Page 1
October 2022
Reference Manual
DaVinci
Resolve 18.1
Page 2
Welcome
Welcome to DaVinci Resolve for Mac, Linux and Windows!
DaVinci is the world’s most trusted name in color and has been used to grade
more Hollywood films, TV shows, and commercials than anything else. With
DaVinci Resolve, you get a complete set of editing, advanced color correction,
professional Fairlight audio post production tools and Fusion visual effects
combined in one application so you can edit, compose, grade, mix and master
deliverables from start to finish, all in a single tool!
DaVinci Resolve has the features professional editors, colorists, audio engineers
and VFX artists need, and is built on completely modern technology with
advanced audio, color and image processing that goes far beyond what any
other system can do. With this release, we hope to inspire creativity by letting you
work in a comfortable, familiar way, while also giving you an entirely new creative
toolset that will help you cut and finish projects at higher quality than ever before!
We hope you enjoy reading this manual. With its customizable interface and
keyboard shortcuts, DaVinci Resolve is easy to learn, especially if you’re switching
from another editor, and has all of the tools you need to create breathtaking, high
end work!
The DaVinci Resolve Engineering Team
Grant Petty
CEO Blackmagic Design
Page 3
Contents
Getting Started �����������������������������������������������������������������4
1 DaVinci Resolve Interface �����������������������������������������������6
2 Setup and Workflows ���������������������������������������������������� 64
3 Ingest and Organize Media �������������������������������������� 327
4 The Cut Page ���������������������������������������������������������������� 457
5 Edit ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 559
6 Editing Eects and Transitions ��������������������������������� 853
7 Import and Conform Projects �������������������������������� 1008
8 Fusion Fundamentals ������������������������������������������������1084
9 Fusion Page Eects ��������������������������������������������������� 1765
10 Color ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 2720
11 Color Page Eects �����������������������������������������������������3237
12 Resolve FX Overview ������������������������������������������������3282
MEDIACUTEDITFUSIONCOLORAUDIODELIVERMENU INTRO
13 Fairlight ������������������������������������������������������������������������3459
14 Deliver ���������������������������������������������������������������������������3875
15 Advanced Workflows ������������������������������������������������ 3953
16 Project Libraries, Collaborative,
and Remote Workflows ��������������������������������������������3966
Menu Descriptions ����������������������������������������������������� 4016
Regulatory Notices ����������������������������������������������������4032
Safety Information ����������������������������������������������������4034
Warranty ����������������������������������������������������������������������4035
Page 4
DaVinci Resolve 18.1
Getting Started
When you install DaVinci Resolve and then open it for the first time, there are a few things you’re
going to want to know before you begin learning how to work.
Automatic DaVinci Resolve Updates
To make it easier to ensure you’re using the latest version of DaVinci Resolve, you can now
choose DaVinci Resolve > Check For Updates to notify you of new versions and download them
when available.
Why Is This Manual So Big?
Over the years, DaVinci Resolve has evolved to encompass professional editing, compositing, and
audio mixing tools and workflows in addition to the grading tools that were the original core of
DaVinci Resolve. Each one of these domains of functionality is incredibly deep. Consequently, the
documentation has grown with each new page, tool, and parameter that’s been added, to make life
easier and to solve the countless problems that can emerge during the postproduction process.
While it is regretted that this user manual contains such a staggeringly overwhelming amount of
information, our emphasis has always been to ensure that (hopefully) every control and workflow
you encounter in DaVinci Resolve is explained somewhere within the contents of these pages.
Consequently, we hope that you find the hyperlinked table of contents (TOC) and search functionality
of your preferred PDF browser helpful in finding the information you need, along with context and tips
to help you get the most out of the tools provided.
DaVinci Resolve 18.1 Getting Started 4
Page 5
Navigation Guide
Source and Timeline Viewers
By default, the Edit page presents a t raditional source/record st yle editing experie nce. The Source
Viewer lets you view individual c lips from the Media Pool to prepare them fo r editing. Meanwhile, the
Timeline Viewer lets you play throug h your program, showing you the fr ame at the position of the
playhead in the Timeline.
Source and Timeline Viewers
You can select either viewer by clickin g with the pointer, or by pressing Q (Source/ Timeline Viewer),
and the name of the viewer that currently has fo cus appears in orange.
How Each Clip’s G rade Looks in Each Viewer
Because of DaVinci Resolve’s deep colo r and effects tools, t he state of the image you see in each
viewer of the Edit page depends on a number of thi ngs.
The Source Viewer
The Source Viewer shows each clip as it look s at the source. If you have Resolve Col or Management
(RCM) turned on or source LUTs applied, then the Source V iewer will show your clips as they ’re being
processed by RCM and/or the source LUTs, since those are source -level color operations . However, in
the absence of RCM and source LUTs, the image in the Source Vie wer looks exactly th e same as it does
on disk. If you have log-encoded media tha t looks flat and low- contrast, then that ’s how it’s going to
look in the Source Viewer.
The Timeline Viewer
The Timeline Viewer follows all of the s ame rules as the Source Viewer, with th e addition that
the Timeline Viewer also shows you how ea ch clip in the Timeline looks w ith Fusion page and/or
Color page operations applied, since the Timelin e Viewer is actually show ing you the output of the
Color page, so you can see every clip of your p rogram in context of how the image is b eing affected by
the DaVinci Resolve image processing pipeline.
NOTE The Color V iewer Lookup Table options in the Color Mana gement panel of the Project
Settings only affect the GU I Viewer in the Color page. They do n ot affect the viewer s in the
Edit page.
Chapter 33 Using the Edit Page 575
Chapter 33
Using the Edit Page
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to use and configure the Edit page
user interface to prepare for editing projects in DaVinci Resolve.
For more information on how to use the Edit page to im port and conform projec ts edited in other
applications for color correction and f inishing in DaVinci Resolve, s ee Chapter 56, “Conforming and
Relinking Clips.”
Contents
The Edit Page User Interface 5 61
Navigating the Edit Page 562
Showing Which Panel Has Focus 562
The Media Pool 563
Importing Media Into the Media Pool
on the Edit Page 564
Bins, Power Bins, and Smart Bins 564
Showing Bins in Separate Windows 565
Filtering Bins Using Color Tags 565
Sorting the Bin List 566
More About Timelines and Grading 567
Timelines, Grades, and Versions 567
Enabling the Use of a Master Timeline 567
Using the Effects Library 569
The Too lbox 569
OpenFX 570
Audio FX 570
Eects Library Favorites 570
Edit Index 571
Navigating the Timeline Using
the Edit Index 57 2
Edit Index Columns 572
Filtering the Edit Index 573
Exporting the Edit Index 574
Source and Timeline Viewers 575
How Each Clip’s Grade Looks
in Each Viewer 57 5
Source and Timeline Viewers vs.
Single Viewer Mode 576
Viewer Controls 577
Simultaneous Audio Waveform
Display in the Source Viewer 580
Cinema Viewer Mode 580
Viewer Indicators 581
Other Viewer Options 581
Fast Review in the Timeline Viewer 582
Opening Clips in the Source Viewer 582
Timeline Viewer Edit Overlays 582
Copy and Paste Timecode in
Viewer Timecode Fields 583
Metadata Editor 583
Inspector 584
Timeline 585
Timeline Options 587
Switching Among Multiple Timelines 589
Chapter 33 Using the Edit Page 560
PART 5 — CONTENTS
33 Using t he Edit Page �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������560
34 Creating and Work ing with Timelines �������������������������������������������������������������������������598
35 Preparing Clip s for Editing and Viewer Playback �����������������������������������������������������617
36 Editing B asics ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������637
37 Using the Inspector in the Edi t Page ���������������������������������������������������������������������������668
38 Modif ying Clips in the Timeline �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������681
39 Three- and Four-Point Editing ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������700
40 Marking and Finding C lips in the Timeline�����������������������������������������������������������������730
41 Multicam Editing ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������758
42 Take Selectors , Compound Clips, and Nested Timelines ���������������������������������������769
43 Trimming������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������779
44 Working with Audio in the Edit Page ���������������������������������������������������������������������������813
45 Media Management ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������845
View
Bypass Color and Fusion – Page 576
Turns on or off Color and/or Fusion operations
in a timeline.
Display Broadcast Safe Exceptions
– Page 2752
Turns on the Broadcast Safe overlay.
Source/Timeline Viewer – Page 575
Toggles between making the Source or
Timeline viewer active in the E dit page.
Source Clip/Source Tape – Page 489
Toggles between Source Clip and Source Tape
in the Cut page viewer.
Zoom
Zoom options for the viewer.
Zoom Around Mouse Pointer – Page 609
Centers the timeline zoom on the pointer
rather than the playhead in the Edit pa ge.
Zoom Audio Waveform – Page 3466
Sets waveform zooming parameters
in the Fairlight page.
Safe Area – Page 891
Toggles the safe area overlays for the Edit
and Color pages.
Select Aspect Ratio – Page 891
Selects the Aspect Rat io for the
Safe Area overlay.
Switch Eye To – Page 311
Chose the current eye for
Stereoscopic workflows.
Viewer Overlay – Page 955
Sets the Viewer On Screen controls
in the Edit Page.
Show Duplicate Frames – Page 614
Duplicate clips are marked in the Edit
page timeline.
Show File Names – Page 393
Toggles between displaying Clip names or
File names in the Edit page.
Overlay Synced Audio File Names
– Page 408
Shows the names of the original audio f iles
in the Edit page.
Show Audio Track Layers – Page 3583
Reveals track layers in the Fairlight pa ge.
Show Subtitle Regions – Page 983
Shows or Hides regions in the subtitle t racks.
Timeline Thumbnail Mode – Page 2793
Toggles clip order between A or C mode
in the Color page.
Timeline Thumbnail Info – Page 2790
Choose what clip info is shown on the thumb nail
in the Color page.
Timeline Thumbnail Size – Page 2788
Chooses the size of the thumbnails in the
Color page.
Show Current Clip With Handles – Page 2790
Shows the handles of a clip in the Color page.
Show Markers – Page 747
Shows or Hides markers based on color.
Show Flags – Page 732
Shows or Hides flags based on color.
Timeline Scrolling – Page 3470
Sets the timeline scrolling method in the
Fairlight page.
Show Preview Marks – Page 708
Toggles Preview Marks on or off in the Edi t page.
Enable Multiview Edit Preview – Page 786
Enables or disables the multi-frame displays
in the Edit page.
4024DaVinci Resolve 18.1 Menu Descriptions
Contents
Getting Started �����������������������������������������������������������������4
1 DaVinci Resolve Interface �����������������������������������������������6
2 Setup and Workflows ���������������������������������������������������� 64
3 Ingest and Organize Media �������������������������������������� 327
4 The Cut Page ���������������������������������������������������������������� 457
5 Ed it �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������559
6 Editing Eects and Transitions ���������������������������������853
7 Import and Conform Projects ��������������������������������1008
8 Fusion Fundamentals ������������������������������������������������1084
9 Fusion Page Eects ��������������������������������������������������� 1765
10 Color ������������������������������������������������������������������������������2720
11 Color Page Eects �����������������������������������������������������3237
12 Resolve FX Overview ������������������������������������������������3282
13 Fairlight ������������������������������������������������������������������������3459
14 Deliver ���������������������������������������������������������������������������3875
15 Advanced Workflows ������������������������������������������������3953
16 Project Libraries, Collaborative,
and Remote Workflows ��������������������������������������������
3966
Menu Descriptions �����������������������������������������������������4016
Regulatory Notices ����������������������������������������������������4032
Safety Information ����������������������������������������������������4034
Warranty ����������������������������������������������������������������������4035
MEDIACUTEDITFUSIONCOLORAUDIODELIVERMENU INTRO
For ease of use navigating this manual, each table of contents (TOC) listed on this manual are
hyperlinked, and by clicking on each title or page number, you will be taken to the appropriate
part of the manual. On the right hand side of each page includes a hyperlink tab. As you hover the
pointer over the tab and by clicking on the tab you will be taken to one of the TOC page.
Page Num ber
Part Number
Hyperlink Tab
Menu Description
Main TOC
Chapter TOC
Chapter Number
Menu Description
By clicking each tit le or
the page numbe r, you will be
taken to the appropriate page.
Part TO C
5DaVinci Resolve 18.1 Navigation Guide
Page 6
1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 45
Page 7
Chapter 1
Introduction to DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve integrates editing, compositing and
motion graphics, color correction, audio recording and mixing,
and finishing within a single, easy to learn application.
The editing, compositing, grading, and audio tools found in DaVinci Resolve should be immediately
familiar to experienced artists who’ve used other applications, but they ’re also approachable to folks
who are new to post-production.
Additionally, dedicated tools available for on-set workflows integrate tasks such as media duplication,
shot and metadata organization, and on-location look management into a complete toolset that lets
you smoothly segue from the camera original media being acquired in the field to the organization
and use of that media in a wide variety of post-production workflows with DaVinci Resolve at their
heart. In particular, the tight integration in DaVinci Resolve means that you can freely move from one
task to the next of your project’s workflow without skipping a beat, making it easy to back up and
organize a shoot’s media before immediately diving into editing, while switching over to add a quick
composite or to color-correct clips in the middle of your editing spree, and then getting right back to
cutting, with a bit of mixing to make sure things sound right, all without needing to export projects or
launch other applications.
And you can go further, using the collaborative features of DaVinci Resolve to enable multiple
artists, for example an editor, a colorist, and assistants, to work together on the same timeline
simultaneously, for the ultimate integrated workflow.
Of course, no post-production professional works in a vacuum, and DaVinci Resolve makes it easy to
work with other facilities by importing projects and exporting project exchange formats and rendered
or managed media among applications such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro X, Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Avid’s
Media Composer and Pro Tools, Autodesk’s Flame Premium, and many other applications via robust
support of XML, AAF, and EDL import and export workflows.
This chapter introduces the DaVinci Resolve user interface (UI), explaining where to find each group
of features, and how the highly focused and tightly integrated Media, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, and
Deliver pages work together to let you pursue nearly any post-production workflow you can imagine.
After this brief tour, the rest of Part 1 of this manual provides much more in-depth information
about project management, preferences, project settings, and other topics of general interest for
getting started.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 7
Page 8
Contents
The Project Manager 9
Preferences and Project Settings 9
Individual Preferences
10
Preferences 10
10
User Preferences 11
12
Switching Among Pages 13
Minimizing the Resolve Page Bar 13
13
Hide Pages You Don’t Use 13
14
The Media Page 14
15
Viewer 15
Media Pool 16
17
Audio Panel 17
The Cut Page 17
The Media Pool 18
Motion Graphics and
Visual Effects in DaVinci Resolve 25
The Fusion Page
The Work Area
Viewers
Toolbar
Inspector
Thumbnail Timeline 31
Media Pool
The Color Page
Viewer
Gallery
Timeline
26
27
27
28
28
29
29
30
31
31
32
32
33
34
34
35
35
36
36
The Viewer 19
Audio Meter 20
The Timeline 20
The Edit Page 21
The Media Pool 21
22
22
23
Inspector 24
Too lbar 24
Timeline 24
Floating Timecode Window 25
The Fairlight Page 37
The Audio Timeline 38
Too lbar
Mixer
39
The Monitoring Panel 41
Floating Timecode Window 42
The Deliver Page
43
The Deliver Page Timeline 43
The Viewer
The Render Queue 44
39
39
42
44
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 8
Page 9
The Project Manager
For most users, Project Manager is the first window you’ll see when you open DaVinci Resolve.
The Project Manager is a centralized interface for managing all projects belonging to the user
who’s currently logged in, whose name appears at the upper right-hand corner in a project title
bar. The Project Manager is also the place where you import and export projects to and from
DaVinci Resolve, whether you’re moving projects around from user to user, or moving projects from
one DaVinci Resolve workstation to another. Finally, the Project Manager also lets you organize
the project libraries that are used to manage everything in DaVinci Resolve using the Project
Library sidebar.
To open any project, double-click it. To create a new project, double-click the Untitled Project icon, or
click the New Project button.
The Project Manager shows all projects belonging to the current user.
For more information about the Project Manager, see Chapter 3, “Managing Projects and
Project Libraries.”
Preferences and Project Settings
Once you open a project, you have the option of adjusting the System and User Preferences that
govern the installation of DaVinci Resolve on your workstation, and the Project Settings governing the
currently open project. When you first install DaVinci Resolve, the most important of these settings
are selected via the installer’s on boarding questions. However, if you’re opening DaVinci Resolve for
the first time, you should probably check these settings to make sure they’re optimal for your system.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 9
Page 10
Individual Preferences and Settings Based on Login
As of DaVinci Resolve 16, there are individual preferences and settings for each login account on a
given computer. This means that multiple artists can each have their own login, and DaVinci Resolve
will maintain separate workspace layouts and preference states for each artist, depending on who’s
logged in.
Preferences
The Preferences window, divided into System preferences and User preferences panels, lets you
set up the overall environment of your DaVinci workstation, choosing what hardware to use with
DaVinci Resolve and what user interface settings you prefer as you work.
The DaVinci Resolve preferences let you set up your environment
A quick over view of the most important System and User preferences appears below, with guidance
about the first settings you should adjust when you first set DaVinci Resolve up on your workstation.
