Our great sponsors
-
resolve
Container scripts to build and run DaVinci Resolve [Studio] for Linux using Docker or Podman
-
WorkOS
The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.
"close enough to a NLE"?? What the--
DaVinci Resolve has included a standalone non-linear editor since 2014. Today it has every major feature one would expect from a NLE-- with the noted exception of a lack of some codecs in the Linux version due to licensing issues, AAC being conspicuously one of them. So ffmpeg is often needed for transcoding media. I have a fair amount of familiarity with Avid, Final Cut Pro (7, not X), and to a lesser degree Adobe Premiere, and some experience with other NLEs from OpenShot to iMovie to Lightworks to Blender's NLE. Not only is DVR a feature-packed NLE- it ALSO includes a ProTools-like audio editing component called Fairlight, a node-based 2d/3d After Effects-like component (which integrates neatly with Blender) called Fusion, and a best-in-class color grading tool, for which Resolve is probably best known, which has roots going back to the DaVinci color correction systems of the 1980s.
DaVinci Resolve has not one NLE interface, but TWO-- the traditional Avid-like Edit page, and a new "Cut Page" (the one that appears in the iPad demo videos), which I think first showed up in DaVinci Resolve 17 (18 is current) and that is meant as a faster UI for doing a rough assembly that heavily integrates with the "Speed Editor" specialized hardware. For a while, there were deals where the Speed Editor came free with a ($300) Studio License. Now, I think it's $400 maybe (?) The paid Studio version includes extra features like more plugins (many of which use neural networks to, say, infer depth or separate objects from backgrounds), headless python scripting, 3d audio, 8k export, and pro stuff like that.
I'm presuming the iPad version will also work with the Speed Editor (it can connect via bluetooth or USB).
And since you mentioned it, the Fusion-style node system is considered superior by many pros to the older layers-based system used by After Effects, which is why it has been adopted by newer software from Unreal to Blender to nuke, etc. Also, you can drop effects "on" clips and layers-- this can be done in the Edit page as per tradition, and works as expected.
Since DaVinci Resolve is meant to run in CentOS, I've helped collaborate on a method for running it in a Linux container as well for anyone who might be interested:
https://github.com/fat-tire/resolve