Clip Locking

Would like to be able to Clip lock so i can lock a clip which stops it from being cut so when doing inserts i could lock a music track or audio track and insert broll or other segments. This would be done with right clicking and a keyboard shorcut. also clip will have a darkened boarder around to show its been locked.

a toggle button could be helpful too for it.

Track locking isnt as useful because then everything will be out of sync.

How does locking a track make things go out of sync?

when a track is locked it locks all music and audio in that track. So if i lock a track that is the music track, or the interviewie track, if i insert a section the music will get out of sync down the line, or the music will get out of sync. currently i insert if the tracks not locked and then pull the music track back together and delete the joined cut.

i use the tracks and busses in fairlight to add the audio effect on track basis.

I always (not only on Resolve but Avid and Premiere too) use additional unsync "trash" track, when edit with music in the middle of the project, simply drop music clip on this track, when finish pick up it back.

still an extra step. i think a hot key to 'lock clip' will be very well recieved and stand out from premiere.

Really? I must select clip and drop down, after edit, select clip and put up, in your idea you must select clip and lock it, after edit select clip and unlock.

and unlock the track and relock the track. Its much easier to lock a clip, and leave it locked and not worry about tracks. Also for video clips, not just audio. it allows this clip to not be changed, but its postion can be.

I don't lock track only unsync it but I understand your idea but I think it's not "must have" feature.

unsyncing and not locking track does not prevent an insert edit from effecting the clip? so we are talking about different uses. they already have the position lock, which locks all tracks. Clip locking would be very useful to lots of people who use ripple cut and insert for moving sections around.

if i insert a section the music will get out of sync down the line

I'm still not understanding. If you want things to shift, why are you locking the track?

when using through cut and ripple cut followed by paste insert, depending on where i paste it and where i cut it, i wouldnt want the music track to be changed or other audio tracks or adjustment layers also. either from the location im cutting or the location im pasting. Would like to individually lock certain clips to avoid messing with where im inserting it. but i do want everything thats not directly in the area im inserting to be effected approximitly.

If Blackmagic has any questions im happy to make a screen capture to show and discuss.

What's a "through cut"?

i do want everything thats not directly in the area im inserting to be effected approximitly.

So put them on different tracks.

maybe i made up the term but through cut is what i call a cut everything beneath the playhead, all tracks that arent locked.

For my workflow, which is very fast, being able to lock an adjustment clip, or a music track would be a huge benefit.

I have a request for a feature that I believe will transform the editing experience in Resolve. That feature is to allow us video editors to lock a music clip that we have added to the timeline so that it will not be chopped up. this is different to locking the track, or switching off the Edit Selector for the track, as it will allow that piece of music to remain linked to a particular set of clips, that it is related to, and move around the timeline as they move.

To explain why this feature is so valuable, particularly to users of FCP X who are used to the power of the Magnetic timeline, let me give you an example: Say I am editing a film that has in intro with music, and a middle section with several clips that is also set to music, and then later on an ending series of clips that are also set to music. In Resolve today, to both keep the music synced to the right set of clips, I will have to place each piece of music on its own track, and then when I am editing clips in the first segment, I will have to remember to turn on the Edit selector for the later two music tracks (to keep them linked to their section), and turn off the Edit selector for the first music track (to avoid it being chopped up when I edit clips above it.) But as I move to make edits in the second section, I have to remember to turn off the Edit Selector for that 2nd piece of music, otherwise it will get chopped up as I edit the clips above it. And if I start editing in the starting section, I will have to remember to turn off the first music track's Edit Selector, and turn back on the 2nd music track's edit selector. This is a HUGE pain in the backside, and doesn't happen with the Magnetic timeline in FCP X. The simple solution to the problem is to allow me to lock the clips (not the tracks) that contain the music, and now I can forget about turning on and off the Edit Selectors as I move around the timeline.

Since almost all movies use music that no one wants to see chopped up, I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project. So a highly valuable and transformative feature, and probably fairly easy to implement. It would also add enormously to the Cut page, as if you link a music track to a clip and edit in the Cut Page, you won't know that you are accidentally chopping up that music when you make edits in the Cut Page (yes - this has happened to me).

May I please ask that this be passed to the Product Managers for careful consideration.
Thank you.

@cire30a - I have exactly the same feature request, and have detailed why it is so valuable to an editor in the post that is called "Lock Clip - FEATURE REQUEST that would transform Resolve". Please can I ask you to find that post, and add your support for the feature request.