However, for a comprehensive overview and for more information, see Chapter 4, “System and
User Preferences.”
System Preferences
The System preferences let you configure the hardware DaVinci Resolve works with. If you have a
system that doesn’t change very often, then you may only rarely use the Preferences window. On the
other hand, if you’re working with a mobile system with changing video interfaces, control panels, and
scratch volumes, then you may use this window more frequently.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 10
Page 11
NOTE
to quit and restart DaVinci Resolve for those changes to take effect.
Hardware Configuration
Lets you choose various options governing how to use the GPUs attached to your computer, and
how to configure Viewers in different pages. This panel also provides an over view, for reference, of
all hardware and computer characteristics that are relevant to DaVinci Resolve running smoothly,
including a listing of installed GPUs.
Media Storage
This is a list within which you define the scratch disk used by your system. The first volume in this list
is where Gallery stills and cache files are stored, so you want to make sure that you choose the fastest
storage volume that’s connected.
Video and Audio I/O
The preferences in this panel let you choose which video and audio interfaces you want
DaVinci Resolve to use on your workstation. If you have multiple Blackmagic Design I/O interfaces
connected to your computer, you can choose one to use for monitoring video output, and one to
use for Resolve Live, a feature that lets you grade camera output during a shoot as part of an on-
set workflow.
Control Panels
Lets you choose and configure (if necessary) a control panel that’s connected for use during grading
in DaVinci Resolve.
User Preferences
User preferences govern the setup of the user interface in DaVinci Resolve, letting you customize
it to work the way you like.
UI Settings
A Language drop-down menu at the top lets you specify which language the DaVinci Resolve user
interface displays. DaVinci Resolve currently supports English, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish,
Portuguese, French, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean. Additional checkboxes let you choose
options for which project to open during startup, and how to configure the Viewers that appear in
every page of DaVinci Resolve.
Project Save and Load
This panel contains the all-important auto-save controls, including the Live Save option that enables
Resolve to incrementally save your changes as you work.
Editing
Numerous controls in this panel let you customize the editing experience in the Edit page, including
default settings to use when making new timelines, and general settings that govern standard effects
durations and trim behaviors.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 11
Page 12
Color
These controls let you customize the grading experience in the Color page, with options controlling
video scope display, the look of UI overlays, and other color-specific functions.
Keyboard Mapping
This panel has all the controls you need for searching for and customizing the keyboard shortcuts
used for different commands throughout DaVinci Resolve.
Project Settings
Once you’ve created a project, all project-specific settings are found in the Project Settings window.
To open the Project Settings window, just click the gear button at the bottom right on any page.
Project Manager and
Project Settings buttons
The Project Settings open in the middle of the screen, divided into a series of panels which can be
selected from a sidebar to the left. Each panel contains a collection of related settings that affects
some category of DaVinci Resolve functionality. To open a panel of settings, simply click its name in
the sidebar at the left.
The Project Settings show all project-specific settings and attributes.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 12
Page 13
The Master Settings define the principal attributes of a project, such as the timeline resolution,
timeline frame rate, color science, and bit depth. Image Scaling settings define how clips that don’t
match the timeline resolution are scaled to fit. There are other panels for Color Management, Camera
Raw, Capture and Playback, etc.
For more information about Project Settings, see Chapter 4, “System and User Preferences.”
Switching Among Pages
Buttons for switching pages appear at the bottom of the UI.
DaVinci Resolve is divided into seven main pages of functionality, each of which facilitates a different
specialization of a typical post production workflow, and each of which can be accessed using buttons
at the very bottom of the DaVinci Resolve interface. These buttons are organized in order of workflow,
and they ’re always available, letting you quickly switch between impor ting media, fast editing, detailed
editing, compositing, grading, audio mixing, and outputting your project in a structured manner.
Minimizing the Resolve Page Bar
If you right-click any where within the Resolve Page bar at the bottom of the DaVinci Resolve UI,
two options appear in a contextual menu: “Show Icons and Labels” and “ Show Icons Only.” If you show
icons only, the Resolve Page bar at the bottom takes less room.
The Page bar showing icons only, to save space
Switching Pages Using Keyboard Shortcuts
You can also switch pages using the following keyboard shortcuts, which can be referenced from the
Workspace > Switch to Page submenu.
Hide Pages You Don’t Use
You can leave the page navigation bar showing and just hide the buttons of specific pages.
For example:
— If you like the quick navigation of this bar but there are pages you simply don’t want to use
— If you’re setting up a DaVinci Resolve workstation for an artist making specific contributions to
a project, and you want to hide easy access to pages of functionality they won’t (or shouldn’t) be
using; this can be especially useful in collaborative workflow projects
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 13
Page 14
You can disable/re-enable each page’s buttons using the Workspace > Show Page submenu.
Effects and adjustments that have been applied on hidden pages continue to affect the current
project, they’re only hidden, and you can still navigate to them using the Workspace > Switch to Page
submenu commands or keyboard shortcuts.
Hide Page Navigation Altogether
If you’re an artist that only uses a single page of the DaVinci Resolve experience, or if you want more
screen real estate to work with given your existing computer display’s limited resolution, you can
choose Workspace > Show Page Navigation to hide the page navigation bar at the bottom of the
DaVinci Resolve user interface. While this bar is closed, you can still navigate to other pages using the
Workspace > Switch to Page submenu commands or keyboard shor tcuts.
To toggle the Show Page Navigation function:
— Check Workspace > Show Page Navigation.
With this interface element hidden, you can use keyboard shortcuts to access the individual pages
(Shift - 2 through 8), Project manager (Shift - 1), and Project settings (Shift - 9). You can also access
these functions from DaVinci Resolve’s main menu bar.
The Media Page
The Media page is the primary interface for clip import, media management, and clip organization in
DaVinci Resolve. It’s central to the way DaVinci Resolve works that the source media used by a project
is organized separately from the project data that you import and manage in the Edit page. In this way,
you can manage and update the clips used by timelines in the current project with ease, switching
between offline and online media, reorganizing clips, and troubleshooting any problems that occur.
Media page
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 14
Page 15
The Media page also contains much of the core functionality that will be used for on-set workflows,
and in the ingest, organizational, and sound-syncing steps of digital dailies workflows. This chapter
covers most of the functionality found in the Media page, including functions in detail that are
referenced throughout this manual.
The Media page is divided into six different areas, designed to make it easy to find, select, and work
with media in your project. Much of the functionality and most of the commands are found within the
contextual menus that appear when you right-click clips in the Library, File Browser, or Media Pool.
For more information on using the Media page, see Chapter 17, “Using the Media Page.”
The Media Storage Browser
The Media Storage browser shows a list of all volumes that are currently available to your Resolve
workstation. It’s used to locate media that you want to import manually into your project.
Media Storage with scrubbable Clip view
Viewer
Clips that you select in any area of the Media page show their contents in the Viewer. A jog bar
appears at the bottom, letting you drag the playhead directly with the pointer, while a jog control
between the mode drop-down and transport controls lets you move through a long clip more slowly.
The full width of the jog bar represents the full duration of the clip in the Viewer. The current position
of the playhead is shown in the timecode field at the upper right-hand corner of the Viewer. Simple
transport controls appear underneath the jog bar, letting you Jump to First Frame, Play/Stop, and
Jump to Last Frame. Audio levels can be adjusted by right-clicking on the speaker icon and dragging
the slider.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 15
Page 16
Media page Viewer
You can also put the Viewer into Cinema Viewer mode by choosing Workspace > Viewer Mode >
Cinema Viewer (Command-F), so that it fills the entire screen. This command toggles Cinema Viewer
mode on and off.
If you have two monitors connected to your computer, you can make the Viewer fill one entire screen
and keep the Resolve UI in the other monitor by choosing Workspace > Full Screen Viewer On, and
selecting the display you wish to use for the Viewer.
Media Pool
The Media Pool contains all of the video, audio, and still image media that you import into the current
project. It also contains any media that’s automatically imported along with timelines that have been
imported into DaVinci Resolve. Ordinarily, all media imported into a project goes into the Master bin,
however the Media Pool can be organized into as many user-definable bins as you like, depending
on your needs. Media can be freely moved from one bin to another from within the Media Pool. The
Media Pool also appears on the Edit, Fusion, Color, and Fairlight pages, making it possible to browse
and open clips and timelines everywhere they’re relevant.
Media Pool showing the selected bins’ clips
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 16
Page 17
Metadata Editor
Audio Panel
When you select a clip in any area of the
Media page, its metadata is displayed within
the Metadata Editor. If you select multiple clips,
only the last clip’s information appears. The
Metadata Editor’s header contains uneditable
information about the selected clip, including
the file name, directory, duration, frame rate,
resolution, and codec. A series of editable fields
within the Metadata Editor lets you review
and edit the different metadata items that are
available. A drop-down menu at the upper right
of the Metadata Editor lets you choose from
many different sets of metadata fields and
checkboxes, each grouped for a specific task
or workflow.
The Audio panel can be put into one of two
modes via a pair of buttons above the audio
meters. In the default Meters mode, Audio
Meters are displayed that show the levels of
audio in clips you’re playing. In Waveform
mode, you can load audio clips side by side with
video clips opened in the Viewer in order to
sync them together manually. The Audio panel
can also be hidden.
Clip Metadata Editor
Audio Meters exposed
The Cut Page
The Cut page is a focused environment for fast editing. It’s useful in situations where you need
to quickly cut a news segment, build an episode of web content, edit a straightforward program,
experiment with multiple arrangements of a scene, or put together a first assembly edit.
The Cut page is also a good introductory editing interface for people who are new to editing, as it
presents a streamlined set of tools that are fast to learn and simple to use. Whatever your background,
you’ll find the Cut page to be a valuable addition to your editing experience in DaVinci Resolve.
The default workspace of the Cut page consists of the Media Pool, a single Viewer, and the Timeline
area. These three regions let you quickly import and organize clips, edit clips, and even export the
result, all from within the Cut page.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 17
Page 18
The Cut page default workspace, with the Media Pool in filmstrip view
For more information on the Cut page, see Chapter 26, “Using the Cut Page.”
The Media Pool
The Media Pool appears in the Cut page as well, and contains all video clips, audio clips, graphics, and
other media that you import into your project. You can create Bins with which to organize all of this
media, to make it easier to find what you need quickly. These bins are opened via the bin drop-down at
the upper left-hand corner.
Each piece of media you import, whether it’s video, audio, or graphics, appears as an individual clip,
and they can be selected, scrubbed for fast viewing, reorganized into bins, opened into the Viewer for
playback, or edited into a timeline using the edit buttons or via drag and drop.
Owing to the Cut page’s mission to make editing faster, the Media Pool has different options for
viewing (such as the filmstrip view) and customizing.
The Filmstrip View mode
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 18
Page 19
The Viewer
The Viewer lets you see clips from the Media Pool or clips in the Timeline play, and has numerous
controls to control what you see and how things play.
The single Viewer in the Cut page
The Viewer has three options. Which option is currently in use can be seen, and switched, by three
buttons in the upper lefthand corner of the Viewer.
The Viewer option buttons
Different options are entered automatically by various actions:
— You can double-click any clip to open it into the Viewer as a Source Clip (the left button)
— You can view an entire bin full of clips in the Source Tape (the middle button)
— You can play your edited program in the Timeline (the right button)
Eight controls sit at the bottom of the Viewer. These let you play through and otherwise navigate clips
and the Timeline in different ways.
Clicking the Tools button in the lower left of the Viewer reveals an effects toolbar that you can use to
add and edit clip effects, right within the Viewer with no Inspector needed. The Tools button reveals
a variety of controls over sizing, cropping, audio, speed effects, stabilization, dynamic zoom, and
compositing, covered in more detail later in this chapter.
The Tools bar shown opened
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 19
Page 20
Audio Meter
An audio meter to the right of the Viewer shows you a graphical representation of the audio levels
playing in the current clip or in the Timeline as you play through the Viewer, via animated vertical bars
that are tinted to indicate how loud the levels are.
The Timeline
The word “timeline” refers both to an edited sequence of clips which constitutes a program that is
stored in the Media Pool, and to the area of the Cut page interface where you can open this sequence
of clips to see its contents, and for playback and editing.
For the Cut page user, the timeline is divided into an Upper Timeline at the top, and a larger and more
detailed Timeline Editor showing a zoomed in portion of the timeline around the playhead at the
bottom. Working together, these two views of your edited sequence make it possible to navigate your
entire project and cut in great detail.
The Timeline of the Cut page, comprising the Upper Timeline and the zoomed in Timeline
A pair of buttons at the upper left-hand corner of the Timeline lets you choose whether you use a
locked or free playhead.
The Timeline is divided into multiple tracks, with each track capable of holding a sequence of clips in
order to create a program. The main tracks, which are labeled numerically, combine a clip’s video and
audio into a single item in the Timeline, for simplicity. Editing the In or Out point of a clip edits the
video and audio together.
Two buttons let you choose to
use a locked or free playhead
Track 1 shows combined Video+Audio tracks
in the Cut page Timeline.
TIP
on different tracks. When you open the Fairlight page, audio is presented on tracks with
lanes, where each audio channel can be seen. In this way, each page gives you different
sets of controls over the contents of the timeline that are appropriate for each page.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 20
Page 21
The Edit Page
The Edit page exposes a source-record style NLE that incorporates many specialized features for both
creative editing and finishing. The Edit page is divided into three main regions: the browsers found at
the left, the Viewers at the top, and the Timeline at the bottom, all of which work together to let you
import, edit, and trim timelines with a flexible variety of tools and methods.
The Edit page
For more information on the Edit page, see Chapter 33, “Using the Edit Page.”
The Media Pool
As with everywhere else it appears in DaVinci Resolve, the Media Pool lets you organize and peruse
all of the media and timelines in a project. DaVinci Resolve projects may contain one or more edited
timelines (sometimes called a sequence in other applications).
The Media Pool in Thumbnail mode
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 21
Page 22
The Media Pool in the Edit page is identical to that shown on the Media, Fusion, Color, and Fairlight
pages, and shows you all of the source clips and timelines that are available for editing. A Bin list at the
left shows a hierarchical list of folders that you can use to organize your media.
By default, the Media Pool has a single bin, named “Master,” but you can add more bins as necessary
to organize your clips, opening any of them to expose their contents with a single click. The Bin list can
be hidden or shown via the button at the upper-left of the Media Pool. A browser to the right shows
the contents of the currently selected bin.
Effects Library Browsing
The Effects Librar y contains a folder with
the different Video Transitions, Title Effects,
Generators, and Filters that are available for
editing in the Timeline. The Effects Library
has two panels, a Toolbox panel that contains
the default Transitions, Titles, and Generators
that Resolve comes with, and an OpenFX
panel that contains any OpenFX transitions
and generators you might have installed on
your system.
The Effects Library
Edit Index
Clicking the Edit Index button opens the Edit
Index. By default, this shows an EDL-style
list view of all the edit events in the current
timeline. Whichever timeline is selected in the
Timeline list displays its events here; each clip
and transition is shown as an individual event,
each of which contains multiple columns of
information. If you re-edit a timeline, your
changes are automatically reflected in this list.
Edit Index List shown open
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 22
Page 23
Source/Offline and Timeline Viewers
The Source Viewer lets you view individual clips from the Media Pool to prepare them for editing.
Meanwhile, the Timeline Viewer shows the frame at the position of the playhead in the Timeline. You
can select either viewer by clicking, and the name of the viewer that currently has focus appears in
orange. The color shown in the Source Viewer usually reflects that of the original source media, while
the Timeline Viewer shows whatever grading you’ve done in the Color page.
Source and Timeline Viewers
If you want to change the Edit page layout to hide the Source Viewer, you can choose Workspace >
Single Viewer Mode to hide the Source Viewer and instead use just a single viewer to contextually
display either a selected Source Clip or the current frame of the Timeline.
Single Viewer mode
In Single Viewer mode, whatever you select in the Media Pool or Timeline determines which controls
appear in the Viewer, which lets you do nearly everything you can do with two simultaneously
open viewers.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 23
Page 24
You can also put either the Source or Timeline Viewers into Cinema Viewer mode by choosing
Workspace > Viewer Mode > Cinema Viewer (Command-F), causing whichever viewer is currently
selected to fill the entire screen. This command toggles Cinema Viewer mode on and off.
Inspector
The Inspector can be opened to let you customize compositing, transform, and cropping parameters
for clips, as well as clip-specific retime and scaling options. Furthermore, the Inspector lets you edit
the parameters of transitions, titles, and generators used in the Timeline, in order to customize their
effect. Ordinarily, the Inspector opens alongside the Source and Timeline Viewers, but on smaller
displays, opening the Inspector switches the Edit page to a single-viewer mode, showing you the
Timeline item that you’re inspecting alongside the Inspector with that clip’s parameters.
The Inspector, opened and showing a clip’s parameters
Toolbar
Eleven buttons starting from the left, running along the top of the Timeline, let you choose different
tools for performing various editing functions.
Buttons in the toolbar
Timeline
The Timeline shows whichever timeline you’ve double-clicked in the Timelines browser. It’s the
workspace where you either edit programs together from scratch, or import sequences from other
applications to work on inside of Resolve. You can only have one Timeline open at a time.
