Versatile enough as to adapt to a multitude of environments and situations, let’s see what functionalities are offered and how to maximize the benefits of this ecosystem

*This content is included in the February issue of TM BROADCAST. You can access the full magazine here.

This lab test analyzes the benefits and possibilities for collaborative work offered by the Blackmagic Cloud system and its integration with DaVinci Resolve, considering different types of scenarios and needs, based on data for the European market as of January 2026. Given the international circulation of our magazine, our readers and followers from other geographical areas should compare this with the situation and conditions in their respective geographical areas.

We understand that most of our readers are well aware of collaborative work, and in fact, we are convinced that it has been part of their day-to-day for many years. However, we also take into account that it will be very likely that these collaborative environments will be quite large, built on the basis of very specific tools and very specialized professional profiles.

Surely this scenario will be similar for many of the broadcasters, whose tools will serve similar purposes, each of them with its own peculiarities, although they may differ from one another. It is also true that many of these tools are so specific and designed for such large production environments that their scope is somewhat limited to larger organizations and higher budgets.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that, since the widespread deployment of cloud-based services, many of these tools have expanded their versatility of use to a greater or lesser extent. And over time, new ones have appeared. From a mere uploading of files in real time, to a production based entirely on cloud services, these are now affordable possibilities for small organizations and even the tightest of budgets.

In fact, ‘Cloud’ is already a familiar term for a large part of the population, and its functionalities are integrated into our work and leisure in many more aspects than it would seem to us at first glance.

But (there is always a but…) as professional use options and developers expand, certain compatibilities can be compromised without these developers having enough scope to cover all needs with new products. Especially in areas as demanding as audiovisual production.

This scenario leads us to think of the solutions offered by Blackmagic, one of the names that stands out for providing a range of hardware and software products that is wide enough to successfully tackle a large part of the needs of current productions.

Whether for large-scale production, broadcasters of all sizes, or even a mere freelancer. Not only does Blackmagic have adequate and accessible tools in very different areas, but some of them are the consolidated references in the sector at the highest professional level. Sure enough, we’re referring to DaVinci Resolve.

What may not be so well known is Blackmagic’s own Cloud service and its capabilities to share content and collaborate in an integrated way with Resolve. And no, we’re not just talking about sharing files or projects. We are talking about working in real time on the same project, on the same content, in the same timeline, and doing so with professional specialists scattered anywhere around the globe.

Yes, it is true that there are other tools that get the job done too. But, even if it is on a small scale, how many of them allow it to be done at a very low cost, and even for free in certain circumstances? Peace of mind, and let’s curb our enthusiasm: the tools for our next production, in which we aim to be number 1 in cinema or series, will not be for free. Although it is free for small volumes of data, which even if limited for most productions, will be enough to test the capacity and adaptability of the system to our actual needs.

We are talking about working in real time on the same project, on the same content, on the same timeline, and doing so with professional specialists scattered around the globe

And here we must make the first distinction, to specify what kind of Cloud we are dealing with, although many of you have already guessed. Blackmagic’s catalog of products and services has two distinct ranges: on the one hand the “Cloud Store” and similar items, specific hardware equipment that we could assimilate to a high-performance local NAS; and on the other, the Blackmagic Cloud service, purely a software functionality.

Although both ranges are designed to provide solutions to the specific needs of audiovisual productions, our laboratory will focus mainly on the software service option, the reason for our previous note to the different possibilities that may exist in different geographical areas.

We will begin this lab test by listing the available functionalities, and then explain what benefits each of them brings in different scenarios, from the simplest to the most demanding ones.

The Cloud service can be used for free by just registering and logging in via web access. Within this web access is where we will always find all the possibilities available depending on our subscription, whether free or paid.

Although, of course, the free option has certain limitations, the entire system is designed with the actual needs of the industry in mind. Thus, it is very easy to extend the limited functionalities by paying for the subscription of our choice. And what seems even more important to us: to switch between them as our needs change, and even to return to the completely free modality whenever we do not need the highest capacities.

Blackmagic has two distinct ranges: on the one hand the “Cloud Store” and similar items, specific hardware equipment that we could assimilate to a high-performance local NAS; and on the other, the Blackmagic Cloud service, purely a software functionality

The free modality does not include management of project libraries, the number of “Presentations” is limited and storage space is 2 Gb. By the way, we comment below on the meaning and scope of “Presentations” in this environment. The rest of functionalities are fully operational.

As for the subscription model, there are different combinations that provide enough flexibility when configuring the services we may need for our different productions.

Starting to see possibilities in its simplest use, we value the fact that this environment can be used autonomously and independently, since even outside of Resolve it behaves as a file repository with a folder structure, which will be accessible through a username and password, as is the case with other Cloud services.

This possibility would already allow us to work on our project from different computers or different locations. The big difference from other generic cloud storage services lies in the ability to seamlessly move large volumes of data and large files. Speed is only limited by that of our own access to the network.