Here is an explanation of why it is needed: To explain why this feature is so valuable, particularly to users of FCP X who are used to the power of the Magnetic timeline, let me give you an example: Say I am editing a film that has in intro with music, and a middle section with several clips that is also set to music, and then later on an ending series of clips that are also set to music. In Resolve today, to both keep the music synced to the right set of clips, I will have to place each piece of music on its own track, and then when I am editing clips in the first segment, I will have to remember to turn on the Edit selector for the later two music tracks (to keep them linked to their section), and turn off the Edit selector for the first music track (to avoid it being chopped up when I edit clips above it.) But as I move to make edits in the second section, I have to remember to turn off the Edit Selector for that 2nd piece of music, otherwise it will get chopped up as I edit the clips above it. And if I start editing in the starting section, I will have to remember to turn off the first music track's Edit Selector, and turn back on the 2nd music track's edit selector. This is a HUGE pain in the backside, and doesn't happen with the Magnetic timeline in FCP X. The simple solution to the problem is to allow me to lock the clips (not the tracks) that contain the music, and now I can forget about turning on and off the Edit Selectors as I move around the timeline.

Since almost all movies use music that no one wants to see chopped up, I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project. So a highly valuable and transformative feature, and probably fairly easy to implement. It would also add enormously to the Cut page, as if you link a music track to a clip and edit in the Cut Page, you won't know that you are accidentally chopping up that music when you make edits in the Cut Page (yes - this has happened to me).

@jim simon @cire30a - I very strongly understand where @cire30a is coming from, and don't believe you have fully understood why this feature is needed and is so powerful. Here is an example of why it is needed:

Say I am editing a film that has in intro with music, and a middle section with several clips that is also set to music, and then later on an ending series of clips that are also set to music. In Resolve today, to both keep the music synced to the right set of clips, I will have to place each piece of music on its own track, and then when I am editing clips in the first segment, I will have to remember to turn on the Edit selector for the later two music tracks (to keep them linked to their section), and turn off the Edit selector for the first music track (to avoid it being chopped up when I edit clips above it.) But as I move to make edits in the second section, I have to remember to turn off the Edit Selector for that 2nd piece of music, otherwise it will get chopped up as I edit the clips above it. And if I start editing in the starting section, I will have to remember to turn off the first music track's Edit Selector, and turn back on the 2nd music track's edit selector. This is a HUGE pain in the backside, and doesn't happen with the Magnetic timeline in FCP X. The simple solution to the problem is to allow me to lock the clips (not the tracks) that contain the music, and now I can forget about turning on and off the Edit Selectors as I move around the timeline.

Since almost all movies use music that no one wants to see chopped up, I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project. So a highly valuable and transformative feature, and probably fairly easy to implement. It would also add enormously to the Cut page, as if you link a music track to a clip and edit in the Cut Page, you won't know that you are accidentally chopping up that music when you make edits in the Cut Page (yes - this has happened to me).

I have posted a Feature Request that is titled: "Lock Clip - FEATURE REQUEST that would transform Resolve". Please can I ask you to find that post and support the request so that it has a higher chance of being implemented.

I would definitely support a lock on each clip - for exactly the reasons you give. It would be a massive time-saver!

I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project.

In 20 years of editing, I've never had this problem.

I've also never used the highly unconventional (and in my view, very wrong) Magnetic Timeline from FCP X.

Whole hog magnetic timelines or not, the OP's suggestion deserves scrutiny. The FCPX design absolutely does have its advantages, in saved time and aggravation, once you're used to it.

I will add a vote for this feature.

@jim simon - if you used music clips in your videos underneath a series of video clips that you continue to edit, you will have encountered this problem. If you have found a solution to this problem, please share that with other users. If you don't use music clips, then I would politely suggest that your usage pattern is not relevant to this discussion.

I also find in interesting that you comment so strongly on FCP X's magnetic timeline having never used it. I would argue that the only way to really understand the very significant advantages that the magnetic timeline brings is to use it. In my humble opinion, it is a big leap forward in timeline design, and it has been tough going back to a conventional timeline in moving to Davinci Resolve. (But worth it for the superb color grading tools.)

Locking clips would be a godsend. Track locking is essential, and added to the styles of editing that run the gamut from decades to the present, locking a clip is a no brainer. Thanks

@jim simon - if you used music clips in your videos underneath a series of video clips that you continue to edit, you will have encountered this problem.

Yep. Happened to me the other day. Really problematic was that I didn't discover what I'd done until hours later.