The Timeline is divided into audio and video tracks, each of which has a series of header controls at
the left that let you choose destination tracks for editing, name tracks, and turn tracks on and off,
among other things. The appearance of the Timeline can be customized using the Timeline View
Options drop-down in the toolbar.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 24
Page 25
An edited timeline
Floating Timecode Window
A timecode window is available from the Workspace menu on every page, including the Edit page.
Choosing this option displays a floating timecode window that shows the timecode of the Viewer
or Timeline that currently has focus. This window is resizable so you can make the timecode larger
or smaller.
A new floating timecode window is available
Motion Graphics and Visual Effects in DaVinci Resolve
To begin with, DaVinci Resolve has a wealth of effects in both the Edit and Color pages for creating
titles, transforming and animating clips, compositing and creating transparency effects, cutting
mattes, applying filters, image stabilization, lens dewarping, and so on.
Then of course there’s the Fusion page, which adds considerably more power ful VFX and motion
graphics capabilities via its node-based interface and deep toolset of effects nodes, keyframing and
curve editing controls, and 2D and 3D compositing features.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 25
Page 26
To use DaVinci Resolve to the best effect, it’s prudent to begin to think of the Edit, Fusion, and Color
pages as complementary sets of controls.
— For editors, the Fusion and Color pages are really just two giant inspectors; one filled with every
compositing tool you could hope to use, and the other filled with every control for color and visual
adjustment you could want, each of which are only one click away.
— For compositing artists, the Edit page can be considered a robust shot management interface as
well as an opportunity to do VFX work that’s deeply integrated with the edit of the program you’re
working on.
— For colorists, the Edit page is a refined environment for dealing with conform issues and taking
care of myriad finishing tasks quickly and easily, that itself is only one click away. For more
information on the ef fects that are available in DaVinci Resolve, see the chapters available within
Part 4, “Edit Page Effects,” and Part 7, “Color Page Effects.”
VFX Connect
As robust as the built-in compositing capabilities of DaVinci Resolve now are, when you run into
instances where the various capabilities found in the Edit, Fusion, and Color pages aren’t enough to
achieve the effect you require, you can use the VFX Connect features of DaVinci Resolve to send one
or more clips from the Edit page Timeline to Blackmagic Fusion, the powerful node-based compositing
application from Blackmagic Design, in order to do more robust compositing and effects work there.
Furthermore, the VFX Connect feature can also be used to round-trip media to and render results
from third-party applications such as The Foundry’s Nuke, Autodesk Flame, or Blender.
The New VFX Connect Clip dialo
This is a simple round-trip operation that lets you send clips from the DaVinci Resolve timeline to
Fusion or another application, where you’ll add effects and do whatever work needs to be done before
rendering a finished effect file that, if properly named, will automatically appear back in your timeline.
When you use VFX Connect with Blackmagic Fusion, a project file is automatically generated and the
render path is automatically named for automatic linking from the DaVinci Resolve timeline. If you use
this feature with third-par ty applications, you’ll need to set up the naming of your rendered effect file
manually. For more information, see Chapter 61, “Introduction to Compositing in Fusion.”
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 26
Page 27
The Fusion Page
The Fusion page is intended, eventually, to be a feature-complete integration of Blackmagic Design
Fusion, a powerful 2D and 3D compositing application with over thirty years of evolution serving
the film and broadcast industr y, creating effects that have been seen in countless films and
television series.
Merged right into DaVinci Resolve with a newly updated user interface, the Fusion page makes it
possible to jump immediately from editing right into compositing, with no need to export media, relink
files, or launch another application to get your work done. Everything you need now lives right inside
DaVinci Resolve.
The Fusion page showing Viewers, the Node Editor, and the Inspector
For more information on using the Fusion page, see Chapter 61, “Introduction to Compositing
in Fusion.”
The Work Area
You’ll probably not see this term used much, in favor of the specific panels within the work area that
you’ll be using, but the area referred to as the Work Area is the region at the bottom half of the Fusion
page UI, within which you can expose the three main panels used to construct compositions and edit
animations in the Fusion page. These are the Node Editor, the Spline Editor, and the Keyframes Editor.
By default, the Node Editor is the first thing you’ll see, and the main area you’ll be working within,
but it can sit side-by-side with the Spline Editor and Keyframes Editor as necessar y, and you can
make more horizontal room on your display for these three panels by putting the Effects Library and
Inspector into half-height mode, if necessary.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 27
Page 28
The Work Area showing the Node Editor, the Spline Editor, and Keyframes Editor
Viewers
The Viewer Area area encompasses the Time Ruler and transport controls. The Time Ruler is the
principal “timeline” of the Fusion page, which focuses exclusively on the current composition you’re
working on and may consist of one clip or several. This area can be set to display either one or two
viewers at the top of the Fusion page, chosen via the Viewer button at the far right of the Viewer title
bar. Each viewer can show a single node’s output from anywhere in the node tree. You assign which
node is displayed in which viewer. This makes it easy to load separate nodes into each viewer for
comparison. For example, you can load a Keyer node into the left Viewer and the final composite into
the right Viewer, so you can see the image you’re adjusting and the final result at the same time.
Dual viewers let you edit an upstream node in one while seeing
its ef fect on the overall composition in the other
Ordinarily, each viewer shows 2D nodes from your composition as a single image. However, when
you’re viewing a 3D node, you have the option to set that viewer to one of several 3D views, including a
perspective view that gives you a repositionable stage on which to arrange the elements of the world
you’re creating, or a quad view that lets you see your composition from four angles, making it easier to
arrange and edit objects and layers within the XYZ axes of the 3D space in which you’re working.
Toolbar
The toolbar, located underneath the Time Ruler, contains buttons that let you quickly add commonly
used nodes to the Node Editor. Clicking any of these buttons adds that node after the currently
selected node in the node tree, or adds an unconnected instance of that node if no nodes are selected.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 28
Page 29
The toolbar is divided into six sections that group commonly used nodes together. As you hover the
pointer over any button, a tooltip shows you that node’s name.
The toolbar has buttons for adding commonly used nodes to the Node Editor
Effects Library
The Effects Librar y on the Fusion page shows all of the nodes and effects that are available in the
Fusion page, including effects that come with DaVinci Resolve and third-party OFX, if available. While
the toolbar shows many of the most common nodes you’ll be using in any composite, the Effects
Library contains every single tool available in the Fusion page, organized by category, with each node
ready to be quickly added to the Node Editor. Suffice it to say there are many, many more nodes
available in the Effects Librar y than on the toolbar, spanning a wide range of uses.
The Effects Library with Tools open
Node Editor
The Node Editor is the heart of the Fusion page, because it’s where you build the tree of nodes that
makes up each composition. Each node you add to the node tree adds a specific operation that
creates one effect, whether it’s blurring the image, adjusting color, painting strokes, drawing and
adding a mask, extracting a key, creating text, or compositing two images into one.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 29
Page 30
You can think of each node as a layer in an effects stack, except that you have the freedom to route
image data in any direction to branch and merge different segments of your composite in completely
nonlinear ways. This makes it easy to build complex effects, but it also makes it easy to see what’s
happening, since the node tree doubles as a flowchart that clearly shows you every thing that’s
happening, once you learn to read it.
The Node Editor displaying a node tree creating a composition
Inspector
The Inspector shows parameters
from one or more selected nodes
The Inspector is a panel on the right side of
the Fusion page that you use to display and
manipulate the parameters of one or more
selected nodes. When a node is selected in
the Node Editor, its parameters and settings
appear in the Inspector, ready for you to
modify. The Fusion Inspector is divided into
two panels. The Tools panel shows you the
parameters of selected nodes.
The Modifiers panel shows you different things
for different nodes. For all nodes, it shows
you the controls for Modifiers, or adjustable
expressions, that you’ve added to specific
parameters to automatically animate them in
different ways.
Additionally, many nodes expose multiple
tabs’ worth of controls in the Inspector, seen
as icons at the top of the parameter section
for each node. Click any tab to expose that set
of controls.
Nodes with several tabs worth of parameters
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 30
Page 31
Thumbnail Timeline
Hidden by default, the Thumbnail timeline can be opened by clicking the Clips button in the UI Toolbar
and appears underneath the Node Editor when it’s open. The Thumbnail timeline shows you every
clip in the current Timeline, giving you a way to navigate from one clip to another when working on
multiple compositions in your project and providing an interface for creating and switching among
multiple versions of compositions and resetting the current composition, when necessary.
The Thumbnail timeline lets you navigate the Timeline and manage versions of compositions
Media Pool
In the Fusion page, the Media Pool continues to serve its purpose as the repository of all media you’ve
imported into your project. This makes it easy to add additional clips to your compositions simply by
dragging the clip you want from the Media Pool into the Node Editor. The media you add appears as a
new MediaIn node in your composition, ready to be integrated into your node tree however you need.
The Media Pool in Thumbnail mode showing video clips
Status Bar
The status bar at the bottom of the Fusion page, immediately above the Resolve Page bar, shows
you a variety of up-to-date information about things you’re selecting and what’s happening in the
Fusion page.
For example, hovering the pointer over any node displays information about that node in the status
bar (as well as in a floating tooltip), while the currently achieved frame rate appears whenever you
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 31
Page 32
initiate playback, and the percentage of the RAM cache that’s used appears at all times. Other
information, updates, and warnings appears in this area as you work.
The status bar under the Node Editor showing
you information about a node under the pointer
The Console
The console, available by choosing Workspace > Console, is a window in which you can see the error,
log, script, and input messages that may explain something the Fusion page is tr ying to do in greater
detail. The console is also where you can read FusionScript outputs or input FusionScripts directly.
Occasionally, the status bar (described above) will display a badge to let you know there’s a message
in the console you might be interested in. The badge will indicate if the message is an error, log, or
script message.
The Console window
The Color Page
The Color page is where you color correct, or grade, your program. It has all of the controls available
for manipulating color and contrast, reducing noise, creating limited secondary color corrections,
building image effects of different kinds, adjusting clip geometry, and making many other corrective
and stylistic adjustments. The Color page is divided into seven main areas that work together to let
you build a grade.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 32
Page 33
The Color page
For more detailed information about the Color page, see Chapter 123, “Using the Color Page.”
Viewer
The Viewer shows the frame at the current position of the playhead in the Timeline. The contents
of the Viewer are almost always output to video via whichever I/O interface you have connected.
At the top of the Viewer is a header that displays the Project and Timeline names, as well as a Viewer
Timecode display that shows the source timecode of each clip by default. The Timeline name is also
a drop-down display that lets you switch to any other timeline in the project. A jog bar (sometimes
referred to as a scrubber bar) underneath the image lets you drag the playhead across the entire
duration of the clip, while transport controls underneath that let you control playback. A toolbar at the
top provides controls governing Image Wipes, Split-Screen controls, and Highlight display. Additional
controls let you turn audio playback on and off, or adjust them by right-clicking on the speaker icon
and dragging the slider. You can also choose which onscreen controls are currently displayed.
Viewer with transport controls
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 33
Page 34
You can also put the Viewer into Cinema Viewer mode by choosing Workspace > Viewer Mode >
Cinema Viewer (Command-F), so that it fills the entire screen. This command toggles Cinema Viewer
mode on and off. Two other modes, Enhanced Viewer (Option-F) and Full Screen Viewer (Shift-F), are
available to provide more working area for tasks such as window positioning and rotoscoping.
Gallery
The Gallery is used for storing still frames to use as reference when comparing clips to one another.
Each still frame also stores that clip’s grade so you can copy it later; stills and grades are stored
together. A button lets you open up the Album browser, used for organizing your stills. At the top of
the Gallery, Memories let you store grade information that you can apply using a control panel or
keyboard shortcuts. You can also open a larger Gallery window within the Color page that provides
more room for organizing your saved stills and grades. For more information on the Gallery page, see
Chapter 137, “Using the Gallery.”
The Gallery has Memories, stills saved in albums, and your PowerGrades
Node Editor
The Node Editor is where you assemble one or more individual corrections (nodes) together to create
multi-correction grades (seen as node trees). This is a powerful way of assembling grades, since
different combinations of nodes let you create different corrections and very specific adjustments by
reordering operations, combining keys, or changing the layer order of different adjustments.
For more information about the Node Editor, see Chapter 139, “Node Editing Basics.”
Node Editor to construct your grade processing signal flow
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 34
Page 35
Timeline
The Timeline in the Color page reflects the contents of the Timeline in the Edit page, but has a
different appearance that’s tailored to the requirements of the colorist. However, the content is
identical, and changes made to the Timeline in the Edit page are immediately seen in the Color page
as you switch back and forth. The Color page Timeline provides several ways of navigating the clips in
your project, as well as keeping track of what has been done to which clips.
The Timeline is divided into three parts, each of which shows dif ferent information and provides
differing controls. A Timeline Ruler at the top lets you scrub the playhead across multiple clips,
and can be zoomed out enough to show every clip in your entire program. Underneath, the Mini-
Timeline (which can be opened or closed via a button at the right of the palette bar) shows a small
representation of the Timeline in the Edit page wherein each clip is as long as its actual duration. At
the bottom of the Timeline is the Thumbnail timeline, in which each clip is represented by a single
frame. The currently selected clip is outlined in orange, and information appears above and below
each thumbnail such as each clip’s source timecode, clip number and track number, version name,
whether it’s been graded, whether it’s been tracked, if it’s been flagged, and so on.
The Color page Timeline
Left Palettes
A series of palettes at the bottom left of the Color page provide access to different sets of grading
tools, used principally for manipulating color, contrast, and raw media format settings. Each individual
palette is opened by clicking the corresponding icon at the top of the Palette panel.
The available palettes are the Camera Raw palette (for making metadata adjustments to raw media
formats), the Color Match palette (for creating automatic grades by sampling on-camera color charts),
the Color Wheels (graphical color balance controls and master wheels or sliders for adjusting YRGB
Lift/Gamma/Gain), HDR Grade for enhanced High Dynamic Range grading, the RGB Mixer (for mixing
color channels into one another), and the Motion Effects palette (with controls for noise reduction and
artificial motion blur).
Left palette selection buttons in the top bar
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 35
Page 36
Center Palettes
At 1920x1080 resolution or higher, a second set of palettes is organized at the bottom center of the
Color page. These palettes span a wide range of functionality, and the adjustments you make with
them can be combined with those made using the Color palettes.
Center palette selection buttons
NOTE
DaVinci Resolve interface into a smaller area.
The eight available Center palettes include the Curves palette, the Color Warper palette, the Qualifiers
palette, the Windows palette, the Tracker palette, the Magic Mask palette, the Blur palette, the Key
palette, the Sizing palette, and the Stereoscopic 3D palette.
Keyframe Editor
The Keyframe Editor provides an interface for animating Color, Sizing, and Stereo Format adjustments
over time. Each node in the Node Editor corresponds to a track in the Keyframe Editor, which lets you
animate each node’s adjustments independently.
Keyframe Editor displaying dynamic grade changes
Furthermore, each node’s track can be opened up to reveal parameter groups, so that you can
animate subsets of an individual node’s functions independently of other functions within the
same node.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 36
Page 37
The Fairlight Page
In single monitor mode, the Fairlight page is an optimized look at the audio tracks of your project, with
an expanded mixer and custom monitoring controls that make it easy to evaluate and adjust the levels
of your program in order to create a smooth and harmonious mix.
Fairlight page
About Audio Monitoring and Audio Input
The audio processing throughout DaVinci Resolve, including on the Fairlight page and
audio processing using Fairlight FX plug-ins, is equally compatible with all platforms that
DaVinci Resolve supports audio monitoring using:
a)
b)
c)
d) The Fairlight Audio Accelerator, MADI Upgrade, and Fairlight Audio Interface.
DaVinci Resolve supports audio input using the embedded audio on an incoming
Fairlight Audio Accelerator, MADI Upgrade, and Fairlight Audio Interface.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 37
Page 38
The Audio Timeline
The heart of the Fairlight page, the Audio Timeline presents the audio channels and tracks of the
currently selected timeline differently than the Edit page does, in a one-channel-per-track format
that’s optimized for audio mixing and sweetening. The Audio page Timeline cannot be closed.
The Audio Timeline
Audio layering in a mono audio track
The Fairlight page of DaVinci Resolve supports multiple audio tracks, and each audio track may
contain multiple lanes. The clips edited into the Timeline appear within each track, with the recorded
channels within each clip occupying as many lanes as that clip has available. At the left of each track is
a header area that contains a number of controls.
The Fairlight page differs in another unique respect from the Edit page Timeline, in that it supports
audio layering. Audio layering is a special audio editing mode that lets you superimpose multiple
audio clips in the same track, and whatever audio clip is on top dictates which audio will play. In a way,
when audio layering is enabled, superimposed audio clips are treated the same as superimposed
video clips that all have opacity set to 100%, with clips on top obscuring (or muting) clips underneath.
Audio layering is incredibly useful for any situation where you’re combining pieces of multiple takes
together to create a single VO, audio vocal track, or dramatic performance, as you can choose which
pieces to prioritize via their superimposed position in the track, while you’re preserving the other
takes underneath in case you want them later.
TIP
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 38
Page 39
Turning on Track Layers opens up space to edit more audio into each track
Toolbar
The toolbar has buttons that let you choose modes of audio-specific functionality and other buttons
that let you execute commands, such as placing markers and flags.