The basic modality already allows us to link our Blackmagic cameras to our Cloud and determine through configuration if we want to upload our recordings to the cloud. And we can confirm that when we talk about Blackmagic cameras we are also including the Apps that we already use (for free as well) on our iOS or Android mobile devices.

Depending on the cameras, settings can be tweaked for uploading content: only proxies, or both formats. In addition to facilitating the existence of metadata already preloaded, which makes cataloguing and management of content from different cameras an easier task.

Naturally, depending on the recording formats and network connection, uploading these files will require different time spans. Uploading only proxies and with a good connection the files will upload in just a few seconds.

Once we have our content uploaded to the cloud, we can rely on a feature that we find especially attractive, which is+

the possibility of previewing the uploaded content without downloading it by simply dragging the mouse pointer over each clip’s icon.

Once we have our content uploaded to the cloud, we can rely on a feature that we find especially attractive: the possibility of previewing the uploaded content without downloading it

As for “Presentations”, it is the name given to the tool enabling to create viewing links to share content with external users, such as directors, agencies, or clients, for example. Not only does it allow viewing, but it supports notes and comments, linked to the video images, which will automatically become bookmarks with annotations in the timeline once said content is uploaded to Resolve. The free version allows creation of up to 20 Presentations and having up to 30 collaborators.

As for these invitations, it is worth noting that there is no sending of files of any kind, the content is always displayed online. In this way, risks conserning the security of our contents are minimized, since there is no distribution of files of any kind, nor do they leave our environment.

Even if we do not have our own project libraries, it will be possible to access other users’ libraries through our user if they invite us to participate. In this way, it will be easy to create multidisciplinary work teams with different people dedicated to different tasks, without increasing costs.

Not having invested a single penny yet, we already have in our hands tools that not many years ago were only accessible to large productions with the largest budgets.

The big difference from other generic cloud storage services lies in the ability to seamlessly move large volumes of data and large files

If we additionally have any of the Blackmagic storage hardware devices (Cloud Store type), this hardware will synchronize the files with Blackmagic Cloud (and this can also be done with other storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive).

Once we have verified that the platform meets our needs, it is time to take make the most of all its possibilities and benefit from all the advantages of full integration with Resolve.

Simply by adding the option of project libraries to our subscription, we have access to not only the project as such (the .drp file) residing in the cloud, but we can also configure shared access to certain projects so that different users can work on them simultaneously. A library is an environment for hosting projects, capable of being accessed by 30 users simultaneously, while the number of simultaneous users in the same project is limited to 10.

In fact, in the Resolve project manager where we usually create our libraries, we always have shortcuts for the three hosting possibilities: local, network and cloud. Considering that a single library is capable of hosting up to 1,000 Resolve projects, we may not need many more, unless we may want to compartmentalize content for whatever reason.

And in terms of space, above the free 2 Gb, the next option already offers us up to 500 Gb of storage. We deliberately omit to make reference to prices, which we invite you to check in your own geographical location, as they may differ among them. It will be interesting to check this through the “update plan” option in your profiles, and compare with other commercial shared storage options.

This storage can be adjusted month to month, increasing or decreasing it according to our needs. Of course, to reduce it, a requiremment is that space to be cancelled in our plan remains free. That is, if we want to go down from a 2 Tb plan to a 500 Gb plan, we will not be able to have more than those 500 Gb used when the change takes place.

Any modality other than the free one already allows for at least one cloud library. Once in place, when creating our project we will have a dialog window that will offer us different alternatives, such as location of media, whether we would like to configure it as shared, media synchronization, and allowing remote camera access.

With our project already created and configured as a shared project, we can invite other users to participate. Then, access will be managedd through Resolve itself, allowing the editing access to the elements that are being updated only for its user, but maintaining the reading access for the other elements and users in the same project.

If we have storage space in the cloud and we have selected to store the media there, the instant we upload content to Resolve through the Media Pool Manager -in the same way we always do- we will see how they begin to upload to the cloud. Small icons on the clips will allow us to know the status of each individual file.

By then, and as a simpler option, we will already have the possibility to collaborate with ourselves. This means that it is possible to access the same project with the same contents from any computer that has Resolve installed by accessing with our cloud credentials.

In a slightly more elaborate scenario, we could invite specialists to work on our own project without sending files or projects, and always keeping the content updated for all participants. And having all the collaboration options that we will discuss below.

Going up to the most sophisticated scenario, we could also have an operator uploading media files, several editors working on different timelines, colorists making the necessary adjustments to the same clips that are being edited, audio and sound editors in their field, visual effects technicians on the other side, and a supervisor making annotations and comments and coordinating the entire project.

Whether it is an operator uploading files, or if it is the cameras themselves that are synchronized, the contents will be automatically available in Resolve as soon as the files have finished uploading. That is, we could start editing a news story while the field team is still generating content. It is possible to preview the portion of the contents already uploaded, even while they are uploading.

Regarding management, Resolve provides a system of automatic locks so that, when an operator is working on a part of the contents -for example in a folder or a timeline- the modifications regarding that part are restricted only to the relevant user, although the others can continue to view the contents, but with access in read-only mode.