"Lock Clip" would have saved me a lot of repair time.

+1 for this! I'm new to Resolve and I was looking up how to lock clips due to having all kinds of problems in the Trim Edit Mode (which I have to use because trying to move clips with transitions in the normal Selection Mode automatically deletes transitions). There still doesn't appear to be a way to lock clips, so I'm giving this a bump!

I've been having a love-hate relationship with Resolve thus far. Coming from Vegas Pro I'm surprised to see how many basic editing features are missing in Resolve given that there are many advanced features that blow Vegas out of the water. Somehow Resolve learned to run before it learned to crawl.

Please focus on getting the basics ironed out! For basic editing, Vegas absolutely crushes Resolve at the moment.

+1

I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project.

In 20 years of editing, I've never had this problem.

I've also never used the highly unconventional (and in my view, very wrong) Magnetic Timeline from FCP X.

I have to agree Jim... Stow College (as you may be aware) was primarily known for the music element in the Music and Creative Industries department - having helped spawn bands such as Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol etc. ...Part of our emphasis in teaching TV production was on music video. It's a feature we would discourage the use of - partly because it doesn't generally exist; but mainly because the student would be expected (in terms of assessment) to work in a more structured way which obviated the need for it.

Somehow Resolve learned to run before it learned to crawl

Sometimes less is more... Resolve was crawling in the early 80s. It's not (as I too-often find myself saying) a kiddies' toy. - Serious professional equipment very often is missing some of the 'props' found on amateur or 'pro-sumer' similes

It's not (as I too-often find myself saying) a kiddies' toy. - Serious professional equipment very often is missing some of the 'props' found on amateur or 'pro-sumer' similes

I'm talking about basic editing capabilities. Things like moving clips with crossfade/transitions without deleting the transition entirely or affecting other clips, placing one clip on top of other clips without deleting the other clips, more complex fade in/out curves other than just linear and snapping fade handles to frame when snap is enabled are not "props".

Simple crossfade/transition editing and fade in/out I would call "crawling" while adjustment clips are "running". That is what I'm saying. As someone who spends a lot of time adjusting crossfades/transitions I would really like to see this editing behavior improved. I am working on a detailed feature request post for some my most pressing editing issues and solutions for how to fix them.

I am working on a detailed feature request post for some my most pressing editing issues and solutions for how to fix them.

...And I am concurring with another experienced editor; from the perspective of someone who has not only spent over 25 years as a legitimate professional involved in non-linear editing, and some 40 overall; but 12 years teaching the subject to young professionals at college level.

I've no objection to you raising a feature request - I simply (more or less) concur with Jim.

@jim simon - if you used music clips in your videos underneath a series of video clips that you continue to edit, you will have encountered this problem. If you have found a solution to this problem, please share that with other users. If you don't use music clips, then I would politely suggest that your usage pattern is not relevant to this discussion.

I can also tell you that if you were completing a video edit for assessment purposes - at what was one of the UK's most successful MCI colleges, or indeed any other place delivering to the same academic standard you would be required to avoid this issue by other means - for the simple reason that we teach people to edit in a disciplined way; not to just 'drive' one particular program.

You wrote;

I have to believe that this problem exists for every editor, and in pretty much every project.

No... not 'every editor' not 'every project'; that's the point Jim made.

"Coming from Vegas Pro I'm surprised to see how many basic editing features are missing in Resolve given that there are many advanced features that blow Vegas out of the water.

'Vegas Pro' eh? - Nuff said!

One of the points Jim made was that he felt the feature in FCP was 'wrong'. I tend to concur (to a point)... as an educator and business owner, one major time and resource waster is the need to disconnect new entrants to the industry from bad habits (i.e. 'unconventions') they've picked up during their amateur phase; and the reason that happens is that they've become used to equipment and software offering automations that are neither required nor desirable in a professional context.

By all means do feel free to campaign for features that you feel may be useful. However please don't assume that the 'problems' you (and perhaps others) are having because of the way you work are universal.

Does it not actually occur to you that NLE has been the mainstream edit process in professional television production for over a 1/4 century, and that its history goes back to the early 1980s? And that in all that time, innumerable programmes of all types have been successfully edited (on Resolve and other platforms) with music clips etc... So, if this were a basic need, or a common problem ('to all editors') why wasn't it addressed, across the board, decades ago? - Rhetorical question!