Buttons in the Fairlight page toolbar
Mixer
The Audio Mixer provides a set of graphical
controls you can use to assign track channels to
output channels, adjust EQ and Dynamics, set
levels and record automation, pan stereo and
surround audio, and mute and solo tracks, all
while you continue to edit.
The Audio Mixer exposes a set of channel strips
with controls that correspond to the tracks in
the Timeline, one for each track, plus a Master
strip corresponding to the Master audio
track in the Timeline, that lets you choose the
number of audio channels to output, and also
lets you adjust the overall level of the mix.
Dedicated Channel Strip Controls
The Mixer also has a series of dedicated
channel strip controls that add powerful
mastering capabilities to DaVinci Resolve.
These include:
The Audio Mixer, with channel strips
corresponding to the tracks in the Timeline
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 39
Page 40
— EQ: Double-clicking exposes a four-band parametric equalizer with additional Hi and Lo Pass
filters, that has both graphical and numeric controls for tuning the frequencies of the audio on
each track. You can select from among four types of EQ filtering from the Equalizer Type drop-
down menu, with options for Earth (the default), Air, Ice, and Fire. Each band has controls for the
filter type (Bell, Lo-Shelf, Hi-Shelf, Notch), Frequency, Gain, and Q-factor (sharpness of the band).
The channel strip EQ window
— Dynamics: Double-clicking exposes a set of dynamics controls with compressor, limiter, and
expander or gate sections. The Equalizer button at the upper left-hand corner lets you turn all
EQ on and off. The first section can be switched between working as an Expander or a Gate, with
attendant Threshold/Range/Ratio and Attack/Hold/Release controls. The second section provides
Compressor controls, while the third section provides Limiter controls. These controls may be
used either singly or in concert to manage the dynamics of the audio on that track.
The channel strip Dynamics control window
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 40
Page 41
— Pan: A pan control compatible with stereo and surround panning. You can drag within this control
to adjust pan, or you can double-click to expose a Pan window. What controls are available in the
Pan window depend on the mapping of the audio track, but both stereo and surround panning
controls are available, with corresponding numeric controls.
The Pan control window
The Monitoring Panel
The Monitoring panel shows all of the audio meters corresponding to the tracks in the Timeline, as
well as the Master Output meter, Control Room meters, and a video viewer.
The Monitoring panel
At left, a row of audio meters corresponds to the channel strips of the Mixer, one meter for every
audio track in the Timeline. To the right of these, all buses appear, showing you meters for the Mains
and Subs (submixes) you’re using to mix down your show. Farther to the right of these, a set of Control
Room meters show you the monitored output and loudness meters for a precise analysis of your mix’s
perceived loudness.
Finally, a small viewer to the right of the Monitoring panel shows the frame of video at the position of
the playhead. This viewer can be undocked via a button at the lower right-hand corner.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 41
Page 42
Floating Timecode Window
A timecode window is available from the Workspace menu on every page, including the Fairlight page.
Choosing this option displays a floating timecode window that shows the timecode of the Viewer
or Timeline that currently has focus. This window is resizable so you can make the timecode larger
or smaller.
A new floating timecode window is available
The Deliver Page
Once you’ve finished grading your project, you need to either render it, or output it to tape to deliver
it to your client. This is where the Deliver page comes in. The Deliver page can be used both to output
digital deliverables, or to output tape, depending on which mode you enable. Either way, the Deliver
page is divided into five areas of functionality, each of which lets you set up a different part of a render
or output to tape.
The Deliver page is set up to let you queue a series of individual jobs, each of which can have different
settings, or be set up to render different parts of the Timeline. In this way, you can output multiple
deliverables, or re-render multiple areas of a timeline, as your needs require.
The Deliver page
For more information about using the Deliver page, see Chapter 185, “Using the Deliver Page.”
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 42
Page 43
The Render Settings List
The Render Settings list contains the
customizable settings that affect how media is
rendered out of DaVinci Resolve.
These settings are covered in more detail
later in “Output Scaling.” The Render Settings
you can choose from for outputting from
DaVinci Resolve appear in three panels,
separating the Video, Audio, and File
information-based settings in a logical fashion.
By default, this list shows only the most
important criteria necessary for defining a
render. However, additional controls can be
exposed by clicking the “Advanced settings”
disclosure triangle at the bottom of each
group of settings.
Render settings
The Deliver Page Timeline
The Timeline mirrors the Timeline seen in the Color page. You can use the Timeline in the Deliver
page to turn off tracks with clips you don’t want to include in the operation, define the range of clips
you want to render or output to tape, and to choose which versions for each clip you want to output.
You also have the option of switching the Deliver page Timeline to look like the Color page Timeline
instead, if that’s what you’re more comfortable with.
The Deliver page’s Thumbnail and Mini-Timeline match the Color page
The Deliver page Timeline also has the Timeline Filter drop-down at the right-hand side of the toolbar.
Using this drop-down to filter the contents of the Timeline lets you restrict the range of media you
want to output in different ways. For example, if you’ve already rendered a timeline, but you’ve since
made some changes, you can use the “Show Modified Clips” option to display only the clips that have
changed within a particular timeframe. Another possibility is to choose the “Show Unrendered Clips”
option to show all clips that have not yet been rendered.
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 43
Page 44
The Viewer
When rendering file-based media, the Viewer shows you exactly how the media being output will look
using the current settings, and the transport controls move the playhead throughout the current
Timeline. Audio levels can be adjusted by right-clicking on the speaker icon,and dragging the slider.
Deliver page Viewer
When outputting to tape, the Viewer shows you the tape output so you can set up insert or assembly
edit points, and the transport controls move the tape in the deck if device control is enabled. You can
also put the Viewer into Cinema Viewer mode by choosing Workspace > Viewer Mode > Cinema Viewer
(Command-F), so that it fills the entire screen. This command toggles Cinema Viewer mode on and off.
The Render Queue
The Render Queue is a list of all the jobs you’ve
queued up for file-based rendering. Each job
can have an individualized range of clips and
render settings, which you can use to render
multiple sections or clips of a timeline, the
same timeline output to multiple formats, or
multiple timelines.
The Render Queue also has the option to show
either just the jobs within the current project,
or jobs queued up and saved within all projects
for the current user.
The Render Queue displays all jobs
Chapter 1 Introduction to DaVinci Resolve 44
Page 45
Chapter 2
Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface
This chapter provides an overview of the various unspoken
conventions and interaction methods employed by the
DaVinci Resolve graphical user interface (GUI).
These include how the various buttons of your mouse, pen and tablet, or trackpad are used by
different windows and interface widgets, how commands are distributed throughout the application
using the menu bar, contextual menus, and option menus, and how to interact with fields and
other controls.
While many of these conventions overlap with common user interface conventions found in the file
system of your platform of choice, and with other media applications, some of these are unique
to DaVinci Resolve, so this chapter is worth reviewing even if you consider yourself an expert user
of other applications.
Contents
Basic Documentation Terminology 46
What Is the “UI” or “GUI” 46
What Is “the Pointer” 46
46
Customizing the
DaVinci Resolve Interface 46
Within a Floating Window 46
Panels and Panel Focus 47
the Interface Toolbar 48
48
53
53
of the Interface
DaVinci Resolve User
Interface Conventions 55
55
Drop-down Menus 55
Adjusting Parameters 56
Using a Mouse or Other Input Device 58
Mouse, Trackpad, and Tablet Behaviors 59
59
53
49
50
52
Viewer Behavior
Keyboard Shortcuts 61
Undo and Redo in DaVinci Resolve 61
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 45
60
Page 46
Basic Documentation Terminology
Here is a brief word about some of the basic terminology used in this manual for brand new users.
What Is the “UI” or “GUI”
In this documentation, UI refers to “user interface,” while GUI refers to “graphical user interface.”
This refers to the windows, screens, and controls that let you create in DaVinci Resolve. If you didn’t
know this, don’t be embarrassed, you’d be surprised how many times this question gets asked.
What Is “the Pointer”
Whenever this documentation refers to “the pointer,” the reference is to the on-screen arrow you use
to click on elements of the user interface, which is controlled by the mouse, trackpad, pen and tablet,
trackball, or any other device you may be using. Because there are so many different ways to control
computers, simply referring to “the mouse” is inaccurate.
About Keyboard Shortcuts
This manual presents all keyboard shortcuts using the macOS conventions of the Command key
and the Option key. For compatibility with Windows and Linux, the Control key in macOS is not
used by default for any keyboard shortcuts (although it can be assigned if you customize your
keyboard shortcuts).
All keyboard shortcuts that use the Option key in macOS use the ALT key in Windows and Linux, and all
keyboard shortcuts that use the Command key in macOS use the Control key in Windows and Linux.
Customizing the DaVinci Resolve Interface
While the DaVinci Resolve interface may not seem very customizable at first, there are actually many
ways in which you can tailor the panels found within each page to your specific needs.
Working Full Screen vs. Within a Floating Window
Depending on how you like to work, you can choose to work with DaVinci Resolve in a floating window
with a title bar that can be resized, moved, minimized, and used alongside other windows. Or, you
can choose Workspace > Full Screen to put DaVinci Resolve into Full Screen mode, where the title bar
disappears and DaVinci Resolve takes up the full dimensions of your computer display.
Editors may prefer to work within a window if they’re working among multiple applications.
Colorists and mixers may prefer Full Screen mode as it hides the light-colored title bar that some find
distracting and provides a tiny bit more screen real estate for the rest of the application.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 46
Page 47
Panels and Panel Focus
Each page of DaVinci Resolve consists of multiple panels. Each panel contains all the controls and
information necessary for a particular aspect of that page’s functionality. In the following partial
screenshot of the top of the Media page, the Media Storage panel lets you browse files, the Viewer is
a panel that lets you watch video, and the Audio panel lets you see the strength of audio playing back
via a set of audio meters. Each of these panels has separate controls, but they all appear within the
main window of the DaVinci Resolve user interface.
Three panels side by side on the Media Page, showing Media Storage, the Viewer, and the Audio panel
Each panel you use has “focus,” meaning that clicking an item or control within a particular panel
makes that panel the active panel, which serves to direct keyboard shortcuts that are shared among
many panels to the particular panel you’re using. If you want to see which panel is in focus, you can
turn on the “Show focus indicators in the User Interface” checkbox in the UI Settings panel of the User
Preferences. When on, a red line at the top of the active panel indicates that it has focus.
A red line at the top of the Media Pool in the Edit page shows that it has focus
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 47
Page 48
Showing and Hiding Panels Using the Interface Toolbar
Each page in DaVinci Resolve has an Interface Toolbar that runs along the top. This toolbar contains
buttons that let you show and hide different panels of functionality to accomplish different things:
— You can show panels that aren’t displayed by default, since most pages have many available
panels of functionality that are hidden until you need them.
— You can assign keyboard shortcuts to show and hide individual panels in your workspace for
instant configuration of the UI. Keyboard shortcuts to toggle these panels on or off can be
assigned using the Keyboard Customization window.
— You can switch which panel appears within a particular geographical location of the UI, for
example switching between showing the Media Pool or Effects in the upper-lefthand corner of the
Cut or Edit pages.
— You can hide panels you don’t need in order to create more room in the specific panels
you’re working within.
The Interface toolbar for the Color page lets you customize the Color page controls
If you right-click any where within the UI toolbar, two options appear: “Show Icons and Labels” and “
Show Icons Only.” If you show icons only, the UI toolbar becomes less cluttered.
The UI Toolbar for the Edit page, showing icons only, to save space
Each page has a different set of options that reflect the capabilities of that page.
Showing and Hiding Panels in the Workspace Submenu
This function provides the ability to turn on or off panels by choosing them in the Workspace >
Show Panel in Workspace drop-down menu. The exact panels, such as Inspector, Media Pool,
Metadata, etc., are dependent on which page you are working in. Alternatively, you can assign these
panels keyboard shortcuts as well.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 48
Page 49
Adjusting the Size of Different Panels
You can resize adjacent panels in the interface by positioning the pointer at the border between any
two panels, and dragging it to enlarge one and shrink the other.
(Before/After) Resizing UI regions
Certain panels and palettes can be expanded, in the process rearranging another part of the UI, by
clicking a small gray Expand button. For example, an expand button at the top right of the Keyframe
Editor in the Color page can be clicked to make the Keyframe Editor wider, while at the same time
hiding controls at the center to make room.
(Before/After) Expanding the Keyframe Editor
Certain vertically oriented panels, such as the Media Pool, Effects Library, Metadata Editor, and
Inspector, can be set to either half-display-height or full-display-height sizes to quickly create more or
less room for contents or controls whenever necessar y. This is done by clicking a small button in the
UI toolbar that toggles between expanding or contracting the UI element it controls.
(Left) The button for expanding a panel
to full height, (Right) The button for
contracting a panel to half height
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 49
Page 50
The result is that the panel in question expands or contracts. The following screenshots show the
Inspector of the Edit page in half height mode, where the Timeline is given room to expand, and in full
height mode, where the Timeline becomes shorter, but there’s more room in the Inspector to see all
of the controls.
(Left) A half-height Inspector with more room for the Timeline,
(Right) A full-height Inspec tor with more room for controls
Using Single vs. Dual Monitor Layouts
The Media, Edit, Color, and Fairlight pages can be switched between single screen and dual screen
layouts by choosing Workspace > Dual Screen > On. Each dual-screen layout makes it possible to
see many more controls at once, often in a larger workspace that lets you manage more clips, more
Gallery stills, etc.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 50
Page 51
The Edit page in Dual-screen mode
In Single-screen mode, you can choose which display shows the DaVinci Resolve UI by choosing
Workspace > Primary Display > (Monitor Name). In Dual-screen mode, this reverses the contents of
both monitors.
Using the Full Screen Timeline Option in the Edit Page
If you’re working in the Edit page in Dual-screen mode and you need the biggest timeline you can get
for working through your program, you can choose Workspace > Dual Screen > Full Screen Timeline
to expose a layout with one large full screen timeline, and all the other Edit page panels on the
other screen.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 51
Page 52
The Edit page in Dual-screen Timeline mode
Video Clean Feed
A full screen Viewer for a secondary monitor connected directly to your computer is now available.
To activate this monitor select Workspace > Video Clean Feed, and select your display in the submenu.
Selecting a secondar y monitor for full screen display
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 52
Page 53
Saving Custom Screen Layouts
If you’ve created a particular set of resized panels that you’ll want to use often, you can save it,
alongside other frequently useful screen layouts you may have saved.
Methods of working with custom screen layouts:
— To save a custom screen preset: Customize the various pages of DaVinci Resolve for the
purpose at hand, then choose Workspace > Layout Presets > Save Layout As Preset. Enter a name
into the Save Layout as Preset dialog, and click OK.
— To choose a previously saved screen preset: Choose Workspace > Layout Presets >
LAYOUT NAME > Load.
— To update a previously saved screen preset: Choose the layout you want from the Workspace
> Layout submenu, make your changes, and then choose Workspace > Layout Presets >
LAYOUT NAME > Update Preset.
— To delete a screen preset: Choose Workspace > Layout Presets > L AYOUT NAME > Delete Preset.
— To export a screen preset for use on another DaVinci Resolve installation: Choose
Workspace > Layout Presets > LAYOUT NAME > Export Preset.
— To import a screen preset: Choose Workspace > Layout Presets > Import Layout as Preset.
Resetting to the Default Layout
If you don’t like the current layout and you want to go back to the default, choose Workspace >
Reset UI Layout.
Undocking Specific Panels of the Interface
There are cer tain interface elements that can either be docked in their respective pages, or opened in
separate windows.
Media Pool bins can be opened into floating windows simply by right-clicking on the bin and choosing
Open As a New Window in the contextual menu. Even though you’re opening up the contents of the
selected bin, you’re really creating another Media Pool, complete with Bin list, Browsing area, and all
of the organizational controls found in the docked Media Pool. You can have as many floating Media
Pools as you like. They can be dragged to other monitors, and they can be closed via a button at the
upper lef t-hand corner of the title bar.
A floating Media Pool window
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 53
Page 54
The video scopes let you precisely analyze the color and contrast of clips in the Color page.
They can be exposed in their docked position to the right of the Color page palettes by clicking the
Video Scope button in the Color page toolbar.
The video scope, docked next to the other palettes at the bottom of the Color page
Optionally, you can click the expand button at the top right of the video scope to open the video
scopes into a floating window, within which you can display all four video scopes together, or
individually, on any monitor connected to your workstation.
Video scopes in a floating window
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 54
Page 55
Additionally, the Audio Mixer and video scopes are available in many of the dual-screen layouts
available in DaVinci Resolve. The video scopes aren’t just available in the Color page. They’re also
available in the Media and Deliver pages for whenever you need to evaluate the video signal more
objectively, such as when you’re setting up to capture from tape or scan from film, or when you’re
setting up for output.
In the DaVinci Resolve single screen layout, the Audio Mixer and video scopes can be moved to a
second computer display if one’s available, and both disappear temporarily if you change pages or
switch to another application.
DaVinci Resolve User Interface Conventions
While each chapter covers the unique onscreen controls found in each page of DaVinci Resolve, this
section summarizes how to use some of the more common controls you’ll see.
