audio or change audio track in the inspector of audio tab of the media in node.

You can also increase the size of lines and therefore waveform for easier marking and you can change appearance of keyframes. lines are probably more appropriate for this kind of work.

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There are some third party modifers for animating to waveforms. Like Suck Less Audio which should be available on reactor, where you can load up waveform and use it as modifier to animate almost anything in fusion to waveform by various methods. Pretty powerful. If you need that kind of function.

Thx for the good tips, I indeed did not know some of them.
You wrote:

Were the markers added to any particular track or on the timeline level? I am not sure if you can see markers if its on clip level, but you can see them if they are on time lime level. So better to use those.
…
Its hard to say what you might have done in the process. But I can't replicate it by simply switching back and forth.

My markers are place on timeline level. The steps to reproduce are:

1. Change some markers in the timeline and give some of them specific colors oand/or names
2. Switch to Fusion, intentionally oder accidentally move there some markers in the keyframe editor
3. Undo those moves with Command+Z, the colors and names are still shwon correctly
4. Switch back into the the Edit Page, at least some of the markers have lost color and/or names.

Best Andreas

My markers are place on timeline level. The steps to reproduce are:

1. Change some markers in the timeline and give some of them specific colors oand/or names
2. Switch to Fusion, intentionally oder accidentally move there some markers in the keyframe editor
3. Undo those moves with Command+Z, the colors and names are still shwon correctly
4. Switch back into the the Edit Page, at least some of the markers have lost color and/or names.

Best Andreas

Ah, now it makes sense. Step 3 is the key. History system between fusion and resolve is the key difference. They are not the same history system, so when you undo something in fusion you are not reflecting that in edit page, or any other page, hence you break the link. And back in edit page, with missing information, resolve seems to default to just generic names and color for markers. And when you go back to edit page, resolve being the dominant force for markers here, sends the generic makers back to fusion. So they are reflected there.

But the other way you have to be careful. it works when you change something but not when you invoke fusion history to undo something, because its a separate fusion system that does not communicate with the rest of resolve. That is what seems to be the issue. Avoid doing undo thing, if you are using markers across the application. If its only in fusion or only in rest of resolve, than you should be fine, because that history systems are separate from each other and undo redo action can break something. In this case markers which are needed to be shared.

This is also true for some other things, and basically you should think of fusion page as a completely separate application in almost anything, unless you use specific methods of connecting it with the rest of the resolve. Its like connection points and some go only one way. I didn't realize this is the case for markers, because quite frankly I never did the same workflow as you did, so I never undo the markers in fusion. If you just rename the markers, move them in time , either in edit page or fusion page, they should mutually update each other and stay in sync.

You can however undo while you are in edit page or cut page and fusion will not lose connection. Its just when you undo in fusion. Probably of the two one is the dominant, and that is logical to be the resolve because it has to carry the markers across the other pages and keep track of that all the way to deliver page, plus in the dedicated panel for markers. And in media pool. So I think its the one that takes priority and fusion works as long as you don't undo while inside fusion.

Hope that sheds some light on this topic.

...I created a bunch of markers, renamed them, and assigned colors to make them stand out in Fusion. ... I switched back to the timeline ... most or all of my markers lose their color and/or names. That’s a real pain! ... can anyone confirm this behavior and possibly report it as a bug?

Upon further investigation, I discovered that ... accidentally moving a marker within the Fusion Keyframes ... performing an „Undo“ ... subsequently returning to the timeline ... the markers are altered..

Ah, now it makes sense. ... History system between fusion and resolve is the key difference. They are not the same history system, so when you undo something in fusion you are not reflecting that in edit page, or any other page, hence you break the link. ... Avoid doing undo thing, if you are using markers across the application. ...

I can confirm this still occurs in Davinci Resolve 19.1.4 Build 11 and Yes, it is most definitely a bug.

I ran into this... worrisome... fortunately I had a backup of my markers.

Thanks Kruno for clarifying it's an undo history bug related to DR's multi-app integration, for the tip to avoid marker undo for now.

BM folks in case helpful, this is very easy to reproduce:

1. Create Project, Timeline (my proj used a 30 FPS timeline).
2. Drag Fusion comp from Effects to the timeline.
3. Add non-default colored (i.e., red) markers at 1, 2, 3 seconds on the timeline.
4. Go to Fusion.
5. Drag one of the markers, drop it some frames away from its original location... i.e., 15 frames to the left or right.
6. Say to yourself, "Whoops, that was a mistake. No worries, BM DR Undo has got my back!" and proceed to press Ctrl+Z or otherwise perform an Undo. The marker returns to its position.
7. Go back to the Edit page, observe the markers are messed up, have lost their text and coloring. The marker that was not "accidentally" moved is moved, and all others are default blue with default text "Marker <n>" and so forth.