Complete Beginner's Guide

DaVinci
Resolve

Video Editing Fundamentals — from zero to your first cut

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Zero to First Cut

What DaVinci Resolve is and what you'll learn

DaVinci Resolve is a professional video editing application made by Blackmagic Design. It's free, industry-standard, and used for everything from YouTube videos to Hollywood films. Unlike Premiere Pro or Final Cut, it has powerful colour grading built in — but you're here for editing fundamentals, so we'll focus on the Cut and Edit pages.

7
Pages
5
Modules
40+
Shortcuts
10
Quiz Qs

Curriculum

Module 01
The Interface Beginner
Understanding DaVinci Resolve's pages, panels, and how to navigate without getting lost. We'll cover the Media Pool, Source Viewer, Timeline, and Inspector.
Module 02
Import & Organise Beginner
Importing footage, creating bins, setting up a project, and understanding why you should never move files after importing.
Module 03
Basic Editing Edit
Adding clips to the timeline, trimming, splitting, moving clips, and using the basic editing tools (arrow, blade, trim).
Module 04
Audio Basics Audio
Adjusting volume, syncing audio, muting tracks, and adding background music — without needing the Fairlight page.
Module 05
Titles & Export Export
Adding text titles, basic transitions, and rendering your final video using the Deliver page for YouTube, Instagram, or local files.
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Before you start: Download DaVinci Resolve 19 (free) from blackmagicdesign.com. Create a new project called "Practice". If your PC is older, go to Preferences → System and set proxy to 1/4 resolution for smooth playback.
Module 01

The Interface

Click any zone to understand what it does

DaVinci Resolve is built around Pages — the icons at the very bottom of the screen. Each page is a specialised workspace. As a beginner, you'll mostly use the Edit page (or Cut page for quick edits). Click any zone below to learn about it.

DaVinci Resolve — Edit Page

Media Pool

All your imported footage, audio files, and images live here. Like a project library.

  • Right-click → Add Bin to create folders (e.g. "Interviews", "B-Roll", "Music")
  • Drag any file from Finder/Explorer here to import it
  • Double-click a clip to open it in the Source Viewer
  • Switch between thumbnail and list view with the icons at the top

Source Viewer

Preview individual clips before placing them in your timeline. Use it to select only the best part of a long clip.

  • Press I to mark an In point (where to start)
  • Press O to mark an Out point (where to end)
  • Then drag or press F9/F10 — only that section goes to the timeline
  • Space to play/pause, J-K-L for speed control

Timeline Viewer

Shows your final video output at the playhead position. This is your "output monitor".

  • Timecode display shows exactly where you are in the edit
  • Right-click → change playback quality if it stutters
  • Press Shift+` for full-screen preview
  • Updates in real-time as you make edits

Inspector

When a clip is selected on the timeline, the Inspector shows all its adjustable properties.

  • Video tab: position, zoom, rotation, opacity
  • Audio tab: volume, pan
  • Effects tab: any effects applied to the clip
  • Every change here only affects the selected clip

Toolbar

The tools you use to interact with clips on the timeline. The three you'll use constantly:

  • Arrow (A) — select and move clips
  • Blade (B) — cut a clip into two pieces
  • Trim (T) — ripple trim, closes gap automatically
  • Always press A when done with any other tool

Timeline

The heart of editing. Clips are arranged left→right (earlier→later) across multiple stacked tracks.

  • Video tracks (V1, V2…) on top — higher tracks cover lower ones
  • Audio tracks (A1, A2…) below the video tracks
  • The red vertical line is the playhead
  • Ctrl+Scroll (Cmd+Scroll on Mac) to zoom in/out

Page Bar

The row of icons at the very bottom of the screen — each opens a different workspace.

  • Media (Shift+2) — import and organise files
  • Cut (Shift+3) — fast edit mode for quick assembly
  • Edit (Shift+4) — main editing workspace
  • Color (Shift+6) — colour grading
  • Deliver (Shift+8) — export your finished video

Effects Library

Open with Shift+8 or the toolbar button. Contains all built-in transitions, titles, and filters.

  • Toolbox → Video Transitions — drag between two clips for a crossfade
  • Titles — drag onto the timeline to add text overlays
  • Filters — effects applied to clips (blur, glow, etc.)
  • Avoid over-using transitions — a straight cut is almost always cleaner

The Timeline Up Close

Below is what a typical timeline looks like. Coloured clips represent different track types. The red line is the playhead.

Sample Edit Timeline — 00:00 to 00:40
00:0000:1000:2000:3000:40
Title
Intro text
End card
V1
Clip A
Clip B
Clip C
A1
Cam audio
Cam audio
Cam audio
A2
Background music
Module 02

Editing Workflow

Do things in this order — it matters more than you think

Professional editors follow a consistent workflow. Doing things out of order causes real problems — like moving files after importing and breaking all your media links. Here's the full process from raw footage to exported video.