Contextual Menus
Nearly every panel on every page exposes additional functionality via contextual menus, which appear
when you right-click on the appropriate item. Sometimes, dif ferent commands become available
depending on whether you right-click the background of a particular panel, or directly on an item such
as a still or node.
Contextual menus expose additional controls in the Color page Viewer
Drop-down Menus
Most of the buttons and drop-down menus that appear in various toolbars are activated with a single
click. For example, many panels, palettes, and windows expose an Option menu, that appears as three
horizontal dots (people like to refer to these as the “three dot menus,” but they’re option menus),
which expose additional options and/or commands that are related to that particular panel’s function.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 55
Page 56
Option menus
Additionally, many (but not all) panels and palettes appear with a “Mode” drop-down at the upper
right-hand corner that lets you choose a different type of function within that palette.
Mode drop-down
Some buttons, such as transport controls and toolbar icons, display a little downward facing arrow
when you hover the pointer over them, to indicate that you can right-click on these controls to access
checkmark options that govern the functionality of those controls.
(Left) Hovering over a button to reveal it has a
hidden menu, (Right) Right-clicking a button to
reveal options in a drop-down menu
Adjusting Parameters
Numeric parameters can usually be edited in a few different ways.
Sliders and Dials
Sliders can be dragged to change the value of a parameter within a specific range. If you see a dial,
that means a value can be endlessly edited with no restrictions to the value. Sliders are typically best
for making large coarse adjustments to parameters. The “virtual sliders” described next let you make
finer adjustments.
A slider and a dial with their accompanying number fields
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 56
Page 57
Virtual Sliders and Fields
When number fields appear, they can be used
as a “virtual slider” by hovering the pointer over
them until you see the “virtual slider cursor”
and then clicking and dragging to the right to
raise the value, or to the left to lower the value
(white arrows indicate the direction of change).
Typically, using a field’s virtual slider lets you
make more precise adjustments than the actual
slider to the left.
Using virtual sliders
Copy and Pasting of Number
Field Values in Virtual Sliders
You can do standard copy/paste functions of
any value in a field to any other field.
To copy and paste numerical parameters
from a field:
1 Right-click on the source field and
choose copy (Command-C) from the
drop-down menu.
2 Right-click on the destination field and
choose paste (Command-V) from the
drop-down menu.
Icons and Buttons
Double-clicking fields containing most number
values highlights the number so that you can
type a new value using the keyboard, pressing
Return to confirm the change.
Editing of Number Field Values
Using Arrow Keys
You can manually edit numerical parameter
values by using the arrow keys to navigate
and make adjustments to the decimal level in
number fields.
To use the arrow keys to adjust
numerical parameters:
1 Double-click to select a numeric value in
a field, and a highlight appears around
that value.
2 Use the left/right arrows to navigate the
cursor to the right of the decimal value you
want to adjust.
3 Use the Up/Down arrows to change the
value of that decimal place.
Some controls are exposed as icons and
buttons, which you simply click to invoke
whatever functionality they encompass.
A pair of buttons with icons to
illustrate their functionality
Resetting Parameters
To reset any editable parameter to its default
setting, double-click its text label, or click the
reset button, if one appears. Master reset
buttons, typically found in the headers of
groups of controls, reset all controls in that
group. Individual reset controls that appear
to the right of parameters typically only reset
that one parameter. If you don’t see a reset
control, then double-clicking the name of the
parameter should work.
4 If you select the entire number, the
Up/Down arrows will adjust the
minimum value.
This cursor is in place to adjust the tenths
position using the Up and Down arrows.
Reset buttons
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 57
Page 58
Using a Mouse or Other Input Device
Resolve uses all three buttons of a multi-button mouse, or the three buttons available on other type
of input devices, when available. This section provides a brief summary of all the different ways these
three mouse buttons can be used.
Left Button
The left button is always referred to as a click, as in, “click the auto select button.” You click to turn
buttons or other controls on or off, to make selections, and to give areas of the Resolve UI focus so
that keyboard shortcuts will do whatever is specific to that panel or area of the user interface.
Double-clicking the left button usually opens items that are openable, such as opening a clip from the
Media Pool into the Source Viewer. You can also use double-clicking to do things like selecting nodes
in the Node Editor of the Color page.
Right Button
The right button is referred to as a right-click, as in, “right-click a clip in the Media Pool.” Right-clicking
an item or area of the Resolve interface usually opens a contextual menu, exposing additional
commands that are specific to the item or area you’ve right-clicked.
However, some areas of the UI use right-clicking in special ways. For example, when you’re using a
color adjustment curve in the Curve palette of the Color page, right-clicking a control point deletes
that point.
Middle Button
The middle button (usually the scroll wheel button, but you may have to turn this on in the Mouse
panel of the System Preferences) is referred to as a middle-click, which does different things in
different places.
— In all pages, rolling the scroll wheel while the pointer is within a viewer lets you zoom into and out
of the image being displayed when you need to do more detailed work.
— In all pages and panels, pressing and holding middle-click and dragging inside a panel allows you
to scroll the view of the panel’s data in the direction that you drag.
— In the Color page, you can move the pointer over the Thumbnail timeline and roll up to scroll to
the right or roll down to scroll to the lef t. You can also roll the scroll wheel while the pointer is
within the Mini-timeline to zoom into or out of the currently displayed area. Rolling up zooms out,
while rolling down zooms in.
— Middle-clicking and dragging within a viewer lets you drag the image to pan it around, which is
useful after you’ve used the scroll wheel (or scroll behavior) of your mouse to zoom in.
— You can middle-click and drag within the Edit page Timeline to quickly pan around your edit.
— You can also use middle-click to copy a grade in the Thumbnail timeline of the Color page, by first
selecting the clip that you want to copy TO (with a simple click) and then middle-clicking the clip or
gallery still you want to copy a grade FROM.
— Lastly, if you’re drawing a Bezier window in the Color page Viewer using the Window palette, then
middle-clicking a control point will delete that point.
TIP If you’re using a pointing device that lacks a third button option, check to see if there
are any third party utilities or drivers that can enable this for you.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 58
Page 59
Mouse, Trackpad, and Tablet Behaviors
Different input devices use different gestures to trigger specific behaviors in DaVinci Resolve.
Here is a current breakdown of these gestures and the behaviors that they control.
Timeline Scroll Behavior
Standard Mouse Mac Magic Mouse Trackpad Tablet and Pen
Scroll timeline
vertically
Scroll timeline
horizontally
Zoom timeline
width horizontally
With abilit y to zoom
where cursor points
in User Workspace
preferences
Zoom
timeline track
height vertically
Zooms Video and
Audio section
separately
Magic Mouse
1 Finger Pan
Vertical and
Horizontal
panning
Magic Mouse
1 Finger Pan
Vertical and
Horizontal
panning
2 Finger
Pan
Vertical and
Horizontal
panning
2 Finger
Pan
Vertical and
Horizontal
panning
— — —
— — —
—
—
Drag Timeline
with Hand Tool
Middle
Mouse
Button
— —
Button
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 59
Page 60
Viewer Behavior
Standard Mouse Mac Magic Mouse Trackpad Tablet and Pen
Zoom towards
mouse pointer
preferences
Free Pan
Pan with
Hand Cursor
Middle
Mouse
Button
Middle
Mouse
Button
—
Magic Mouse
1 Finger Pan
—
Button
Pinch to
Zoom
2 Finger Pan
2 Finger
Pan
Press and hold
Press and hold
the middle
pen button
Wwhile moving
it lef t and right
on the tablet.
Press and hold
the middle
pen but ton
nib a few
millimeters
above the pad,
moving the
pen will move
the frame in
the viewer.
the middle
pen button
nib a few
millimeters
above the pad,
moving the
pen will move
the hand in
the viewer.
Tilt Up and Down
Pan Left and Right
Context Menu
Right
Button
— — —
— — —
—
Gestures used in DaVinci Resolve for common input devices
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 60
2 Finger
Touch
Right button
on the pen.
Page 61
Keyboard Shortcuts
Since the majority of DaVinci Resolve users are on macOS, this manual presents all keyboard shortcuts
using the macOS conventions of the Command key and the Option key. For users of other systems, all
keyboard shortcuts that use the Option key in macOS use the ALT key in Windows and Linux, and all
keyboard shortcuts that use the Command key in macOS use the Control key in Windows and Linux.
TIP
Undo and Redo in DaVinci Resolve
No matter where you are in DaVinci Resolve, Undo and Redo commands let you back out of
steps you’ve taken or commands you’ve executed, and reapply them if you change your mind.
DaVinci Resolve is capable of undoing the entire history of things you’ve done since creating or
opening a particular project. When you close a project, its entire undo history is purged. The next time
you begin work on a project, its undo history starts anew.
Because DaVinci Resolve integrates so much functionality in one application, there are three separate
sets of undo “stacks” to help you manage your work.
— The Media, Edit and Fairlight pages share the same multiple-undo stack, which lets you backtrack
out of changes made in the Media Pool, the Timeline, the Metadata Editor, and the Viewers.
— Each clip in the Fusion page has its own undo stack, so that you can undo changes you make to
the composition of each clip, independently.
— Each clip in the Color page has its own undo stack, so that you can undo changes you make to
grades in each clip, independently.
In all cases, there is no practical limit to the number of steps that are undoable (although there may be
a limit to what you can remember). To take advantage of this, there are three ways you can undo work
to go to a previous state of your project, no matter what page you’re in.
To simply undo or redo changes you’ve made one at a time:
— Choose Edit > Undo (Command-Z) to undo the previous change.
— Choose Edit > Redo (Shift-Command-Z) to redo to the next change.
— On the DaVinci control panel, press the UNDO and REDO buttons on the T-bar panel.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 61
Page 62
TIP If you have the DaVinci control panel, there is one other control that lets you control
discrete undo states are difficult to predict when you’re making ongoing adjustments with
the grade that you can fall back on.
You can also undo several steps at a time using the History submenu and window. At the time of this
writing, this only works for multiple undo steps in the Media, Cut, Edit, and Fairlight pages.
To undo and redo using the History submenu:
1 Open the Edit > Histor y submenu, which shows (up to) the last twent y things you’ve done.
2 Choose an item on the list to undo back to that point. The most recent thing you’ve done appears
at the top of this list, and the change you’ve just made appears with a check next to it. Steps
that have been undone but that can still be redone remain in this menu, so you can see what’s
possible. However, if you’ve undone several changes at once and then you make a new change,
you cannot undo any more and those steps disappear from the menu.
The History submenu, which lets you undo several steps at once
Once you’ve selected a step to undo to, the menu closes and the project updates to show you its
current state.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 62
Page 63
To undo and redo using the Undo window:
1 Choose Edit > Histor y > Open History Window.
2 When the History dialog appears, click an item on the list to undo back to that point. Unlike
the menu, in this window the most recent thing you’ve done appears at the bottom of this list.
Selecting a change here grays out changes that can still be redone, as the project updates to
show you its current state.
The Undo Histor y window that lets
you browse the entire available
undo stack of the current page
3 When you’re done, close the History window.
Chapter 2 Using the DaVinci Resolve User Interface 63
Page 64
3 ���� 65
4 ������������������������� 84
5 �������������������������114
6 ������������������������������������������������� 120
7 ��������������������������������������� 147
8 Improving Performance,
���������������������
9
���������������������������������
173
200
10 ���������������������������������� 233
11
Resolution Independence ������������������������������
12 Data Burn-In ������������������������������������������������������� 276
13
Replay Integration ��������������������������������������������
14 �������������������������������������������������������� 292
15 ��������������������������������� 299
16 Using Variables and Keywords ��������������������� 322
261
283
Page 65
Chapter 3
Managing Projects and Project Libraries
This chapter covers how to use the Project Manager to organize the
projects you’re working on in DaVinci Resolve, as well as how to deal
with managing the project libraries that serve as the organizational
foundation of the Project Manager. You’ll also see how to export
and import projects, and how to archive a project and its media for
long-term storage.
Contents
Using the Project Manager 66
Project Management 67
DaVinci Resolve Projects (.drp Files) 67
69
70
70
Managing Project Libraries 71
72
72
73
74
Saving Projects
78
79
Project Backups
Project Notes
Dynamic Project Switching 81
Archiving and Restoring Projects 82
79
81
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 65
Page 66
Using the Project Manager
Ordinarily, the Project Manager is the first window you’ll see when DaVinci Resolve starts up. It’s a
convenient, centralized browser for creating, organizing, and managing all of your projects. Unlike
other applications that rely on your file manager for organizing projects, DaVinci Resolve requires you
to do most project organization in the Project Manager.
Project Manager
If you’ve already opened a project, you can reopen the Project Manager at any time by clicking the
Home button at the bottom right-hand corner of the DaVinci Resolve window, in the Page Navigation
bar. If you’ve hidden the Page Navigation bar at the bottom of the DaVinci Resolve window, you can
open the Project Manager by choosing File > Project Manager.
The Project Manager button
at the bottom-right corner of
the DaVinci Resolve interface
Launching DaVinci Resolve for the First Time?
If you’ve just installed DaVinci Resolve and have opened it for the first time, it’s time to
set the preferences in order to specify your language, scratch disk volume, and hardware
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 66
Page 67
Project Management
The Project Manager provides an in-application interface for creating, renaming, and deleting
projects. Many of these commands exist within the contextual menu that appears when you right-click
the background of the Project Manager.
Methods of project management:
— To create a new project: Double-click the Default Project icon, or click the New Project button
at the bottom of the window. A new project is created, and DaVinci Resolve opens up the Media
page. Once a project is open, you can alter its project settings by clicking the gear icon.
— To open a previously saved project: Double-click any Project icon, or Item if you’re in List view.
You can also select a project and click the Open button.
— To open a project in Read-Only Mode: Right-click a Project icon or Item, and choose Open in
Read Only Mode. This lets you open a project without danger of altering it. If you make changes,
you can use the Save As command to save a new copy of the project with a new name.
— To rename a project: Right-click a Project icon or Item, choose Rename, and type a new name in
the dialog that appears, clicking OK when you’re finished.
— To load project settings from another project to the currently open project: Right-click a
Project icon or Item (other than the currently open project), and choose “Load Project Settings to
Current Project.” This lets you change a project’s settings prior to opening it in cases where the
project settings are causing some kind of problem that prevents you from opening the project.
— To update the thumbnails of a project in the Project Manager: Right-click any project, and
choose “Update Thumbnails.”
— To delete a project: Select one or more projects, then either press the Backspace key, or
right-click one of the selected projects and choose Delete. Click OK when a dialog asks you to
confirm the operation.
NOTE You cannot move or delete the currently open or loaded project.
Importing and Exporting DaVinci Resolve Projects (.drp Files)
DaVinci Resolve projects are saved with the f ile extension .drp and enable you to exchange files
with other DaVinci Resolve users. If you double-click a DaVinci Resolve .drp file in the Windows or
macOS file system, this will automatically open DaVinci Resolve, import that project into the Project
Manager regardless of what kind of project library you’re using, and open that project so that you’re
ready to work.
Importing and Exporting Projects in Local Project Libraries
If you’re using local project libraries to manage your projects, you can copy and import projects using
the project folders in the file manager of either macOS or Windows. This method does not work for
DaVinci Resolve on Linux.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 67
Page 68
Moving projects from one local project library into another using macOS or Windows:
1 Locate the local project library directory in which the project you want to copy is stored. If you
don’t know where the designated local project library directory is, you can open DaVinci Resolve
and check the directory path for the current local project library in the Project Libraries sidebar.
2 Copy the project folder from the source workstation to the designated local project library
directory on the destination workstation. If you don’t know where the designated local project
library directory is, you can open DaVinci Resolve on the workstation you’re copying the project to
and check the directory path for the current local project library in the Project Libraries sidebar.
3 Once you’ve copied the project folder into the correct location, you’ll need to quit and reopen
DaVinci Resolve. Afterwards, the imported project should appear in the Project Manager.
Importing and Exporting Projects in Network Project Libraries
If you’re using a network project library, another set of commands let you import and export projects
using the .drp file format. You can also export .drp files from local project libraries if you want to
export a more self-contained item to transport.
To import a .drp project file, do one of the following:
— Select the Import button at the bottom of the Project Manager, then find and select a .drp project
file using the Import Project File dialog, and click Open.
— Drag the .drp file you want to import from your file system and drop it anywhere into the
Project Manager window.
— Right-click any empty area of the Project Manager and choose Import, then find and select a .drp
project file using the Import Project File dialog, and click Open.
To import a .drp project file and reconfigure the gallery path at the same time:
— Hold the Option key down while right-clicking any empty area of the Project Manager, and choose
Import+, then find and select a .drp project file, and click Open. Upon opening, the gallery path
will automatically be updated to that of your workstation.
To export the currently open project as a .drp file:
— Choose File > Export Project, and when the Save dialog appears, choose a location, enter a name,
and click Save. The result is a self-contained file with a .drp file suffix saved at the location you chose.
To export a .drp project file from the Project Manager:
— Select the Export button at the bottom of the Project Manager, and when the Save dialog appears,
choose a location, enter a name, and click Save. The result is a self-contained file with a .drp file
suffix saved at the location you chose.
— Right-click a Project icon or Item in the Project Manager, then choose one of the
following commands;
— Export Project: Exports project data with no LUTs and no stills. Best when you need to export
the smallest possible file.