Matt Quinn, you confused me with David Skok as some of the quotes you provided from "me" were not actually from me. I have not provided many details regarding the issues I have with Resolve's editing yet. It appears the majority of your post was directed at David so I'll let you two work that out.

'Vegas Pro' eh? - Nuff said!

Alright, then keep an eye out for my feature request post and see if you disagree with any of the issues I bring up. You might be surprised! I asked a question about one of them already (which I'll be including in my feature request post) and you can check that out here:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=155965

Maybe it's because Vegas started out as an audio editor, but the way it works with video feels very similar to the way DAW's work with audio, which is very powerful not "props" or "kiddies' toys". Why not welcome these features to help make Resolve even better?

Finally, from my understanding Resolve started out exclusively for color grading and within the last few versions have made it more comprehensive for editing. I think with some minor changes, the editing could be a whole lot smoother.

Matt Quinn, you confused me with David Skok as some of the quotes you provided from "me" were not actually from me. I have not provided many details regarding the issues I have with Resolve's editing yet. It appears the majority of your post was directed at David so I'll let you two work that out.

I apologise for that.

Maybe it's because Vegas started out as an audio editor, but the way it works with video feels very similar to the way DAW's work with audio, which is very powerful not "props" or "kiddies' toys". Why not welcome these features to help make Resolve even better?

...Why not welcome the replacement of conventional cutlery with sporks? - Teach your kids to eat with one and they'll have a problem in later life; you do them no favours by infantilising them. - And one of the major follies (in teaching and learning terms) is encouraging people to become 'one trick ponies' tied to a particular piece of software. - Besides which this doesn't happen to every (professional) editor. - In fact if it happened to a student of mine I'd be booking them some remediation hours.

Finally, from my understanding Resolve started out exclusively for color grading and within the last few versions have made it more comprehensive for editing. I think with some minor changes, the editing could be a whole lot smoother.

Pretty much... and in many respects it's both one of the oldest swingers in town and late to the party. - It was mainly the 'orbital' price and hardware dependencies that kept it from today's wider audience. The main selling point is that it's pretty much an industry-standard editor - the thing it actually sells is hardware... you need BMD hardware (for example) to drive a proper video monitor; which for many of is is an absolute essential.

Some in the industry have criticised it in terms of a 'race to the bottom'. Certainly, if it becomes over-infantilised there is a danger of it no longer meeting the needs of industry or education. And there have been some issues lately with some frankly daft mistakes emerging - both on the software and hardware side.

Matt Quinn, you are still confusing me with David Skok.

Besides which this doesn't happen to every (professional) editor. - In fact if it happened to a student of mine I'd be booking them some remediation hours.

I am not the one who said "this happens to every editor". Please re-read my comments because you are still attributing things David said to me, his comments are not mine.

Why not welcome the replacement of conventional cutlery with sporks? - Teach your kids to eat with one and they'll have a problem in later life; you do them no favours by infantilising them.

You are making a lot of assumptions here. What "infantile" changes do you think I'm suggesting and why do you think they are "infantile"?

Did you look at my question that I linked to? I provided GIF images (from Reaper and Vegas) of the editing behavior I am looking for and I explained the issues I have with the editing modes in Resolve (Selection Mode and Trim Edit Mode).
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=155965

Regardless of what you think of Vegas (and I agree with you for the most part, Vegas is very limited) the editing behavior I'm looking for is also standard in DAWs and there is certainly nothing "infantile" about editing in DAWs. Why shouldn't Resolve learn from them and implement features that make it faster/easier to work with?

I'm addressing the issues raised by the O/P and concurring with Jim. That's all.

My general comment that you responded to was how it feels like Resolve learned to run before it learned to crawl. But in regards to the OP, clip lock is not "infantile" either as this is also a standard feature in DAWs. Resolve has track locking and clip locking provides the same functionality but on a clip by clip basis. I found this request while searching the forum for a way to lock clips. Since this request had already been made, I bumped it instead of making a new request for the same feature.

As previously explained... the problem this proposal 'addresses' is not a universal one, as others seem to imagine. - The matter is dealt with through procedural discipline... and no; I'm not about to start running an HN Non-Linear Edit class here.

The facility exists on DAWS for a good reason...it eases waveform matching being (I'm lead to believe - I'm not an audio tech), one. Certain prosumer edit programs have apparently adopted it too to make life easier for their target audience...who enjoy a degree of freedom and unaccountability that most professional do not.

Ultimately, this is akin to telling a professional Motor Mechanic that a shifting spanner is an essential tool and will make their life better - because Plumbers commonly use them! ...In fact you'll round off more nuts with one than you'll undo and they're considered a 'last resort' when things get desperate - by any serious engineer at lest...