1
Set up your project folder
Before opening Resolve, create a folder on your drive. Inside it, create subfolders: Footage, Audio, Exports. Copy all your raw files into these. Never edit from your Desktop or Downloads folder.
Rule: all media for a project lives in one folder. Never scatter files.
2
Create a new project in Resolve
Open Resolve. On the Project Manager screen, click + and name your project. Go to File → Project Settings and set Timeline Resolution (1920×1080 for HD) and Frame Rate (match your camera — usually 25fps or 30fps).
Set resolution and frame rate once. Changing them later breaks things.
3
Import your media
Go to the Media page (Shift+2). Navigate to your project folder in the left panel. Drag files into the Media Pool. Create bins (right-click → Add Bin) to keep footage categorised.
Never move files on your computer after importing — Resolve will lose the link.
4
Create a timeline
On the Edit page (Shift+4), right-click in the Media Pool → New Timeline. Name it (e.g. "v1_main_edit"). Or drag a clip directly to the timeline area — Resolve will offer to match settings to the clip. Say yes.
5
Assemble your rough cut
This is the messy first pass. Drag your best clips to the timeline in rough order. Don't worry about perfect edits yet — just get the story structure right. Use the Source Viewer to mark In/Out points first.
The rough cut should be 2–3× longer than your target. You'll cut it down.
6
Fine cut — trim and tighten
Go through clip by clip. Remove dead air at the start/end. Use Blade (B) to split and delete unwanted sections. Use Trim (T) to ripple-trim — this moves everything automatically so you don't leave gaps.
7
Audio mix
Adjust clip volumes so dialogue peaks at −12 dB to −6 dB. Background music should sit at −20 dB to −15 dB — barely noticeable. Use the audio mixer (Shift+9) for fine control.
Audio is 70% of the viewer experience. Bad audio kills good video.
8
Add titles and transitions
Add text overlays from Effects Library → Titles. For transitions, drag between clips. Use them sparingly — a Cross Dissolve at 12–20 frames is all you'll ever need. Avoid fancy transitions; they look amateur.
9
Export from the Deliver page
Go to Deliver (Shift+8). Choose a preset (YouTube or H.264 Master). Set output location to your Exports folder. Click Add to Render Queue, then Start Render. Done.
For YouTube: H.264, 1080p, 50 Mbps, AAC audio at 320 kbps.
Module 03

Editing Techniques

The actual moves you'll make every single day

Adding clips to the timeline

Method 01
Drag and Drop
Drag a clip from the Media Pool directly to the timeline. It lands wherever you drop it. Quickest method for rough assembly — just get everything on there first.
Method 02
Source Viewer with In/Out
Double-click a clip to open it in the Source Viewer. Press I to mark start, O to mark end. Press F9 (insert) or F10 (overwrite) to place only that section. Maximum precision before placing the clip.
Method 03
Append at End
With a clip selected in Media Pool, press Shift+F12 to add it to the end of your timeline. Good for fast assembly when you know you want every clip in sequence.

Trimming clips

Ripple Trim — the one you'll use most
Hover over the start or end of a clip until you see a red arrow. Drag to shorten or lengthen. Everything downstream moves automatically to close the gap. Use the Trim tool (T) for this. This is your primary trimming method.
Roll Edit
Move the edit point between two clips without changing overall duration. Hover exactly on the cut point between clips and drag. Total timeline length stays the same — you're shifting where the cut happens.
Slip Edit
Change which part of a clip is used without moving it on the timeline. Hold Shift and drag on a clip. Use when the duration is right but you want different frames from the same footage.

The Blade Tool — splitting clips

Press B to activate the Blade. Click anywhere on a clip to cut it in two. Press A to return to the selection tool. Select and delete the unwanted half. This is how you remove bad moments from the middle of a clip.

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Hold Shift+B to cut across all tracks simultaneously — essential when you have multiple synced tracks.

Gap and Ripple Delete

When you delete a clip, it can leave a gap (black screen). To remove the gap: right-click on it → Ripple Delete. Or: select a clip and press Backspace — leaves a gap. Press Shift+Backspace for ripple delete — no gap left behind.

Moving clips

With the Arrow tool (A): drag a clip left or right to reposition it in time. Drag up or down to move it to a different video track. Hold Ctrl/Cmd while dragging to disable snapping for fine placement.

Snapping and Timeline Zoom

Toggle snapping with N — makes clips snap to the edges of other clips and the playhead. Keep it on during assembly, turn it off for precise micro-adjustments. Hold Ctrl/Cmd + Scroll to zoom the timeline in/out, or press Shift+Z to fit everything on screen.

