I always like to speed up my workflow in post production. Getting a fast editing computer or using presets for tasks I repeat often is all part of the game. Now I also introduced a new tool on my desktop.
Up until this point I have tried lots of different keyboard shortcut controllers. These are are control surfaces with buttons, knobs and sliders on them that call up certain keys or combination of keys that you would otherwise have to activate by pressing your keyboard. So what’s the big deal with control surfaces since you can already use a keyboard? Well for one a control surface lets you really customize the buttons and only setup what you need in a particular application that you are working in. Also many of these surfaces have more than just buttons. They have sliders or wheels on them that allow a more natural control input then just pressing a keyboard key.
Even though I have tried many of these gadgets over the years I never reviewed one because I really didn’t find them all that useful in speeding up my workflow. In the end after trying to introduce them into my everyday work on a computer I found that these things made me actually slow down. Because I had to move my hands from the keyboard over to the surface and then find the right button or knob. What I like about the Tourbox is that it’s small. So it first easily even on my small desktop right next to my keyboard. Also it is designed to be operated by just one hand. This means that when I edit now in Davinci Resolve or Premiere or Final Cut, I have my right hand on the mouse and my left hand on Tourbox most of the time. This way I can edit and do everything I need to for over 90% of the time. Only in some instances I still have to reach the keyboard.
The Tourbox is designed with different shaped and textured buttons which makes it very easy to remember by touch where different buttons or wheels are. This means that after just a few hours of working with Tourbox I no longer needed to look down at the control surface to find the right button. This means I can edit much faster. I just lock my vision on the screen and let my hands operate the mouse and Tourbox.
You can check out my video below to see how I work with Tourbox inside of Davinci Resolve.
If you like using Tourbox like me when editing or photo retouching then you can download my presets HERE. This will work in Davinci Resolve. However since I use my custom keyboard layout it means that you will need to first change your keyboard settings by applying my settings in Resolve. After that just apply my Tourbox preset in the Tourbox console. Let me know how you like them!