Australian tech company Blackmagic Design, which specialises in studio cameras, switchers and the like, has scored a bit of a coup with The Associated Press (AP), the world’s leading news agency, transitioning its global video editing platform to DaVinci Resolve Studio, which is also owned by Blackmagic Design along with its sister VFX package, Fusion.
The large scale enterprise deployment includes several hundred licenses, supporting AP’s mission critical, 24/7 global news operations and helping enable the creation of more than 1,500 video projects daily.
Derl McCrudden, AP vice president and head of global news production told us “AP produces video from more than 100 countries, delivering content to thousands of broadcasters, publishers and digital platforms every day. In support of that crucial journalism, we are working with DaVinci Resolve Studio to equip our journalists with state-of-the-art editing and production tools.”
The deployment included extensive integration with AP’s workflows and introduced several new capabilities in DaVinci Resolve Studio designed with breaking news in mind. Among the most important was Growing Transport Stream Editing, which allows journalists to begin working on live incoming video feeds directly from AP’s MAM without waiting for complete file transfers. This means video can be cut and distributed within seconds of footage arriving.
Cloud Based
AP now uses DaVinci Resolve Studio’s cloud based preset and graphics distribution system, including graphics templates, project settings and export settings. This eliminates manual downloads and ensures branding and production standards are maintained across all locations.
Resolve has also been integrated with AP’s MAM to enable scalable cloud rendering. By distributing project rendering to cloud-based nodes, AP can automatically scale capacity during major news events and scale down when demand decreases. This reduces reliance on local rendering by journalists and editors, keeping workstations free for creative work and optimizing infrastructure costs.
Software management has also been simplified. With single sign on license management, AP uses Blackmagic Cloud to monitor, assign and redistribute Resolve licenses across its global user base.
The transition included a comprehensive training program designed for AP journalists and field operatives whose primary focus is storytelling rather than technical editing. AP super users collaborated with DaVinci Resolve Certified Trainers to develop an internal video on demand library, enabling staff to learn at their own pace and ensuring sustainable knowledge transfer.
Required Specs
DaVinci Resolve in its base version suitable for Windows, Mac and LINUX is available to download free of charge. Minimum requirements are later versions of the respective operating system and 16GB RAM.
The Studio version is AUD$295 and adds several major enhancements including a Neural Engine for AI, stereoscopic tools and upgraded FX tools, audio capabilities via Fairlight and HDR colour grading. It requires 32GB RAM minimum.
DaVinci Resolve can be downloaded from https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products