— Export Project With Stills and LUTs: Exports the project, including both still frames in the
Gallery and LUTs used in grades. Best when you want to export the most self-contained file
and you can’t guarantee the recipient will have the same LUTs you do.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 68
Page 69
— When the Save dialog appears, choose a location, enter a name, and click Save. The result is a self-
contained file with a .drp file suffix saved at the location you chose.
TIP
command-clicking or lassoing the projects, right-clicking on one of them, and selecting
Project Manager View Options
Four buttons at the top right let you control how projects are viewed in the Project Manager.
Select Thumbnail or List View
— Zoom slider: (Only appears in Thumbnail view) Lets you adjust the size of the thumbnails in
Thumbnail view.
— Project Sort Order drop-down: (Only appears in Thumbnail view) Lets you choose the sort order
of projects in Thumbnail view.
— Information: (Only appears in Thumbnail view) Lets you show or hide additional project
information displayed underneath each project ’s thumbnail, including the frame size, number of
timelines within, and when that project was last modified.
— Thumbnail view: Each project is represented by a large image that can be hover-scrubbed to
reveal five representative images from that project.
Hover-scrub over Project
icon; information is enabled
— List view: Every project appears as an item in a list that has seven columns: Name, Last Modified,
Timelines, Format, Frame Rate, Date Created, and Note. You can click any column header to sort
the contents of the Project Manager by that criteria; clicking the header a second time toggles
that column between ascending and descending sorting.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 69
Page 70
Project List view
Searching for Projects
Clicking the magnifying glass button at the upper right-hand corner of the Project Manager exposes
the Search Options, which can be used to locate one or more projects based on the metadata that’s
selected in the Filter By drop-down menu to the right of it.
Search f ield open with Filter by search criteria selected
Using the drop-down menu, you can choose to search by name, or by project format. Once you’ve
chosen a criteria, begin typing into the search field, and the Project Manager will immediately and
dynamically begin to be filtered by your search text.
Organizing Projects in Folders
If you’re organizing a lot of projects, you can create folders to put them into.
A folder in the Project Manager
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 70
Page 71
Methods of working with project folders:
— To create a folder: Click the New Folder button, then enter a name into the Create New Folder
dialog and click Create.
— To delete a folder: Right-click a folder, choose Delete, and click Yes when prompted. All projects
inside a deleted folder will be deleted as well.
— To rename a folder: Right-click a folder, choose Rename, then enter a new name and click OK.
— To copy a folder: Right-click on a folder and choose Copy from the drop-down menu, or select the
folder and press Command-C. Any projects enclosed inside that folder will also be copied.
— To paste a folder: Once a copy operation has been made, right-click on the background of the
Project Manager and choose Paste from the drop-down menu, or press Command-V. You can
paste into other project libraries, into other folders, or into the same location where a new version
of the folder will have the word (Copy) appended to it. All enclosed timelines will copy over as well.
— To open a folder: Double-click a folder to open it and view its contents. At the upper left-hand
corner of the Project Manager, a folder path view shows you which folder is open, as well as where
you are within a nested series of folders if that’s what you’ve set up.
— To exit a folder: Use the path control at the top of the Project Manager to click on a higher level in
the folder hierarchy.
— To move a project into a folder: Drag the project onto a folder icon, and drop it to place it inside
the folder.
— To move a project out of a folder: Open a folder, select one or more projects you want to move,
then right-click the selection and choose Cut from the contextual menu. Then, navigate to the next
place in the Project manager where you want to place the cut projects, right-click the background of
the Project Manager, and choose Paste. The projects should appear in the new location.
Managing Project Libraries
Unlike other applications which save self-contained project files to user-specified locations wherever
you like in your file system, DaVinci Resolve takes a more centrally organized approach to project
management, using project libraries. By default, DaVinci Resolve uses a local project library to
keep track of every project you create. The Project Libraries sidebar lets you manage the projects
found within this project library, which are saved to a specific directory on your system (particular
to that project library). The default location of this local project library depends on the operating
system you use.
However, you can create additional project libraries with which to store other projects, if you like.
For example, you might create one project library each for each year in which you work. If you work
on series television, you could create multiple project libraries for each program you work on. Or,
you could create separate project libraries for each client you do work for. There’s no hard and fast
rule; ultimately how you use project libraries is entirely up to you and your individual organizational
preferences.
TIP However you elect to organize your project libraries, keep in mind that projects saved
within smaller project libraries with less project data will load and save faster.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 71
Page 72
Project Library Types
Project libraries can be stored in three different project library types which work similarly in function
but have additional connectivity and sharing features based on your networking setup. You select the
Library Type at the top left of the Project Manager.
— Local: Stores your project libraries locally on your workstation. This is the default and is best for
individual users or single systems.
— Network: Stores your project libraries on an external computer that is connected to several
workstations on the same local network. It also allows you to control user access to the project
library. This is best for a facility composed of multiple workstations in the same building working
on the same material.
— Cloud: Stores your project libraries in the Blackmagic Cloud. This allows several workstations to
connect to the same project library over the internet. It also allows you to control user access to
the project library. This is best for multiple people working on the same project from different
locations around the world.
The three types of project libraries: local, network, and cloud.
For more information about setting up and configuring the different project library types, see
Chapter 193, “Managing Project Libraries and Project Servers.”
Opening the Project Libraries Sidebar
If you already have multiple project libraries, then clicking the button at the upper-left hand corner of
the Projects Browser reveals a sidebar at the left of the Project Manager that lists every project library
on your workstation, with various options for managing these project libraries and for browsing the
projects found within them.
You can use this sidebar to open different project libraries and browse the projects found inside.
Project Libraries
sidebar button
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 72
Page 73
Project Manager with the Project Libraries sidebar displayed
Moving Projects From One Project Library to Another on the Same Workstation
If you’ve used multiple project libraries to organize your projects, you can browse the contents of each
project library to search for what you’re looking for, and then copy one or more projects from one
project library to another if you need to rearrange how they ’re organized.
To view the contents of a project library:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Click to select a project library in the sidebar, and an orange highlight will appear
If you had a project already open, you’ll be asked if you want to save it before closing, because all open
projects must be closed prior to viewing the contents of another project library. Then, the projects
corresponding to that user within the selected project library appear in the Project Manager window.
To import a project from another project library using the Project Libraries sidebar:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Click to select a project library in the sidebar, and if necessary use the drop-down menu at the
right of the project library listing to choose a specific user. The projects corresponding to that
user within the selected project library appear in the Project Manager window.
3 Select a project you want to import, and press Command-C to copy it.
4 Click to select the current project library again (the project library you want to work within).
5 Press Command-V to paste the project you copied. A copy appears in the current project library.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 73
Page 74
NOTE
To import Project Settings from another project using the Project Libraries sidebar:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Select a project you want to import Project Settings to so that it’s highlighted.
3 Right-click any project and choose “Load Project Settings to Current Project.” That project’s
settings will be copied to the project you selected in step 2.
Managing Project Libraries in the Project Libraries Sidebar
Controls within the Project Libraries sidebar make it easy to create new project libraries (via the button
at the bottom), upgrade project libraries that have been flagged (via circular badges), import and
export project libraries (via buttons at the top), and reveal additional information about each project
library (via buttons at the top of this sidebar).
Project Libraries sidebar controls
The three controls at the top of the Project Libraries sidebar have the following functions:
— Sort Order drop-down menu: This menu lets you choose how to sort the various local and
network project libraries displayed in the sidebar. You can sort by Project Library Name, Schema
(by date), Status, or Location in Ascending or Descending order.
— Restore: Imports .resolve.backup files to restore a backed up project library.
— Show Search Field: Displays a search field and search criteria drop-down that lets you search for
project libraries in the sidebar by Name, Schema, Status, or Location.
Clicking on the Display Project Librar y Details icon (the circled letter “i” to the right of the project
library), shows additional information underneath each project library in the sidebar. What
information depends on the type of project library. Local project libraries display their status
(compatible/incompatible) and location (directory path). Network and cloud project libraries display
their schema (created and modified dates), their status (compatible/incompatible), their IP location,
and below any members that have access to the project library.
Creating and Connecting to Project Libraries
You can use local, network, and cloud libraries side by side for switching to the use of one or the
other, depending on your needs. These instructions will show you how to set up local project libraries.
Network and cloud libraries require additional configuration and setup first. For more details on
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 74
Page 75
network and cloud project libraries setup and operation, see Chapter 193, “Managing Project Libraries
and Project Servers.”
To create a new local project library:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Click the Add Project Library button at the bottom of the sidebar.
3 Click on the Create tab. The Add Project Library window should look like the following screenshot:
Creating a local project library
4 In the remaining fields, do the following:
a) Type a name for the new project library into the Name field
b) Click within the Location field and use the Filesystem navigation dialog to choose where to put
the directory that will contain all of the DaVinci Resolve project directories
5 Click Create, and the new local project library will appear in the local project library section of the
Project Libraries sidebar.
To connect to an existing local project library:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Click the Add Project Library button at the bottom of the sidebar.
3 Click on the Connect tab. The Add Project Library window should look like the
following screenshot:
Connecting to an existing local projec t library
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 75
Page 76
4 In the remaining fields, do the following:
a) Type a name for the new project library into the Name field.
b) Click within the Location field and use the Filesystem navigation dialog to choose the location
of the existing project library you wish to connect to.
5 Click Connect, and the new local project library will appear in the local project library section of
the Project Libraries sidebar.
Backing Up and Restoring Project Libraries
You can also back up project libraries by exporting them, and then reimport them later.
To backup/export a project library:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Select the project library you want to back up.
3 Click the Display Project Library Details icon (the circled letter “i” to the right of the project library).
The Display Project
Librar y Details icon
4 Select the Back Up button.
5 Choose a location to which to save the backup in the Backup Project Libraries dialog, and
click Save.
To import a project library:
1 Click the button at the upper-left hand corner of the Projects window to open the Project
Libraries sidebar.
2 Click the Restore button at the top of the Project Libraries sidebar.
The Restore button
3 Find the project library you need to import using the file import dialog, and click Open.
4 In the Add Project Library dialog, do the following:
a) Type a name for the new project library into the Name field. This will rename the imported
project library but will not alter its contents. You can also name it the same as the original
project library.
b) Click within the Location field and use the Filesystem navigation dialog to choose the directory
that contains the existing DaVinci Resolve project libraries.
5 Click Create, and the imported local project library will appear in the Local section of the Project
Libraries sidebar.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 76
Page 77
Upgrading Project Libraries
Selected libraries display an upgrade warning in the Project Manager only when you’ve installed a
new version of DaVinci Resolve and you have project libraries that were created in older versions of
DaVinci Resolve that need upgrading.
The upgrade warning in the Project Manager indicates
that the project library needs to be upgraded
It’s generally a good idea to back up a project library prior to upgrading it, in case something
goes wrong. In general, upgrading from a whole version release to the next whole version release
of DaVinci Resolve usually requires an upgrade, while upgrading to a dot release of the same
version may or may not. If the currently used project library requires an update, you’ll be told on
application startup.
To upgrade a project library from an old version of DaVinci Resolve:
Click on a project library that needs updating, and select the Upgrade Project Library button. A dialog
appears to confirm if you really want to upgrade that project library. Click Upgrade to proceed.
Disconnecting and Deleting Project Libraries
You cannot actually delete project libraries in DaVinci Resolve; you can only disconnect them so
they don’t appear in the Project Library list. However, disconnected project libraries can still be
reconnected if you remember their name. The only way to completely delete a project library
entry in PostgreSQL is to do so from the command line, or to use the PGAdmin III application that
accompanies the PostgreSQL installation that’s part of the DaVinci Resolve installation process.
To disconnect a project library you no longer need:
— Right-click a project library that is not currently selected, and choose Remove from the contextual
menu. A dialog appears to confirm if you really want to disconnect that project library. Click
Disconnect to proceed.
Locating Local Project Library Directories in Your File System
Because local project libraries have a link to a specific directory in your file system, there’s a way of
locating that directory.
To locate a project library on your system:
— Right-click any local project library, and choose “Reveal in Finder.” A file system window opens up
showing you the location of that local project library, inside which are all of its projects.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 77
Page 78
Saving Projects
Once you’ve created and opened a project, you want to make sure that you regularly save your work.
Methods of saving projects:
— Choose File > Save Project (Command-S).
— Push the SAVE button on the DaVinci control panel.
— To save the current state of your project as a copy with a new name, choose File > Save Project As
(Command-Shift-S), then enter a name into the Save Current Project window and click Save.
To revert to the last saved state of a project:
— To save the current state of your project as a copy with a new name, choose File > Save Project As
(Command-Shift-S), then enter a name into the Save Current Project window and click Save. If you
chose to save as the same name as an existing project, a dialog box will appear allowing you to
confirm if you want to overwrite the existing project or to cancel out and choose another name.
As you work on your project, the word “Edited” appears to the right of the project name at the top of
the DaVinci Resolve UI to let you know that you have unsaved changes. If you don’t save in over 15
minutes, the word “Edited” turns yellow, and if you still don’t save in over 30 minutes, it turns red to
let you know that you probably should save. If you move the pointer over the word “Edited,” a tooltip
appears letting you know when the last save was performed.
The word “Edited” to the right of the project name
lets you know you have unsaved changes
DaVinci Resolve also has two auto save mechanisms that you can enable in the Save Settings
group of controls, called Live Save and Project Backups.
Auto Save controls in the User Preferences
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 78
Page 79
Live Save
Enabling Live Save sets DaVinci Resolve to incrementally save changes as you make changes to your
project, with no user intervention required. Disabling Live Save puts DaVinci Resolve back into a state
where you have to manually save by pressing Command-S (this can be useful when doing demos
when you don’t want to save your changes to a project). Using Live Save is turned on by default and
highly recommended to prevent the loss of work in the event you have a problem. It even works for
previously unsaved projects that you’ve forgotten to save if anything goes wrong.
NOTE
Project Backups
Turning on the Project Backups checkbox in the Project Save and Load panel of the User Preferences
enables DaVinci Resolve to save multiple backup project files at periodic intervals, using a method
that’s analogous to a GFS (grandfather father son) backup scheme. This can be done regardless of
whether or not Live Save is turned on. Each project backup that’s saved is a complete project file,
excluding stills and LUTs, which are omitted in order to save storage space.
Once you’ve enabled Project Backups for a long enough time, whatever saved project backups have
been created are retrievable in the Project Manager via the contextual menu that appears when you
right-click a project, by choosing Project Backups to open the backups list dialog.
The backups list dialog shows you all backups that are available for a particular project, and has
controls for sorting the list via different columns, deleting some or all of the backups in the list, and
loading backups that you want to retrieve. Opening a project backup does not overwrite the original
project; project backups are always opened as independent projects.
To enable Project Backups:
1 Choose DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > User, and open the Project Save and Load panel.
2 Turn on the Project Backups checkbox.
3 Choose the settings that determine how many Project Backups will be maintained. Project
Backups are saved on a first in, first out basis. Three fields let you specify how often to save new
backups and how many backups to maintain, while the four th lets you choose where the backups
will be saved.
— Perform backups every X minutes: The first field specifies how often to save a new backup
within the last hour you’ve worked. By default, a new backup is saved ever y 10 minutes,
resulting in six backups within the last hour. Once an hour of working has passed, an hourly
backup is saved and the per-minute backups begin to be discarded on a “first in, first out”
basis.” By default, this means that you’ll only ever have six backups at a time that represent the
last hour’s worth of work.
— Hourly backups for the past X hours: The second field specifies how many hourly backups
you want to save. By default, 8 hourly backups will be saved for the current day you’re
working, which assumes you’re working an eight hour day (wouldn’t that be nice). Past that
number, hourly backups will begin to be discarded on a “first in, first out” basis.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 79
Page 80
— Daily backups for the past X days: The third field specifies for how many days you want to
save backups. The very last project backup saved on any given day is preserved as the daily
backup for that day, and by default daily backups are only saved for five days (these are not
necessarily consecutive if you take some days off from editing for part of the week). Past
that number, daily backups will begin to be discarded on a “first in, first out” basis. If you’re
working on a project over a longer stretch of time, you can always raise this number.
— Project backup location: Click the Browse button to choose a location for these project
backups to be saved. By default they’re saved to a “ProjectBackup” directory on your
scratch disk, although you could change this to a volume that better fits into your data
backup methodology.
4 Click Save to confirm your change, and then close the Preferences window.
NOTE When using this feature, the ver y first backup that ’s saved for a given day may be a
bit slow, but all subsequent backups should be unnoticeable.
Once one or more Project Backups have been saved, you can access them in the Project Browser.
To open a Project Backup that’s been saved:
1 Open the Project Manager.
2 Right-click a project, and choose Project Backups from the contextual menu.
Restoring a project backup in the Project Browser
3 Select a backup that you want to restore from the Auto Backups list. If you don’t see the par ticular
backup you want, you can click the Refresh button to update the list, or you can try sorting by one
of the columns (Auto Backup, Date Modified, Width, Height) to better navigate the list.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 80
Page 81
Selecting a backup that you want to restore
4 Once you’ve selected the backup you want to restore, you can click Load to open that backup as a
new project. If the project it was saved from is already open, it won’t be overwritten.