In most scenarios it will be advisable to work with proxies, as they will quickly download to the local device and we will enjoy a much smoother editing. To do this, there is an automatic proxy creation tool that facilitates the work

This situation is easy to identify, as others will see a lock icon indicating that the relevant folder or timeline is under the control of another user. When this user finishes and leaves that folder or timeline, the lock disappears and an icon to refresh the content will be displayed so they can have it instantly updated on their computers.

This ensures that there are no conflicts and no loss in flexibility or efficiency. Once the task is completed and the content has been released, any other participant assigned to the project has immediate, free access to continue making changes to the same content already updated.

In this regard, in most scenarios it will be advisable to work with proxies, as they will quickly download to the local device and we will enjoy a much smoother editing. To do this, there is an automatic proxy creation tool that facilitates the work and makes content managament much more agile. Only when doing the final render wiil it be conveniento for us work with the original files, to preserve the highest quality in our production.

And how do we get these originals? Either because they have also been uploaded to the cloud, or because they have been provided to us in some other way. But in those cases (frequent in your environment?) in which the originals only exist in the cloud and are extremely bulky, how do we generate that final render with good quality?

It’s simple: once we have a timeline with proxies assembled, Resolve has the ability to recover only the necessary fragments, extracting from the registration files the subclips that are necessary for the final shaping. This is the partial media recovery option and the action performed automatically when selected. This way we have the necessary content without mobilizing more data than necessary.

At this point, within Presentations we have several tools that facilitate collaboration: the chat for participants with group videocall facilitates internal and immediate communication between all team members. The above coupled with the aforementioned invitation to other external users such as producers or customers, to provide their comments.

These comments from external guests are collected as bookmarks with notes, which are associated with the media’s frame, or at the precise instant on the timeline that the guest has determined, making the review and approval process as agile and efficient as the indications given by our producers and customers. Since we have an index of these markers, there is no need to search for them throughout the project.

Having also indication of its author, it will be easy to manage and prioritize them with the appropriate criteria in each case.

The fact that these comments are not simple text but are linked to bookmarks, has multiple advantages. The main one is that being associated with an instant of time on the clip frame or on the timeline makes them stay in the right place, even after all the modifications that the production may undergo.

Access to all the possibilities offered by the first subscription option, with a minimum of one library and 500 Gb of storage, is something to keep in mind whenever our production may require a team of more than one person for everything. In other words, most of the time

It is also important that you do not dive into texts of emails or messages and then relate them to the place to which it refers. We always have a list of new bookmarks and related authors, which makes it easier to find the changes to be made and the spots they relate to, while preventing duplicate comments.

As for bookmarks, project users can create shared bookmarks, accessible to the whole team to facilitate coordination and input. And also private bookmarks -those which only they can see- in order to facilitate work without overwhelming the rest of the team with information probably irrelevant to their activity.

It is also important to note that only the owner of the library being shared in the cloud needs to subscribe to libraries in their profile. The rest of the work team members require a cloud account, although it can be a free one.

As work progresses -and having work teams of a certain size in mind- with professionals specialized in the different functions involved and a coordination/supervision team (or person), there are tools that are interesting, such as comparison of timelines.

This allows viewing the two timelines -before and after the changes- in order to facilitate the review of all the modifications made. In addition, they may be subject to approval prior to final validation to ensure that progress is always made on approved modifications before moving forward.

Another advantage that facilitates shared management is that certain project configurations are managed at the local system level. Thus, each person can configure their cache or monitoring parameters to optimize performance on their different devices.

As for the work in the color module, the locks that we described before for folders and timelines occur at individual clip level, so that even while the editor continues to work on the sequence from the Cut or Edit modules, one or more colorists could be collaborating simultaneously in the same assembly. This without interfering and cross-referencing the result of the work done by the rest of the team.

Finally, Resolve’s real-time save option is also available on these projects, thus ensuring that work already completed is never lost.

Access to all the possibilities offered by the first subscription option, with a minimum of one library and 500 Gb of storage, is something to keep in mind whenever our production may require a team of more than one person for everything. In other words, most of the time.

And for much larger organizations, there is also the ‘Organizations’ option within the cloud, which allows to maintain centralized control over different work groups that are collaborating on projects that you may want to keep completely independent of others.

In that sense, and before finishing, we should add that this cloud access provides some other interesting options, designed for large organizations, such as the possibility of renting Resolve licenses.

Yes, renting. That is, hiring licenses for temporary use, thus facilitating the scaling of work teams and resources up or down depending on the variation in the number and volume of projects. In this way it is possible to have a huge license pool at certain specific times without requiring an investment that would remain unused during the times in which they may not be necessary.

As we have seen, integration, flexibility and customization options make the cloud platform a more than interesting choice for practically all production levels. From independent freelancers to large corporations, they all can benefit from its possibilities. Especially interesting and attractive is the ease to expand or reduce options in the subscription with the same in a way as responsive as our changing needs.

The integration, flexibility and customization options make the cloud platform a more than interesting option for practically all production levels