DaVinci Resolve is a post-production video editing platform that is used for things like color correction, color grading, and visual effects. It is considered an industry-standard platform and has been used across a range of mainstream films and TV shows.
DaVinci Resolve has an enormous set of different tools and the creative possibilities are endless. However, this does make the platform difficult to use at first, and newcomers to Resolve can quickly find themselves feeling overwhelmed. The best approach is to take things one step at a time, and learn one feature inside out before moving on to the next. We’ve put together a quick tip guide about Power Bins in DaVinci Resolve. Read on to check it out.
What Are Power Bins?
When you’re working on any kind of creative project, whether it be a film, a song, or a digital painting, staying organized is essential. If you lose track of your tools and assets and let your workflow descend into chaos you could find that your project quickly grinds to a halt and it’s impossible to get anything finished.
Platforms like DaVinci Resolve have systems and features in place that are designed to prevent this from happening. By giving you improved organizational options, these platforms can streamline workflows and keep everything neat and tidy.
Power Bins in DaVinci Resolve are designed to do exactly that. They are special folders in which users can store media that they will be accessing and using frequently. What’s important to note about Power Bins is that media stored within them can be shared and accessed across all of your Resolve projects.
However, Power Bins do not create copies of files. Instead, they simply use location data so that files can be instantly accessed wherever they are stored on your system.
For large projects that involve a lot of different media clips and files, Power Bins are invaluable tools that can be used to prevent things from becoming disordered and confusing. Read on to learn where to find Power Bins and how to use them effectively.
Where to Find Them
Despite how useful Power Bins are and how important they are for streamlining workflow, they aren’t displayed on the main interface of Resolve.
To access the Power Bins feature, first, you will need to navigate to the top right corner of the Media window, where you will see a three-dot menu button. Clicking this button will open up a drop-down menu, where you’ll notice the ‘Show Power Bins’ option at the bottom.
After clicking this option, Power Bins will appear on the left-hand side menu bar of the DaVinci Resolve interface, above the Smart Bins, and under the main Project Bins.
Another option for enabling Power Bins is to select the View button from the toolbar at the top of the screen. Scroll down the drop-down menu and you’ll see an option for ‘Show Power Bins’.
How to Use Them
Once you have enabled Power Bins and you can see them in the left-hand side menu bar, adding files to Power Bins is as simple as dragging and dropping them in.
One particularly useful feature of Power Bins is that you can create custom subfolders within them. This means you can organize your files even more effectively, within specific subfolders for certain clips or different formats.
To create a subfolder within a Power Bin, first, you need to right-click on the Master Folder and select the ‘New Bin’ option from the drop-down menu. This will create a new subfolder within your Power Bin, which you’ll be able to see in the Power Bins list.
Right-clicking on this new subfolder will give you the option to rename it. This is important, you should always rename your subfolders so that you can keep track of where everything is. For example, you could create a subfolder for audio clips, another for video clips, and one for text graphics. This way, you’ll be able to access assets quickly and efficiently across different Resolve projects.
What are Their Limitations?
Power Bins are incredibly valuable, and all Resolve users should incorporate them into their workflow processes. However, they do come with some limitations, and it’s worth knowing what they can’t do as well as what they can.
Certain files are incompatible with Power Bins and can’t be stored within them. Things like compound clips, multicam clips, and timelines cannot be placed into Power Bins. This is because these files need to reference other media which means they cannot be shared between different projects.
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Conclusion
The video editing software industry is huge, it is expected to reach a value of $3.24 billion by 2030. For editors and filmmakers, workflow optimization is essential, and they will choose to use a platform that offers the best options for the organization. Power Bins make working across multi-project campaigns much easier and more straightforward, and they are a driving factor behind the success of DaVinci Resolve.