Project Notes
Each DaVinci Resolve project now provides access to Project Notes, which is a simple “scratch pad” for
keeping track of text notes associated with each project. These notes can be accessed using the File >
Project Notes command, and there’s also a Project Notes command in the contextual menu for project
icons in the Project Manager, which makes these notes accessible to everyone who’s connected to that
project library.
Dynamic Project Switching
Dynamic Project Switching is an option in the Project Manager contextual menu that lets you open
multiple projects into R AM simultaneously, so you can quickly switch between projects when you
want to copy and paste clips, timelines, and node settings back and forth. If you plan on opening
many projects, or even just a few very large projects, you should be sure your workstation has an
appropriate amount of R AM installed or you could experience a slowdown in performance.
Methods of using Dynamic Project Switching:
— To enable Dynamic Project Switching: Open the Project Manager, right-click anywhere within
the Project Manager and choose Dynamic Project Switching so that it ’s checked. Dynamic Project
Switching will remain enabled until you turn it off.
— To open multiple projects in R AM: Open any project, then reopen the Project Manager and
open any other project. All projects you open are kept available in RAM.
— To switch among open projects: Choose File > Switch Project and select the project you want to
switch to from the submenu. You can also choose other projects that have been opened into R AM
from the drop-down menu that appears to the right of the project name at the top center of the
DaVinci Resolve user interface.
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 81
Page 82
— To close a specific project: Choose File > Close Project and select the project you want to close
from the submenu. You may be prompted to save, after which the project closes.
— To close all other open projects: Open the Project Manager. All open projects appear with a check
mark in the upper right-hand corner; the currently open project has an orange corner mark, while
other projects open in memory have a gray corner mark. Right-click anywhere within the Project
Manager, and choose Close Projects in Memory to close all projects other than the current one.
Switching among open projects using the Project
Title drop-down at the top of the DaVinci Resolve UI
Using dynamic project switching, you can do the following:
— Copy and paste clips from the Media Pool of one project into another.
— Copy and paste timelines from the Media Pool of one project into another. When you paste a timeline
from another project, all of the clips used in that timeline will be pasted to the same location as well.
— Copy and paste clips from a timeline in one project to a timeline in another.
— Copy a node’s settings from one project and paste them to a node in another project.
You can also copy and paste clips, timelines, and node settings from one project to another without
using dynamic project switching, but using switching makes this process faster.
Archiving and Restoring Projects
DaVinci Resolve has a convenient feature for quickly archiving every single media file used by
a project, including subtitle files, along with the project itself, to a single location. This can be done to
hand a project off to another DaVinci Resolve user, or to bundle a project and its media up for either
short- or long-term archiving using the backup methodology of your choice. The process is simple.
To Archive a project:
1 Open the Project Manager.
2 Locate and right-click the project you want to archive, and choose Archive.
The contextual menu command for archiving projects
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 82
Page 83
3 When the Archive Project window appears, choose a location to save the archive. Make sure you
choose a volume that’s large enough to accommodate the size of all the media from the project
you’re archiving, and click Save.
4 When the Archive dialog appears, verify the location the archive will be saved to, and choose
which optional media you want to save within the archive. You can optionally save Optimized
media and/or Render Cache media associated with a project.
A dialog letting you choose whether to save
Optimized and/or Render Cache media
5 Click Ok, and a dialog with a progress bar will show you how long the archive operation will take
to finish. If any errors come up, resulting from missing or of fline media, they’ll be presented at the
end of the process.
The resulting archive that is written is a directory with the .dra file extension. Inside this folder are a
series of subdirectories containing all of the media that’s used by the archived project. Each directory
of media files used is saved within a directory path that mirrors the exact path it came from, so you
have a reference for where each clip came from originally.
To restore an Archived project:
1 Copy the .dra archive directory you want to restore to the volume where you want those media
files to be. Restoring doesn’t move this directory, it only adds the project file within to the Project
Manager, so you should make sure the .dra archive director y is located on a storage volume with
suitable performance for you to work.
2 Open the Project Manager, right-click anywhere, and choose Restore from the contextual menu.
Choose the .dra archive directory you just copied, and click Open.
3 At the prompt, enter a unique project name for the restored project, and click OK. The project is
restored to the Project Manager, and remains linked to the media located inside the .dra archive.
4 Alternatively you can simply drag the .dra folder from your file system directly into the
Project Manager.
If, after restoring an archive, you want to move its media to another location, you can use Media
Management to do a move operation for all clips in that project. For more information on Media
Management, See Chapter 45, “Media Management.”
Chapter 3 Managing Projects and Project Libraries 83
Page 84
Chapter 4
System and User Preferences
This chapter covers the settings used for customizing the
DaVinci Resolve environment. System Preferences govern setup
options that control the hardware and software environment, while
User Preferences control various user controls within the software.
Contents
DaVinci Resolve Preferences 85
Adjusting Preferences 85
Individual Preferences and
86
Resetting Preferences 86
System 86
Memory and GPU 86
87
89
90
Video Plug-ins 93
Audio Plug-ins 94
94
General 95
Internet Accounts 96
Advanced 97
User 97
97
99
Fairlight
107
Metadata
Keyboard Customization 109
109
110
111
Managing Keyboard Mappings 111
112
98
101
103
106
107
108
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 84
Page 85
DaVinci Resolve Preferences
The DaVinci Resolve Preferences window contains workstation-specific settings for customizing
how DaVinci Resolve works, divided into System and User panes, selectable via buttons at the top of
this window.
To open the Project Settings window, do one of the following:
— Choose DaVinci Resolve > Preferences.
— Press Command-Comma.
TIP You can open the preferences while the Project Manager is open when you first run
System Settings of the Preferences window
Adjusting Preferences
The System and User panes are each divided into a series of panels which can be selected from a
sidebar at the left. Each panel contains a collection of related settings that affects some category of
DaVinci Resolve functionality.
To alter any preference setting:
1 Click on the name of any group of settings in the sidebar at the left to open that panel.
2 Change whatever settings you need to change.
3 Click Save to apply the changes you’ve made and close the Preferences window.
If you’ve updated certain System Preferences, you’ll be prompted to restart DaVinci Resolve,
but if you’ve updated the User Preferences, this will probably be unnecessary.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 85
Page 86
Individual Preferences and Settings Based on Login
As of DaVinci Resolve 16, there are individual preferences and settings for each login account on a
given computer. This means that multiple artists can each have their own operating system login,
and DaVinci Resolve will maintain separate workspace layouts and preference states for each artist,
depending on who’s logged in.
Resetting Preferences
Resetting all preferences to their defaults is simple. Click the Option menu at the upper-right corner of
the Preferences window and choose Reset System Preferences.
System
The System pane of the Preferences window consists of a series of panels that configure the computer
and other hardware that comprises your DaVinci Resolve workstation.
Memory and GPU
The top section of this panel provides Memory Configuration options, while the bottom section of this
panel provides controls over how GPU processing is handled.
Memory Configuration
This section has the following preference settings handling memory usage.
— System Memory: The total available RAM on your workstation is listed here.
— Limit Resolve Memory Usage to: This preference limits the total amount of system memory that
Resolve uses, keeping memor y available for other applications. The maximum and default setting
for this preference is 75 percent of your system’s RAM.
— Limit Fusion Memory Cache to: Lets you limit how much RAM the playback cache on the Fusion page
is allowed to use. Depending on the length of clips you’re working on in the Fusion page, the playback
cache can occupy a considerable amount of available memory. The amount you allocate here is
taken from the total amount of memory allocated by the “Limit Resolve Memory Usage to” setting.
GPU Configuration
This section lets you choose how GPU processing should be handled.
Options for configuring the GPUs on your workstation
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 86
Page 87
— GPU processing mode: Lets you set DaVinci Resolve to use the OpenCL, CUDA, or Metal GPU
computing APIs for doing effects processing. Which is best depends on the GPUs that are
installed in your computer. Most users can leave this set to Auto to let DaVinci Resolve choose
what’s appropriate. Otherwise, here are specific recommendations. If you have a macOS system,
you should use Metal. Linux and Windows users with AMD GPUs should use OpenCL. Linux
and Windows users with Nvidia GPUs should use CUDA, but make sure you have the correct
drivers for your system, and that you have the latest update to CUDA installed. Additionally, when
you manually choose an option from this drop-down menu, the GPU selection mode drop-down
also appears.
— GPU selection mode: Lets you choose between Auto, which lets DaVinci Resolve choose which
of the available GPUs on your computer to use for processing, and Manual, which lets you choose
which GPUs to enable or disable for processing from a list that appears below. This can be useful
in instances where you have multiple GPUs installed on a machine and you want to choose only
the most powerful GPUs for processing. This can also be useful in instances where an external
eGPU is connected to a laptop or all-in-one with a weaker GPU, so you can choose the more
powerful eGPU for processing.
— Use Display GPU For Compute: By default, a single GPU system uses the same GPU for the
DaVinci user interface and also for image processing. As greater processing speeds are achievable
with two or more GPUs, if two GPUs are installed for image processing, this checkbox enables
the shared use of the display GPU instead of dedicating it to just the DaVinci user interface. Users
of the non-studio version of DaVinci Resolve are restricted to the use of a single GPU, unless
DaVinci Resolve is installed on a 2013 or later Mac Pro, in which case both installed GPUs will be
used.
— GPU selection list: This list only appears when GPU processing mode is set to either OpenCL,
CUDA, or Metal, and when GPU selection mode is set to Manual. A list of ever y GPU installed in
your computer appears, and you can use checkboxes to the left of each GPU to enable or disable
specific GPUs from being used for processing.
— Optimized Viewer Updates: This only appears on multi-GPU macOS and Windows systems or on
single- and multi-GPU Linux systems; enables faster viewer update performance.
Media Storage
This panel lets you define the scratch disk and other media storage locations used by DaVinci Resolve,
as well as proxy locations, and the default cache directories locations to be used when creating
new projects.
— Media Storage Locations: This list lets you define the scratch disk of the system. The first volume
in this list is where Gallery stills and cache files are stored, so you want to make sure that you
choose the fastest storage volume to which you have access.
— Mapped Mount: This column allows you to specify translatable media path mapping between
Mac, Linux, and Windows file system conventions.
— Direct I/O: This option allows DaVinci Resolve to write directly to the drive using the kernel
buffers, bypassing the normal storage cache in R AM. This allows access to the full performance of
the drive.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 87
Page 88
— Automatically display attached local and network storage locations: This checkbox lets
DaVinci Resolve access media on all temporarily and permanently mounted volumes, including
SATA and eSATA, SAS, USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or GigE), Fibre Channel,
and otherwise connected hard drives, without having to add them to this list. This is on by default.
If you’re using the Apple App store version of DaVinci Resolve, turning on “Automatically display
attached local and network storage locations” automatically prompts you via a dialog to add
“Macintosh HD” as a storage location. Clicking Add Location prompts you to select the Macintosh
HD volume with another dialog, and clicking Open then adds that volume to the Media Storage
Volumes list. After you click Save to close the Preference windows, Resolve should now
auto-mount any volumes attached to your computer in the Media Storage browser of the Media
page. Don’t do this until after you’ve added a fast storage volume to the Media Storage Locations
list, because you don’t want Macintosh HD as the first volume in this list – the very first volume in
this list should always be reserved for your fast scratch volume.
— Proxy Generation Location: These options let you define where any proxy media you create
will be rendered to.
— Proxy subfolders in media file locations: The proxy media is generated inside a subfolder
named “Proxy” at the same level in the file hierarchy as the original media file. This means
that if your original media is all in the same folder, you will have one “Proxy” folder containing
all of the proxy clips. If your original media is all contained in separate folders (i.e., one folder
for each video clip), you will have multiple “Proxy” folders, one inside every clip folder and
containing one proxy clip each.
— Use project settings: Uses the “Proxy generation location” destination, found in the Working
Folders section of the Master Settings of the Project Settings.
— Ask when creating: Opens a filesystem dialog, allowing you to select a specific folder for the
proxy generation.
Adding Storage Locations Manually
Some versions of DaVinci Resolve do not allow automatic display of attached volumes. In this case,
you can right-click anywhere in the background of the Media Storage panel’s volumes list on the
Media page and choose “Add New Location” to open a dialog you can use to choose a volume you
want to add.
Manually adding a volume to the
Media Storage panel’s volumes list
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 88
Page 89
Using Path Mapping to Access Volumes From Other Operating Systems
Shared media path mapping suppor t for Mac, Linux and Windows makes it easier for multi-system
shops to share Resolve projects among different platforms that use different file path conventions.
To add a mapped mount string:
1 Open the Media Storage panel of the Resolve Preferences window.
2 Add the volume you want to map to the Scratch Disks list.
3 Double-click the Mapped Mount column of the drive you added to edit it.
4 Enter the alternate file path you want that volume to have. For example, if you’re on a Windows
workstation and you want to access a Linux volume, type the Linux file path into the Mapped
Mount column.
NOTE If the volume you’ve selected to use for the cache becomes unavailable,
DaVinci Resolve will warn you with a dialog.
Decode Options
This panel contains all options available for using the GPU to accelerate the decoding and debayering
of various formats.
— Use GPU for Blackmagic R AW decode: Lets you use your GPU to accelerate the decoding of
Blackmagic RAW (BRAW) media.
— Decode H.264/HEVC using hardware acceleration: Allows the use of hardware acceleration for
H.264 or HEVC playback, if available on the computer you’re using.
— Use easyDCP decoder: Since DaVinci Resolve has its own DCP encoder and decoder built in, this
checkbox lets you switch over to using easyDCP to do DCP decoding, if you have a license installed
on your workstation.
— Automatically refresh growing files in the media pool: If you’re using a third-party application
that records live to a growing video file, you can now begin to edit that file while it’s still recording.
Simply import the growing file into the Media Pool, and when this box is checked, DaVinci Resolve
will continuously refresh to determine if the file has changed, and automatically update its
attributes in the Media Pool.
— Use GPU for RED Debayer: Lets you use your GPU to accelerate debayering of R3D media.
The latest RED API enables accelerated 8K debayering using either Metal or Cuda.
There are three options:
— None
— Debayer
— Decompression and Debayer
— Use Red Rocket if available: (Only appears if a RED ROCKET-X or RED ROCKET is installed.) This
checkbox lets you disable Red Rocket support if you need to force DaVinci Resolve to use standard
RED software CPU debayering to accommodate your specific workflow or when troubleshooting.
If you are required to debayer R3D media using your CPU, turn this checkbox off. Additional
options appear letting you choose decompression and debayer settings.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 89
Page 90
Video & Audio I/O
The preferences in this panel let you choose video and audio interfaces on your workstation.
Video I/O
This section lets you choose which Blackmagic Design video interfaces you want to use for monitoring,
capture, playback, and Resolve Live, assuming you have any connected to your workstation.
If you have more than one Blackmagic Design video device connected to your computer, you can
independently configure them for playback and capture. If no interfaces are connected, no options will
be available.
— Capture Device: If you have a compatible video capture card for video input, you should choose
from the card options that appear here. This setting also sets the selected input device for use
in Resolve Live, allowing you to monitor and color correct a live video signal. Any changes to this
setting require a restart of the program.
— Monitor Device: If you have a compatible video output card, you should choose from the card
options that appear here. Leaving this set to “None” disables external video output. Disabling
video output can improve real time performance when external monitoring and output is not a
priority. You can also choose “None” when you’re using DaVInci Resolve with another application
open at the same time that’s using your workstation’s video output interface. When you’ve quit
the other application, you can reselect the video output interface for use by DaVinci Resolve. Any
changes to this setting require a restart of the program.
— Release video device when not in focus: When turned on, DaVinci Resolve releases control of
the video output device whenever you switch to another application.
— Enable discrete audio output: This enables sending audio to individual outputs per channel
from your designated device.
— Audio monitoring delay: Allows you to adjust any latency between the video images and
the audio monitoring.
Video input/output options in the System Preferences
Audio I/O
This section lets you define the audio hardware and different sets of speakers with which to monitor
audio playback. To access more than the default stereo system output that most workstations default
to, you must use whatever software is available for your operating system to choose the desired
audio hardware you want to use, and define how many audio outputs are required for the type of
monitoring you want to do (stereo, immersive, and so on). For example, on macOS you’ll use the Audio
Midi Setup utility to choose output hardware and select a speaker configuration to be made available
on your system.
— I/O Engine: Lets you choose the audio hardware that DaVinci Resolve uses to process
audio. Choices include System Audio, Desktop Video, Fairlight Audio Accelerator, and ASIO
(Windows only).
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 90
Page 91
— System Audio: System Audio interfaces with your computer’s native audio hardware and enables
the following parameters.
— Playback processing buffer size: Lets you determine the size of the Playback buffer; to the
right a latency display indicates the approximate latency of your choice in milliseconds.
— Record buffer size: Lets you determine the size of the Record buffer; to the right a latency
display indicates the approximate latency of your choice in milliseconds.
— Input Device: Lets you chose the audio input device from the hardware attached to
your system.
— Output Device: Lets you chose the audio output device from the hardware attached
to your system.
— Automatic speaker configuration: Checking this box sets DaVinci Resolve to output audio
via your workstation’s built-in audio output, even if a compatible video I/O interface is enabled
for capture and playback or for Resolve Live. Unchecking this box exposes additional controls
with which you can define your own speaker setup.