Module 04

Audio Basics

Getting your sound right without Fairlight

The Golden Level Rule

Dialogue / Voice — peak at −12 dB to −6 dB
Your primary audio. It should be clearly audible but not maxing out. Watch the audio meter (top-right of the screen) while playing back — peaks should sit in the yellow zone, never hit red.
Background Music — −20 dB to −15 dB
Music should sit under dialogue, not compete with it. Test: play both together. If you can make out every word of dialogue, the music level is right. If it feels too quiet with headphones — it's correct. It'll feel balanced on speakers.
Overall output — never above −1 dBFS
The loudest combined moment (all tracks together) should never hit 0 dBFS. Leave at least 1 dB of headroom. YouTube will auto-compress audio that's too loud, making it sound worse.

Adjusting volume on a clip

There's a thin horizontal line across every audio clip on the timeline — the volume rubber band. Drag it up to increase volume, down to decrease. The number shows the dB adjustment. You can also select a clip and use the Inspector to type an exact dB value.

Volume keyframes (fades)

To fade music in or out: hover over the rubber band near the start/end of a clip. Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click to add a keyframe (a small diamond). Add two keyframes — one where the fade should start and one at the end. Drag the endpoint down to zero. Smooth fade created.

Linking and Unlinking audio/video

Camera clips have video and audio linked. To move just the audio (e.g., for lip-sync correction): right-click the clip → Link Clips to toggle off. Move the audio independently. Link again when done.

Muting tracks

Each track has a speaker icon on the left side. Click it to mute the entire track. Useful for mixing — mute the music to hear dialogue cleanly, then bring it back to check the balance.

Syncing separate audio

Place both the camera clip and external audio file on the timeline roughly aligned. Zoom in to the waveforms. Find a sharp sound (clap, door knock) that appears in both. Zoom in very close and drag the audio until the spikes visually align. Or right-click both clips → Auto-align Audio if you have a clear common reference point.

Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

The 40 shortcuts that cover 95% of editing work

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Playback
Play / Pause
Space
Play backwards
J
Stop
K
Play forwards
L
1 frame back
←
1 frame forward
→
Previous edit point
↑
Next edit point
↓
Go to start
Home
Go to end
End
Editing Tools
Selection tool
A
Blade tool
B
Trim tool
T
Dynamic trim
W
Blade all tracks
ShiftB
Split clip
CtrlB
Ripple delete
Shift⌫
Toggle snapping
N
Timeline
Zoom in
+
Zoom out
−
Fit to window
ShiftZ
Mark In point
I
Mark Out point
O
Clear In
AltI
Clear Out
AltO
Select all clips
CtrlA
General
Undo
CtrlZ
Redo
CtrlY
Save project
CtrlS
Import media
CtrlI
Edit page
Shift4
Color page
Shift6
Deliver page
Shift8
Full screen viewer
Shift`
Markers
Add marker
M
Modify marker
ShiftM
Delete marker
AltM
Next marker
Shift↓
Inserting Clips
Insert clip
F9
Overwrite clip
F10
Replace clip
F11
Append at end
ShiftF12
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On Mac, swap Ctrl → Cmd for all shortcuts. The J-K-L playback keys are the most important to memorise — professionals use them constantly to scrub through footage quickly. Press L multiple times to increase playback speed.
Test Yourself

Knowledge Check

10 questions covering everything in this guide

0 / 10
Question 01 of 10
What does pressing B activate in DaVinci Resolve?
Question 02 of 10
After importing footage, you move the files to a new folder on your computer. What happens?
Question 03 of 10
What is a Ripple Delete?
Question 04 of 10
In the Edit page, what is the Inspector used for?
Question 05 of 10
What is the target dB level for dialogue/voiceover in your video?
Question 06 of 10
What keyboard shortcut takes you to the Deliver page to export your video?
Question 07 of 10
Which keyboard shortcut marks an In point in the Source Viewer?
Question 08 of 10
Higher video tracks (V2, V3) vs lower tracks (V1). Which is visible when they overlap?
Question 09 of 10
What should you do FIRST before opening DaVinci Resolve for a new project?
Question 10 of 10
What does pressing N toggle in DaVinci Resolve?
Reference

