How I Make Dailies?

This guide outlines a complete DaVinci Resolve dailies workflow – from media ingest to editorial hand-off. It covers project setup, timeline automation using Python scripts, color transforms for Canon and DJI footage, and best practices for exporting and archiving. Follow these steps to build a consistent and spec-compliant dailies pipeline ready for editorial and finishing.

1. Media Ingest & Backup

• Create a DaVinci Resolve project named according to the PROJECT LIST, appending the suffix _DAILIES.
• Bins inside _DAILIES project:
  • 1. DAILIES
  • 2. MEDIA
• In DaVinci Resolve, go to the Media Page and navigate to the mounted drive CRTN_POL_OCF1 on the NAS.
• Right-click the relevant folder and select “Add Folder and SubFolders into Media Pool (Create Bins)”.
• This automatically mirrors the folder structure into the Media Pool under bin 2. MEDIA.

2. Resolve Project Setup

• Use Project Settings preset: DavinciWGtoRec.709Gamma2.4 Settings
• Always set the project frame rate to 25 fps before importing media.
• Color Science: DaVinci YRGB
• Timeline: DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate
• Output: Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 (for editorial preview)
• Confirm Timeline resolution: 3840×2160 / 25 fps

3. Daily Timelines (Automated)

• create_dailies_timelines.py scans the 2. MEDIA bin and creates one timeline per shoot day based on date in filenames. It runs inside Resolve’s Python scripting environment.
• To run the script correctly:
  • Ensure the bins 1. DAILIES DRT and 2. MEDIA exist.
• The script performs the following:
  • Scans all clips in 2. MEDIA
  • Groups clips by shoot date and builds UHD timelines named DAILIES_YYYYMMDD
  • Sets Zoom to 0.890
  • Enables Data Burn-In using the DAILIES Metadata preset

4. Negative to Positive – Color Correction

• Create groups in Color Page:
  • Group “R5C
  • Group “DJI
• Color Space Transform 
  • Input Color Space: Canon Cinema Gamut / DJI D-Gamut
  • Input Gamma: Canon Log 3 / DJI D-Log
  • Output Color Space: Rec709
  • Output Gamma: 2.4

5. Dailies Export

• In the Deliver page, use preset: “DAILIES_DNxHD1080p36_8bit_MXF”
• Export path: media/Dailies/South Sudan_01072025/ inside the project folder on crtn_pol_production
• File name format matches OCF for seamless conforming

6. Editorial Hand-Off

• Dailies are stored permanently on the NAS or any other storage.
• A copy is transferred to the editor’s SSD.
• Editing project may be created in DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro, depending on the editorial pipeline.
• Recommended project bin structure:
  • 1. PRODUCTION
    • 1. FILM_1
    • 2. FILM_2

Right-click each Dailies folder and select: “Add Folder and SubFolders into Media Pool (Create Bins)”

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