Assigning different audio I/O devices and required buffer adjustments
About Audio Monitoring and Audio Input
The audio processing throughout DaVinci Resolve, including on the Fairlight page and
audio processing using Fairlight FX plug-ins, is equally compatible with all platforms
party audio interface.
Alternately, you can monitor audio with the optional Fairlight Audio Accelerator, which
recording, and that’s also capable of accelerating audio processing operations to provide
better performance for audio operations.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 91
Page 92
NOTE
Monitor Speaker Configuration
When the Automatic Speaker Configuration box is unchecked it reveals another panel in the Video and
Audio I/O Preferences. Here you can assign your monitors to the default Main or Near sets, and you
can also create an additional 15 monitor sets specific to your needs.
— Monitor Set: Choose the default Main or Near or create up to 15 other user-definable
configurations.
— Rename: This button allows you to rename any of the monitor sets to something more
meaningful for your individual needs.
— Format: A drop-down menu allows you to choose the desired format type from Mono up to
Dolby Atmos 9.1.6. Below the Format type there are three windows to create the Monitor Set:
— Layout: Breaks out the channels that correspond to the chosen format.
— Output: Where you can assign the Output channels to your system.
— Tr im: Where you can reduce each individual level by up to -24dB of gain or add up to +10dB of
gain for fine tuning the speaker calibration required for your particular playback space.
Monitor System External Inputs
You can create multiple sets of monitoring with up to 16 user-definable setups from the Control Room
and Studio tabs in this panel. This allows flexibility to have different combinations of monitoring
speakers that you can switch among for checking, reviewing, and creating different mixes.
— External Monitor Source: Chose None or up to 16 definable configurations.
— Format: When a Format is chosen, a drop-down menu appears allowing you to choose the
desired format type from Mono up to Dolby Atmos 9.1.6. Once a format has been chosen, three
more windows appear:
— Layout: Which breaks out the channels that correspond to the chosen format.
— Source: Where you can assign either Input Destination or Audio Repro.
— Input: Where you can assign an individual track when in Audio Repro, or assign the specific
channel when in Input Destination.
— Rename: This button allows you to rename any of the numerically labeled monitor sets to
something more meaningful for your individual needs.
Patching and renaming different external inputs in Preferences
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 92
Page 93
Immersive Audio Controls
These two Preference panels allow you to configure for the type of Immersive Audio that you want to
have available in your project and also for linking to a Dolby RMU for doing Dolby Atmos mixing.
— Immersive Audio: This panel allows you to enable the various types of Immersive Audio offered
within DaVinci Resolve. Those formats are: Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H Audio, SMPTE ST 2098,
and 22.2 Surround.
— Dolby Atmos: Checking this box allows the use of an external Dolby Atmos Renderer. Once
checked you can enter the IP address of the RMU and choose the base audio output.
Video Plug-ins
You can selectively enable and disable specific Open FX plug-ins on startup. You can use this function
to streamline and organize the Open FX list to just the plug-ins you commonly use, or to exclude a
problematic plug-in that causes instability in the system. Additionally, DaVinci Resolve automatically
checks the last plug-in loading result on startup, and skips any plug-ins that previously caused a
crash or hang.
Individual Open F X plug-ins can be manually enabled and disabled in the Video Plugins panel by
checking or unchecking the boxes corresponding to the plug-ins.
The Video Plugins panel allows you to enable or
disable specific Open FX plug-ins at startup.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 93
Page 94
Audio Plug-ins
Three sections of parameters let you manage VST Effects, enabled plug-ins, and external
audio processes.
— VST Effects: A list at top lets you manually add and remove VST plug-in effects directories, if
necessary. VST effects aren’t installed in a standard location, so it may sometimes be necessary to
add a newly installed directory of VST plug-ins that you’ve just installed on your system.
— Available Plug-ins: Once you’ve added one or more VST directories to the list, a second list
underneath shows all audio plug-ins that are available within these directories. Each plug-in on
the list has a checkbox that shows whether or not it’s currently enabled. Any VST plug-ins that
cause DaVinci Resolve to crash while loading them during startup will be automatically disabled.
You can use this list to see which plug-ins have been disabled, for troubleshooting purposes, and
to reenable such “blacklisted” plug-ins by turning their checkboxes back on.
— Setup External Audio Processes: While working in the Fairlight page, you have the ability to
process an audio file using a third-party application, if necessary, in the event you need to use
another application’s capabilities to create an effect or solve an issue that can’t be accomplished
in the Fairlight page itself. To do this, you must first add one or more applications to the External
Audio Process list in the Audio Plug-ins panel of the System Preferences.
NOTE
To add an External Audio Process:
1 Click the Add button.
2 Double-click the text in the Name column and change the name to that of the application or
process you’re going to link to.
3 Click once in the Path column, and then use the file dialog to locate and select the application or
script you want to use as the external audio process.
4 Open the drop-down menu in the Type column, and choose how you want the selected audio
process to work: Reveal (open the application), Command Line (use from Terminal), or Clipboard
(copy the audio clip file path to the clipboard to paste into the open command of an application
or utility).
5 When you’re done, click Save, and restart DaVinci Resolve if you’re prompted to.
Control Panels
Two sections let you specify which Color Grading Panel and Audio Console is connected
to your workstation.
— Color Grading Panel: A menu lets you choose which color grading panel you have connected to
your workstation. Some panels expose additional controls.
If you have a DaVinci Resolve Mini or Micro Panel, leave this setting set to None and these panels
will be auto-detected by Resolve when you plug them in.
If you have a control panel that connects via USB, choose your panel from the list.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 94
Page 95
If you have a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel connected over Ethernet, choose “DaVinci Resolve Mini
Panel (Ethernet)” and then choose your panel from the drop-down that appears.
If you’re using a JLCooper Eclipse, choose “JLCooper Eclipse CX” and then enter the IP and Port
number into the fields that appear.
— Use MIDI Audio Console: A checkbox lets you enable the use of a third-party audio console that’s
connected to your workstation. Turning this on exposes three additional menus.
— MIDI Protocol: Lets you choose either the HUI or MCU protocol, whichever is compatible with
the audio console you want to use.
— MIDI Input: Lets you choose the MIDI input used to connect your console.
— MIDI Output: Lets you choose the MIDI output used to connect your console.
General
This panel provides various options for scripting, audio processing, monitoring, and sending
problem reports.
— External Scripting Using: (Resolve Studio only) Options include None, Local, and Network.
When set to None, only scripting in the Console window is allowed. When set to Local, external
scripts and applications on the same computer can control DaVinci Resolve. When set to Network,
external scripts and applications from other computers on the network (or via the internet) can
control DaVinci Resolve.
— Audio Processing Block Size: Lets you increase the sample block size to add processing
headroom to the system, at the expense of adding latency to audio playback. The default value is
Auto, which automatically chooses a suitable setting for the audio I/O device you’re using.
For those who have specific needs and are interested in setting this manually, here are some
examples of use. In a first example, when a system is under a heavy load (there are many plug-
ins being used on many tracks), then increasing the block size to add processing headroom will
result in a longer delay every time your audio hardware requests samples to feed the speakers. If
you’re only mixing, the resultant latency may not be a problem, so this gives you the option to add
headroom so your system can run a few more plug-ins or tracks.
On the other hand, this increased delay in the processed audio running through the mixer is a
much bigger problem if you’re recording an artist in an ADR session, where they need to hear
themselves in the headphones, or when you’re recording foley or voice over and there’s an
increased delay between what you see and what you’re recording, so in this case sticking with the
default value (or smaller) will sacrifice processing headroom for diminished latency.
TIP A common strategy when you need to force more cooperation from a particular
combination of workstation and audio interface is to reduce Audio Processing Block
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 95
Page 96
— Use 10-bit precision in viewers if available: This checkbox only appears on Mac OS X 10.11
(El Capitan) and higher installations of DaVinci Resolve. Turning this checkbox on lets
DaVinci Resolve display 10-bit images in the Viewer.
— Use Mac Display Color Profile for viewers: If you’re using DaVinci Resolve on macOS, this
checkbox enables all viewers in DaVinci Resolve to use whatever display profile is selected in the
Displays panel of the System Preferences. This lets DaVinci Resolve use ColorSync on macOS so
your Viewer image should better match your output display.
— Automatically Tag Rec.709 Scene Clips as Rec.709-A: Turn this checkbox on to automatically tag
any Rec. 709 QuickTime files for Rec. 709-A playback. This setting is useful if your final QuickTime
video does not match what you see in the Resolve viewers (gamma shift), and you wish to export
for the web rather than broadcast.
— Automatically Scan other project libraries for remote rendering jobs: Turn this checkbox
on to scan all connected project libraries, rather than just the current project library for possible
remote rendering jobs.
— Automatically Check for Updates: Turn this checkbox on to make it easier to ensure you’re using
the latest version of DaVinci Resolve. You can also choose DaVinci Resolve > Check For Updates to
notify you of new versions and download them when available.
— Automatically opt-in for new beta program notifications: Lets you know when public beta
versions of DaVinci Resolve become available, in case you’re interested in living on the edge.
— Send report when application quits unexpectedly: When this checkbox is turned on,
this setting enables DaVinci Resolve to automatically prepare a problem report whenever
DaVinci Resolve unexpectedly quits. You get to fill out some information (please be as specific as
you can about what you were doing when DaVinci Resolve had its issue) and click a button to send
the report.
— Automatically send problem reports: When this checkbox is turned on, problem reports are
automatically sent, with no user intervention. You have the option of adding your name and email
address to be automatically included, but this information is optional.
Internet Accounts
DaVinci Resolve has tight integration with YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Dropbox, and Frame.io that allows
you to render and upload directly to each ser vice. This panel provides buttons that let you sign into
your YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, Dropbox, and Frame.io accounts, as well as specify a local cache location
for media being synced with Frame.io.
For each service you sign into, a floating window presents the interface in which you’ll need to enter
your login name and password to enable integration, followed by whatever two-factor identification
and other required steps are necessary. Once entered, DaVinci Resolve will sign in to each of these
services automatically when DaVinci Resolve opens.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 96
Page 97
The Internet Accounts panel of the System tab of
the DaVinci Resolve Preferences window
NOTE For Frame.io, the local cache location is used to store clips you import into a
Media page.
Advanced
This tab is used for special Resolve configurations and SAN parameters that are applicable to older
file systems.
User
This panel lets you choose user preferences, specific to your workstation, that govern such things as
UI behaviors and appearance, auto save settings, editing and color defaults, control panel action, and
keyboard shortcut mappings.
TIP
prior to version 14, but they were moved here to accommodate collaborative workflows
with each user having their own independent general, editing, and color settings, as well as
their own keyboard shortcuts.
Saving User Preference Presets
It’s possible to save multiple presets for instant recall of different User Preference settings, using the
Option menu in the UI Settings window.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 97
Page 98
The commands for managing User Preference presets
in the Option menu of the UI Settings window
Methods of managing User Preference presets:
— To save a preset: Choose whatever settings you want to use, then click the UI Settings window
Option menu, and choose Save User Preferences as Preset. Enter a name into the dialog, and click
OK. That preset will now appear at the top of the Option menu.
— To load a preset: Click the UI Settings window Option menu, and choose Load Preset from the
submenu of the preset you want to load.
— To update a preset: Load a preset you want to edit, then change whatever settings you need to,
and choose Update Preset from the submenu of that preset in the Option menu.
— To export a preset: Choose Export Preset from the submenu of any preset in the Option menu.
A file with the .userprefs extension is saved at the location you chose.
— To import a preset: Choose Import User Preferences as Preset in the Option menu, use the
dialog to find the exported .userprefs preset file you want to import, and click Open.
— To delete a preset: Choose Delete Preset from the submenu of any preset in the Option menu.
— To reset all presets: Choose Reset User Preferences from the Option menu to restore all User
Preferences to their default settings.
UI Settings
A collection of operational preferences.
— Language: A Language drop-down at the top lets you specify which language the DaVinci Resolve
user interface displays. DaVinci Resolve currently supports English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish,
Portuguese, French, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese.
— Reload last working project when logging in: Automatically reopens the last project a user had
open whenever that user logs back into DaVinci Resolve. This checkbox can only be enabled when
editing a preset configuration in the Presets panel, so that it’s always on no matter which project
you open as long as you’re using that particular preset. Ideally, enable it for your User config (if
you’re using a multi-user configuration of DaVinci Resolve) or your Guest Default config (if you’re
using a single-user configuration).
— Show focus indicators in the User Interface: Lets you enable or disable a red line at the top of
each panel that indicates which panel currently has focus.
— Use gray background for user interface: By default, DaVinci Resolve uses a blue-gray UI
background, intended to provide a more attractive experience for users focused on the less
color-critical aspects of DaVinci Resolve, namely editing. Turning this checkbox on switches
DaVinci Resolve to a totally neutral, desaturated gray UI, which can be valuable as a point of
reference for colorists concerned about the blue-gray UI’s potential to bias the eye in the dark
environment of the grading suite.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 98
Page 99
— Use gray background in viewers: When turned on, sets the background of all viewers to gray,
making it easier to evaluate image blanking or minor sizing adjustments than with the default
dark background.
— Resize image in viewer to square pixels: This control will select between using a square or non-
square pixel aspect ratio within the Viewer. This is impor tant when working with SD images which
do not have a square pixel aspect ratio.
— Delay viewer display by X frames: When turned on, you can enter a number of frames to
delay DaVinci Resolve Viewers as they appear on your computer displays so that the image on
your computer display better syncs up with the same image shown on external displays that are
delayed due to various signal processing processes.
— Output single field when paused: This setting will reduce flicker when grading using a computer
monitor or when working with interlaced material. Ordinarily, when viewing interlaced material in
Stop or Pause mode, field one is displayed followed by field two. Depending on the image, this can
result in a flicker on the display. When this option is enabled, only field one will be shown on the
monitor when playback is paused; however both fields will be shown when the clips are played.
— Stop playback when a dropped frame is detected: When enabled, sets DaVinci Resolve to stop
playback whenever a frame is dropped on output, to warn you that there are performance issues
on your workstation. This is particularly useful when you’re outputting to tape.
— Stop renders when a frame or clip cannot be processed: When enabled, this will halt a render
if DaVinci Resolve detects an error in the encoding, rather than continue to try to process it.
— Timeline sort order: A user setting that allows you to determine the default sort order of the
Timelines that appear in the Viewer drop-down menus throughout DaVinci Resolve.
— Alphabetic: Sorts Timelines alphabetically A-Z.
— Creation Date: Sorts Timelines by oldest creation date first.
— Recently Used (default): Sorts Timelines by the last actively used Timeline first.
Project Save and Load
The Project Save and Load panel lets you control how projects are opened, and how they’re saved.
Load Settings
The Load Settings preference lets you control a key aspect of project opening performance, namely
whether or not all timelines within a given project are loaded into memor y at the time of opening.
— Load all timelines when opening projects: To improve the performance of longer projects with
multiple timelines, the “Load all timelines when opening projects” checkbox in the Project Save
and Load panel of the User Preferences defaults to off.
— When this checkbox is off, opening a project only results in the last timeline you worked on being
opened into memory; all other timelines are not loaded into RAM. This speeds up the opening
of large projects. However, you may experience brief pauses when you open other timelines
within that project, as each new timeline must be loaded into RAM as you open it. If you open
a particularly gigantic timeline, a progress bar will appear letting you know how long it will take
to load. Another advantage of this is the reduction of each project ’s memory footprint, which is
particularly valuable when working among multiple projects using Dynamic Project Switching.
— If you turn this on, all timelines will be loaded into RAM, and you’ll experience no pauses when
opening timelines you haven’t opened already. However, projects with many timelines may
take longer to open and save.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 99
Page 100
Save Settings
The Save settings allow you to control how DaVinci Resolve handles automated saving and
project backups. These features can save you from the heartache of lost work resulting from an
unexpected problem.
— Live Save: Enabled by default, Live Save is a progressive, fast, always-on autosave mechanism that
“saves as you go.” All changes in the Cut, Edit, and Fairlight pages are saved as you make them. All
changes in the Fusion and Color pages are automatically saved when you switch to another clip,
and also periodically and invisibly in the background while you work to ensure that your work is
saved even if you haven’t switched clips in a while.
— Project Backups: Turning on the Project Backups checkbox in the Project Save and Load panel
of the User Preferences enables DaVinci Resolve to save multiple backup project files at periodic
intervals, using a method that’s analogous to a GFS (grandfather father son) backup scheme.
This can be done regardless of whether or not Live Save is turned on. Each project backup is a
complete project file, excluding stills and LUTs.
Once you’ve enabled Project Backups for a long enough time, whatever saved project backups
have been created are retrievable in the Project Manager via the contextual menu that appears
when you right-click a project, by choosing Project Backups. Opening a project backup does not
overwrite the original project; project backups are always opened as independent projects.
Restoring a project backup in the Project Browser
Project backups are only saved when changes have been made to a project. If DaVinci Resolve sits
idle for any period of time, such as when your smart watch tells you to go outside and walk around
the block, no additional project backups are saved, preventing DaVinci Resolve from overwriting
useful backups with unnecessary ones.
Three fields let you specify how often to save a new project backup, while the fourth lets you
choose where the backups will be saved.
Chapter 4 System and User Preferences 100
Loading...