DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is professional software for editing, color, effects and sound, and its free version is enough for almost any project. This lesson is a hands-on tour so you can open it without fear and make your first complete edit.
The free version of DaVinci Resolve lets you edit, grade, mix sound and export at up to UHD resolution at 60 fps. The paid version (Studio) adds, among other things, higher resolution, some effects and AI tools, advanced image noise reduction and more hardware acceleration. For learning and for most jobs, the free version is enough. Check Blackmagic Design's official website for the current version and its system requirements.
The pages in Resolve
Along the bottom you'll see a row of icons: each one is a “page”, a workspace for one stage of the process.
| Page | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Media | Importing and organizing footage |
| Cut | Fast editing, designed for short pieces and social media |
| Edit | Classic editing with a full timeline. Where you'll spend most of your time |
| Fusion | Node-based visual effects and motion graphics |
| Color | Node-based correction and color grading |
| Fairlight | Audio mixing and editing |
| Deliver | Exporting |
Create the project
- Open Resolve and, in the Project Manager, click New Project and give it a name.
- Open the project settings (the gear icon at the bottom right). In Master Settings, choose the timeline resolution and the fps (Timeline frame rate). Do it now: the frame rate can't easily be changed once you've added footage.
- In Optimized Media and Render Cache you can choose the proxy format (for example, ProRes Proxy or DNxHR LB).
Import and organize
- On the Media page, browse to your folder and drag the clips into the Media Pool.
- If it asks whether to change the project frame rate to match the footage, read carefully: only accept if that's what you want.
- Create bins (right-click → New Bin): Interviews, B-roll, Music, Graphics.
- If the footage is heavy, select the clips → right-click → Generate Proxy Media.
Editing on the Edit page
- Double-click a clip to view it in the source viewer. Mark the in point with I and the out point with O.
- Drag it onto the timeline viewer and choose Insert or Overwrite, or use F9 (insert) and F10 (overwrite).
- Trim with the trim tool: T turns on trim mode, A goes back to selection, B is the blade.
- To cut at the playhead: Ctrl/Cmd+B.
- To delete without leaving a gap, use ripple delete: depending on your system and keyboard it's Delete or Shift+Backspace. A normal delete leaves the gap.
- Put your B-roll on track V2, above the interview.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| J K L | Reverse, pause, forward (press several times to speed up) |
| I / O | Mark in and out |
| Ctrl/Cmd+B | Cut at the playhead |
| M | Add marker |
| N | Turn snapping on or off |
| Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+L | Link or unlink audio and video (for J-cuts and L-cuts) |
| Shift+Z | Fit the timeline to the window |
| Ctrl/Cmd+Z | Undo |
Shortcuts depend on the version, the operating system and the keyboard. You can look them up and change them in Resolve's keyboard customization menu.
Transitions, titles and speed
- Effects (top left): video and audio transitions, titles and generators. Drag a Text+ onto track V3 for a title.
- Inspector (top right): position, scale, opacity, cropping, stabilization and speed of the selected clip.
- Speed: right-click the clip → Change Clip Speed.
Color in five minutes
- Go to the Color page. Turn on the scopes (the waveform icon) and choose Parade.
- On the first node, use the Lift, Gamma and Gain wheels for blacks, midtones and highlights.
- For log footage, add a Color Space Transform or your camera's LUT.
- Create a new node (Alt+S) for balance and another for the look.
- To copy a correction to other clips: select them and apply the reference clip's grade by middle-clicking its thumbnail, or with Append node graph.
Audio in Fairlight
- In the mixer, set each track's volume and add effects (EQ, compressor) per track.
- Use the loudness meter to reach −14 LUFS.
- The Voice Isolation tool, if your version includes it, separates the voice from the noise.
Exporting on the Deliver page
- Go to Deliver. Choose a preset (for example, YouTube 1080p) or set it up by hand: MP4 format, H.264 codec, resolution, fps and quality.
- Choose the file name and destination folder (
05_EXPORTS). - Click Add to Render Queue and then Render All.
- Open the exported file and check it.
- Set resolution and fps before importing.
- Media to organize, Edit to cut, Color for color, Fairlight for sound, Deliver to export.
- Learn J K L, I/O and cutting at the playhead: they're half of editing.
Your turn: your first complete edit in Resolve
Make a 60-second piece from start to finish in DaVinci Resolve.
- A project with the right fps, bins and proxies.
- An edit with one J-cut and one L-cut.
- A title, a color correction, music with ducking and an export at −14 LUFS.
Frequently asked questions
Is DaVinci Resolve free?
Yes, there's a very complete free version for editing, grading, mixing sound and exporting. The paid version, Studio, adds higher resolution and advanced tools. Check the official website for the current differences.
What computer do I need for DaVinci Resolve?
It depends on the footage. With proxies you can edit on modest machines. For 4K without proxies, a dedicated graphics card or a processor with good video acceleration is a good idea. The official requirements change with each version.