The new item on my Christmas List
Costing $295 ( I await to see UK prices)) the speed editor keyboard has gone to the number one item on my Christmas List - although my son has also asked for one.
Having watched the demo on this and how it speeds up the already fast CutMenu I can see the use for this, and for a limited time, every customer who purchases DaVinci Resolve Studio from a Blackmagic Design reseller will get the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor included free of charge, so that can't be bad. I would buy one anyway but this way I can get another free Studio licence thrown in.
When Grant first showed this I thought that there was something wrong, it was working but not plugged in, but it works on batteries and bluetooth, making it very easy to position on the desk you are using.
The keypad is essentially divided into three parts.
1) A Jog wheel
2) Camera selection for making videos in the way that we use the ATEM
3) Transitions and effects on the frames.
Two buttons and their features stand out. The sync bin is a new style of multi-cam and it allows users to find shots that are sync'd to the current shot in the timeline. That lets usrs find cutaways using a familiar multiview interface. Then use the camera keys to select an alternative shot, and source overwrite to edit it into the timeline.
The full screen button is highlighted red so you can find it quickly and switch to a full screen view of your viewer. If you double press the full view button, it will go into full screen view and play from just before your most recent edit. That sounds just what I want.
Source Tape for Scrolling Clips
Traditional edit software uses thousands of clips to organize your media, so you need to constantly click and drag clips to edit. That’s too slow for work such as TVCs, news, promos and training videos. However old tape based linear editing had the advantage of all media being played from a videotape, so you could simply fast forward and rewind to see all your shots! Now the cut page has a modern version of the videotape and it’s called the "source tape". Simply push the source button and use the search dial to scroll through all your media! Plus, the current clip is highlighted live in the bin! After the edit the viewer will stay in the source tape so you can move to the next shot faster.
Fast In and Out Points
Entering in and out points is the most used function in editing, so the speed editor keyboard includes large in and out point buttons that you can easily locate by feel. That’s perfect for two handed editing where you're using your right hand for transport control and your left hand is placing in and out points and performing edits. You can simply scroll along with the search dial and place in and out points anywhere you want! Once the in and out points are set, just reach your fingers up to the edit function buttons to perform the edit. The in and out points can also be used to focus the source tape. Then you can change the source tape back to the whole bin by pressing the escape key.
Intelligent Keyboard Edit Modes
Editing with a keyboard is different to editing with a mouse, so the cut page editing functions have been upgraded to take advantage of the speed of a keyboard. The edit functions are intelligent and use the "smart indicator" in the timeline to work out where to insert, so most of the time you don't need to place in or out points in the timeline to do an edit! They are located just above the in and out keys, so are easy to locate by feel. Plus each time you edit, the cut page won't waste time switching over to the timeline, allowing you to stay in the source tape and visually browse, placing clips continuously. That's much faster as you can just keep throwing clips into the timeline!