What’s one of the fun things when working in a brand new, completely updated version of the software you use professionally? Why, discovering all the little features that didn’t make it into the marketing material! That’s what this little series is about. As I discover nifty stuff about Resolve 12, I’ll point them out right here in this Little Gems series.

DaVinci Resolve 12: Snap a Curves point back to neutral

Have you ever placed a point on a Curve, only to add a second point to isolate the first point to a very specific part of your image? In DaVinci Resolve 11 and earlier we had a grid in the Curves area to help us bring our control points back to neutral. In DaVinci Resolve 12, there is no grid to help us find the neutral position. This brings us to…

Little Gems #3: ‘Snap to Neutral’ Curves command in DaVinci Resolve 12

I learned this Little Gem while chatting on the phone with Blackmagic’s Alexis Van Hurkman. I thought it was a bug—and Alexis clued me in otherwise… After placing a control point: As you click and drag a control point back to neutral, hold down the option key to reveal ‘neutral’:

A new command in DaVinci Resolve 12: Click-drag+Option to reveal the ‘neutral line’ and snap your control point to it.

With a point selected, and while option-dragging, a line pops up showing you the neutral centerline. Keep dragging and the point will SNAP to neutral! Let go of the option key to make a slight move off the neutral line. No more second-guessing yourself.

One of my favorite Little Gems so far in DaVinci Resolve 12.

– pat