As I said... I've no particular objection to you or anyone else asking for whatever.

Ok, it seems like there was a misunderstanding because I was not the one who said it was a universal issue. I understand that everyone has different needs and I would never say or imply that everyone is having the same issues I'm having. I was simply searching the forum for a way to lock clips due to the issues I'm having with certain editing functions rippling or even deleting clips/transitions and I came across this request, so I bumped it. It's a simple way to ensure completed work doesn't get altered and won't get in the way if you don't use it (right-click > lock clip(s)).

I know this is a year-old thread, but I really don't care.

The level of elitism on display in this thread is unbelievable. I'm new to video editing, but I've been a professional software engineer for 15 years, and if I ever heard one of my senior engineers sneeringly mocking a junior engineer and referring to themselves as "legitimate professional programmers," they would be instantly reprimanded and summarily fired if they kept it up.

I don't know how y'all have forgotten what it was like to be new at something, but you should be ashamed of yourselves. Not only have you shown yourselves to be anything but professional, you're also doing your part to ensure that DR stagnates and dies by gatekeeping feature requests and mocking anyone who uses NLEs you deem as lesser.

Truly pathetic behavior.

To the newbies who posted here, and anyone else who may stumble upon this thread and feel intimidated or condescended to: just keep doing your thing. People who act this way don't deserve your reverence and will quickly be replaced by those with open minds, left to stagnate in a dimly-lit corner while ranting to themselves about the "good old days."

I would have no problem with having the ability to lock a single clip on the Edit page (as opposed to the entire timeline) if it were doable. I've certainly encountered issues where I accidentally moved a clip and didn't notice it until it was almost too late.

Related: I've asked before for the ability to lock a single NODE on the Color page so there's no way for a user to accidentally alter it. (This would be beyond Enabling or Disabling the node.)

I for one would certainly make use of clip locking in Resolve. It's something I use all the time in Pro Tools.

Now you can lock a track and all the clips on it. I would like an option to lock only one clip so it can not be dragged on the track unintentionally.

+1 for CLIP LOCK

TRACK CLIP LOCK is good for when your timeline is done and all your clips are synced to audio, but the ability to lock INDIVIDUAL CLIPS is needed when you build your clips in a non-linear way, to sync to a music track.

I do music videos and I place the important clips here and there SYNCED to the audio track so there are gaps in the video track, then later-on I place the less important / B-roll clips in those gaps.

It's imperative that my important clips remain locked / synced to audio throughout this building process, but NOT LOCKING THE WHOLE TRACK as I cannot add my other clips to it.

Also adding a video track for every important clip I non-linearily place / sync to audio in my timeline (then lock that track) will give me tons of video tracks...

Maybe I'm missing something about an intended Resolve workflow that already exist for that, a workflow that I'm not aware of?

I just did a search for "Lock Clip" in the Resolve 18.5 manual and nothing showed-up.

I would really like that feature too so I just posted in the Feature Request forum, there was already a thread there for that "Lock Clip" request.

Hope this simple function can be implemented soon as it is important for my workflow, and by reading this thread here, I'm not the only one.

+1 for LOCK CLIP (as opposed to locking the whole video track)

My workflow would greatly benefit from that simple but important feature of locking individual clips.

Another + 1 for clip lock. I had thought it was already there but I just couldn't find it in the manual.

+1

What's a "through cut"?

This is a clip on an Edit timeline that's has a cut in it, but no actual change: the shot just "plays through" the entire scene. We tell clients to clean their lists to eliminate this phenomena, because it wreaks havoc on the Color page... particularly when we have (say) one 1-minute shot that has 3 splits in it. If nothing is changing in terms of speed or framing, we'd rather eliminate the unnecessary cuts and just have a single clip instead.

I think the "Flatten Unused Clips" command will do that (at least, last I checked it did). In the old days, we'd ask for a "clean EDL" (using utilities like 409 to literally "clean the list" of through edits and unused clips) to simplify the conform.

+1 for Clip Locking

+1.

Having a way to be 100% sure you are not accidently rippling things out of sequence would be a huge time saver when working on complex timelines.

Currently I have to "pop out" a middle section I am working on into a "temp working area" timeline then put it back. That is, sadly, a very slow way of working.

+1 for Clip locking here too. Seems an excellent way of preventing headaches where important footage gets moved that you didn't want moved.