Glossary

Every term you'll encounter, plainly explained

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Bin
A folder inside the Media Pool used to organise your footage. Create bins for "Interviews", "B-Roll", "Music" etc.
Clip
A single piece of media — a video file, audio file, or still image — placed on the timeline.
Cut
The most basic edit: one clip ends and the next begins instantly. No transition. Used 90%+ of the time by professionals.
Cross Dissolve
A transition where one clip fades out as the next fades in. Use sparingly. Drag from Effects Library between two clips.
dBFS
Decibels Full Scale. How digital audio levels are measured. 0 dBFS is the maximum before distortion. Keep dialogue at −12 to −6 dBFS.
Deliver Page
The DaVinci Resolve page (Shift+8) where you configure and start the export/render of your finished video.
Edit Point
The boundary between two clips on the timeline — where one ends and the next begins. Press ↑/↓ to jump between edit points.
Fairlight
DaVinci Resolve's dedicated audio editing page. A full DAW built into Resolve. Not needed for basic audio work.
Frame
One single still image in a video. At 25fps, there are 25 frames per second. Cutting one frame earlier or later can significantly change the feel of an edit.
Frame Rate (fps)
How many frames are shown per second. Common values: 24fps (cinematic), 25fps (PAL/most of world), 30fps (NTSC/US content), 60fps (smooth/sport).
Gap
Empty space on the timeline between clips. Shows as black in the viewer. Remove gaps with Ripple Delete or right-click → Close Gap.
H.264 / H.265
Video compression codecs. H.264 is the standard for web/YouTube delivery. H.265 is newer, smaller file size, but slower to export. Use H.264 for most exports.
Inspector
The panel (top-right in Edit page) showing all adjustable properties of the selected clip: position, scale, rotation, opacity, audio volume.
In / Out Points
Markers you set in the Source Viewer (I and O) to define which part of a clip to use before adding it to the timeline.
J-K-L Keys
Playback controls: J = play backwards, K = stop, L = play forwards. Pressing L multiple times increases speed. Essential for scrubbing through footage fast.
Keyframe
A point in time on a clip where you set a specific value (e.g. volume = 0). Resolve smoothly interpolates between keyframes, creating fades or animation.
Media Pool
The panel where all imported media lives, organised into bins. Like a project library. Everything starts here before going to the timeline.
Offline Media
When Resolve can't find the original file for a clip — usually because you moved or renamed the file after importing. Clips show as red. Fix via right-click → Relink.
Overwrite vs Insert Edit
Overwrite (F10) replaces existing timeline content with the new clip. Insert (F9) pushes everything along to make room. Insert preserves what's already there.
Page
DaVinci Resolve's major workspaces accessed via the bottom bar: Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, Deliver. Each is a specialised environment.
Playhead
The red vertical line on the timeline that shows your current position. The viewer shows the frame at the playhead position.
Proxy Media
Low-resolution copies of your footage that Resolve can play back smoothly on slower computers. Renders at full quality on export. Enable in Preferences → System.
Render Queue
The list of export jobs in the Deliver page. Add multiple exports, then click "Start Render" to process them all in one go.
Resolution
The pixel dimensions of your video. 1920×1080 = 1080p HD. 3840×2160 = 4K UHD. Set in Project Settings before starting.
Ripple Trim / Ripple Delete
Editing actions that automatically close gaps. Ripple trim shortens a clip and pulls everything downstream back. Ripple delete removes a clip and closes the gap.
Roll Edit
Moving an edit point between two clips without changing overall timeline duration. One clip gets longer as the adjacent one gets shorter by the same amount.
Rough Cut
The first messy pass of an edit where you lay out content in rough order without worrying about precise timing. Always your starting point.
Slip Edit
Changing which frames of a clip appear on the timeline without moving the clip or changing its duration. Like sliding the content inside a fixed window.
Snapping
A feature (toggle with N) that makes clips magnetically stick to the edges of other clips, markers, and the playhead for precise alignment.
Source Viewer
The left viewer in the Edit page for previewing individual clips from the Media Pool before adding them to the timeline. Set In/Out points here.
Timeline
The main editing area where clips are arranged horizontally to form your video. Video tracks (V1, V2…) on top, audio tracks (A1, A2…) below.
Timecode
A timestamp displayed as HH:MM:SS:FF (hours, minutes, seconds, frames). Used to navigate precisely to a specific moment in your timeline.
Title
A text overlay clip placed on a video track above your footage (V2 or higher). Added from Effects Library → Toolbox → Titles. Edited in the Inspector.
Track
A horizontal lane in the timeline. Video tracks (V1, V2…) stack vertically — higher tracks appear on top. Audio tracks (A1, A2…) are below the video tracks.
Transition
An effect between two clips (e.g. Cross Dissolve, Wipe). Added by dragging from the Effects Library onto an edit point. Use rarely — a straight cut is usually cleaner.
Volume Rubber Band
The thin horizontal line across every audio clip on the timeline. Drag up/down to adjust clip volume. Ctrl/Cmd+click to add keyframes for fades.
Waveform
The visual representation of audio — the jagged shape inside audio clips on the timeline. Taller = louder. Use it to find specific sounds when syncing audio.
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