Blackmagic Mini Panel Used

[Brandi Wendelberger]

Hi Guy's,

After a 4 year break I'm getting back into the business.
I have a couple of nice jobs coming up. I really wanted to get the Resolve mini panels since I work exclusively in Resolve.
But since the price drop they are sold out pretty much everywhere in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It' estimated that they will be back in stock in 4 - 8 weeks. But with global supply chains under pressure, I'm sceptical.
I do have the opportunity to purchase a used Tangent Elements bundle from a friendly facility. I know the panel since I 'm still the person who has used it most in that facility ?.
I was really looking forward to some of the features of the Resolve panel like the ability to use custom curves etc. But I have no first hand experience using the panel.
Anybody here that has used both? Maybe even switched? Interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks,
Remco

get the mini. There has been almost zero support or updates from black magic for tangent panels since v15/16, and the future does not look great. Tangent works with other software and is fully mappable (outside of resolve), but if primary use is Resolve, you want the mini.

With the recent price drop of the mini-panel and them being sold out everywhere with a scheduled delivery of 4 - 7 weeks (roughly the time until NAB22) I wonder if we are going to see something new from them.

However, the friendly facility I wrote about really wanted to sell me one, so I'm now the proud owner of a Tangent Elements Bundle. This will Atleast get me through some jobs the next couple of months and the price was good enough that I won't be burned should a new shiny panel arrive.

I'm particularly interested in a panel with a small size/weight for use while travelling and to compliment my Speed Editor , so if there's a new panel on the way that's smaller than the Micro then I'd be very keen on that.

Hi Kye,
I guess we'll have to wait a couple more weeks to be sure.
offcourse it could be supply chain issues combined with increased demand because of the pricedrops.
But then again, NAB is end of this month ?

At work, we have a station with the mni panel and one with the tangent elements (full panels). The tangent offers no suport for the new toll (HDR color), or RGB mixes.... but i still prefer working on it for one simple reason: the mini does ntot have a dedicated button to mark static or dynamic dissolves. I use it a lot, and its a pain to have a nice panel like the mini and go for the keyboard for a simple shortcut like this. It's very frustrating that BM does not offer a solution to map this keys on the panel.

Hi Rogerio, I agree about the lack of customisation that Resolve tends to build into their panels - the Speed Editor is the same with lots of single-function keys not re-assignable. I've carefully looked over the Micro and think it should have almost everything I need, but the ability to even re-assign a few controls would make a huge difference as there's always that one (or two) things we like to use that are unique to how we work and maybe even a particular project.

All three panels serve a different purpose and will naturally attract different types of filmmakers. The full fledged advanced panel will surely continue to have a home in large post production facilities and high end color grading suites, whereas the mini and micro panels will appeal to smaller shops, freelancers, and independent filmmakers.

Given the functionality and cost of both panels, I would imagine that the mini panel will be adopted by many small to mid sized post houses and production companies that do in-house color. The micro panel will likely be used more heavily by freelancers or editors that occasionally do their own color work, and who may not need the added functionality of the mini panel.

More so than any other feature of the panel, the trackballs have by far had the biggest impact on the way that I color. They are extremely smooth, fluid, and intuitive to work with, and offer a degree of color control that you will never be able to achieve with a mouse, or pen and tablet.

First off, the degree of color control they deliver allow colorists to get far more specific and accurate results in the grading suite, without having to unnecessarily push the colors too far. This is especially beneficial when it comes to grading DSLR footage, since the further you push your colors (especially on a highly compressed DSLR file), the more the image will start to fall apart.

Noam Kroll is an award-winning Los Angeles based filmmaker, and the founder of the boutique production house, Creative Rebellion. His work can be seen at international film festivals, on network television, and in various publications across the globe. Follow Noam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more content like this!

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Hello, Noam.
Great article presenting your personal and experience, using this device.
Some hours ago, Blackmagic Design announced that they have released DaVinci Resolve 14, incorporating audio post-production suite, Fairlight. This takes NLE to a new level for concurrent works by editors, audio mixers and colorists. I am now wondering if some of the mini panel controls/buttons will be able to do double-time or even triple-time functions. Sounds good as a rather complete set-up for post-production work.

Thanks Rashid! I love the look of Resolve 14, and did a brief writeup on it on my recent NAB 2017 roundup article. I will definitely follow up on this in the future if there is anything to add with regards to integration on version 14.

Six years ago Blackmagic Design expanded its line of color correction control panels by adding the Micro and Mini panels to the full-size Resolve Advanced panel. At the time I reviewed the Mini panel. I typically split my duties between editing and color correction, so much of my grading work is done with a mouse. That includes full sessions in DaVinci Resolve, as well as Lumetri color when the project stays totally inside Premiere Pro. However, now it was time to finally buy and use the Micro panel on a real project.

On a recent a grading project the thought of doing it all with a mouse seemed taxing to me. I was fortunate to get the production company I work with to purchase the Micro panel. We service a major international cruise line with creative content used for marketing, corporate communications, shipboard videos, social media, and travel-related entertainment content.

Over the years, the company has accumulated and curated quite a lot of B-roll footage from destinations all around the globe. This project involved building new presentations for their shipboard sales centers. We created 11 hours of edited content (Premiere Pro), that is split into 22 30-minute blocks, set to music. These blocks represented ten worldwide travel regions, plus an hour of sunrises and sunsets. The source footage came from a wide range of sources, cameras, and file formats, along with some additional stock footage.

As I previously wrote, if you are an editor/colorist and grade in Resolve less than 50% of the time, then the Micro is probably the right choice. More than 50% and you should look at the Mini. If you are a full-time, successful colorist, then the investment in the full-size Advanced panel is likely the right decision. We opted for the Micro for two reasons. First, I fit into the first category. Second, I have limited desk space and need to operate the panel, keyboard, and mouse within a comfortable space.

As with most control surfaces, you build up a muscle memory after working with it for a while. Your hands intuitively know where to go without the need to look up at a screen and see what your mouse is doing. The panel is an inherent way of working faster, but it also reduces the potential wrist and hand fatigue caused by constant mouse use.

Recently I was loaned the Blackmagic Micro and Mini Color Grading panels for a few weeks to review, which I used on two feature-length films (a doc and a narrative) and one short doc. These are my findings.

Why always restrict your view to Panel and KB-M. Most people also use a Wacom tablet. You can program its user definable keys for instance one to add a serial node and one to add an outside node. You even can program the touch ring as a jog wheel.

The DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel from Blackmagic Design is a step-up in functionality from the Micro panel but without all the features of the Advanced panel. It is a portable control surface suitable for those that need to switch between editing and color grading. It can sit on your desk top, in a rack, or be bolted to a surface. As with the Micro panel, it features three high-resolution, weighted trackballs and 12 control knobs for accessing essential primary color-correction tools in the Resolve software. 18 dedicated keys on the right side also give you access to the most commonly used grading features and playback controls.

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