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The next difference I discovered was initially a bit more disconcerting, but started making sense when I saw how it related to the first. The projects themselves are stored in a database and not saved as discreet, individual files. Saving a project, either manually or at automatic, preset intervals, creates what is essentially a restore point that you can call up if things go south. You can still use “Save as…” to start an entirely new branch with a new name. This, it turns out, is one of the things that makes DaVinci so popular in Hollywood shops. The database can be hosted on a central server (it’s standard PostgreSQL) and accessed by a team of creatives working on different elements. The effects people can be doing their thing in Fusion while the audio people are working on another scene. Work in one mode is immediately reflected in the others. Bins are locked when in use to prevent collisions. The multi-user setup includes secure chat and a unique timeline comparison tool for visualizing changes that were made. This, incidentally, is not part of some astronomically-priced enterprise version. It’s built into Resolve, albeit only in Resolve Studio. Feeling Like Home Leaving aside the Cut page for now and moving on to the Edit page, we’re in familiar-looking territory: preview and program displays, timeline, assets, audio meters, and a context-sensitive settings panel on the right. It’s a pretty much traditional NLE layout. There are new icons to interpret, but for the most they’re well enough designed to make sense of fairly quickly. The most important keyboard controls still follow the old CMX standard, J-K-L and spacebar for playback control with I and O to mark edit points. You have the option of overlaying the Premiere or Final Cut shortcuts that you’ve grown used to or mapping of your own, and for good reason. To say that the menu options along the top of the screen are abundant would be a glaring understatement. There’s a lot up there. Fortunately, the most important are already covered by screen icons or the keyboard. Still, I found a great menu map on ProVideoCoalition.com that proved to be a very handy guide. I soon discovered is that Resolve doesn’t particularly like Apple’s Magic Mouse. When certain panels are active, the