How to Edit Shorts and Reels in DaVinci Resolve

TL;DR

Set the timeline to vertical before cutting: right-click the timeline icon, choose Timelines then Timeline Settings, uncheck 'Use Project Settings', and select 'Use Vertical Resolution' for a 9:16 frame. Organize footage into project, footage, A-roll, and B-roll folders first, cut A-roll with the blade tool or Command B, then layer B-roll using I and O in-and-out points with video-only drag.

Transcript

if you want to edit shorts and reals but aren't sure where to start then this video will guide you through the exact step-by-step process inside Da Vinci resolve I'll show you how to set up your project format your clips for vertical video add captions and Export with the best settings let's dive in you got to just press record hey welcome back to ... Read More

Key Insights

• Folder organization done before the edit starts makes the whole process easier. The recommended structure is a project-named folder containing a footage folder, which is split into A-roll (talking head) and B-roll subfolders, and this structure carries into Resolve when dragged under Master.
• Vertical framing in DaVinci Resolve is set at the timeline level, not the project level. Right-click the timeline icon, go to Timelines then Timeline Settings, uncheck 'Use Project Settings' at the bottom, and select 'Use Vertical Resolution' to switch the preview to a 9:16 aspect ratio.
• The timeline settings must be changed before chopping up the footage. Adjusting the aspect ratio first means every cut is judged against the vertical frame the viewer will actually see, rather than a horizontal frame that gets cropped afterward.
• Deleting a bad take leaves an empty gap that must be deleted separately. After using the blade tool or Command B to cut, select the unwanted clip and press delete, then select the empty gap and press delete again so the remaining clips play back seamlessly.
• Zooming into the timeline is what makes precise trim points possible. When zoomed out, it is hard to tell where a take actually begins, so scaling up the timeline view with the zoom icon lets you set the exact start frame for the short.
• Gling automatically removes bad takes, silences, and filler words from talking-head footage. After uploading, the processed video shows gray areas where cuts were detected, and the video can be edited like a Word document, with a scissor icon for any mistakes the tool missed.
• Exporting from Gling as Resolve XML rather than MP4 preserves the ability to keep editing. The XML file is brought in through File, Import, Timeline, which creates a new named timeline in Resolve containing all the automated cuts, in this example producing a 42-second short.
• Shooting horizontally and converting to vertical later gives repositioning flexibility. In the Inspector, zoom scales the clip until it fills the vertical frame, and the position setting recenters an off-frame subject, a freedom that footage shot natively vertical does not offer.
• Copying video attributes applies one framing fix to every clip at once. Press Command C on the adjusted clip, select all remaining clips, press Option V, choose Video Attributes, and click Apply so the same zoom is applied across the timeline.
• Dragging B-roll in as video only keeps the good A-roll audio intact. After marking the section with I for the in point and O for the out point, the video-only clip option drags in just the picture, layered over the talking-head audio already on the timeline.

Questions & Answers

Q: How to make a vertical timeline in DaVinci Resolve for Shorts and Reels

Drag your footage into the timeline first, which creates a timeline icon in the media pool. Right-click that timeline icon, go to Timelines, then Timeline Settings. At the bottom of that window, uncheck 'Use Project Settings' so the timeline can differ from the project. Then, directly under Timeline Resolution, click 'Use Vertical Resolution' and press OK. The preview window immediately switches to a 9:16 vertical aspect ratio. Do this before you start cutting, so every trim decision is made against the frame viewers will actually see.

Q: How to organize footage before editing a short in DaVinci Resolve

Create a folder named after the specific project. Inside it, make a footage folder, and inside that, separate A-roll and B-roll folders, where A-roll is the talking head video and B-roll is the supporting footage. Open DaVinci Resolve, click New Project, give it the same project name, and click Create. Go to the Media page at the bottom of the screen and drag the footage folder from Finder into the left corner under Master. This keeps everything in the same folder structure you already built, which makes the editing process considerably easier.

Q: What is the shortcut to cut a clip in DaVinci Resolve

Command B performs a cut at the playhead position, and it does the same thing as selecting the blade tool and clicking on the clip where the timeline header sits. Using the shortcut is faster when you are repeatedly removing bad takes across a long recording. After making the cut, select the unwanted clip on the left and press delete, then select the empty gap that remains and press delete again. Without that second delete, the video starts on a black screen or has a blank pause where the removed take used to be.

Q: Why does my footage have black bars in a vertical DaVinci Resolve timeline

Black bars appear when horizontally shot footage is placed in a vertical timeline, because the clip does not fill the taller frame. Fix it by clicking the Inspector tab, going to Zoom, and scaling the clip up until it fills the full vertical frame. Watch for thin black bars at the top edge, which many people leave in by mistake, and make sure the frame is completely filled. You can reset the framing at any point by clicking Fit. If the subject sits off center after scaling, adjust the position setting to slide the image left or right.

Q: How to apply the same zoom setting to all clips in a DaVinci Resolve timeline

Adjust the zoom on one clip in the Inspector until the framing is right, then press Command C to copy that effect. Select all the other clips in your timeline, press Option V, and click on Video Attributes in the dialog that appears, then click Apply. The same scaling is applied to every selected clip at once, which saves scaling each one individually. If one particular clip ends up slightly off frame afterward, you can still adjust its position setting on its own to recenter it.

Q: How to add B-roll over A-roll without losing the original audio

Listen through your A-roll and find the sections where you want supporting visuals. Open your B-roll clip, press I at the point you want the shot to start and O where you want it to end, which marks the in and out points. Two import options then appear at the bottom. Clicking anywhere on the screen brings in both video and audio, but to keep your good A-roll audio, use the video-only clip option instead and drag it to the spot in the timeline where you want it. You can then trim the clip's edges to line it up precisely with the words being spoken.

Q: What does Gling do for video editing

Gling is the sponsor of the video and it automatically processes talking-head footage to remove bad takes and silences. On its screen you choose whether to cut silences, cut bad takes, and remove filler words, and the video's creator leaves all three selected before clicking Enhance and Edit. Once processing finishes, gray areas mark everywhere a mistake was detected and removed, leaving only the good takes. Videos can also be edited like a Word document, so anything the tool missed can be cut using a scissor icon. A free signup link is in the video description.

Q: Should I export from Gling as MP4 or Resolve XML

Export as Resolve XML if you want to keep editing inside DaVinci Resolve, which is what the video recommends. MP4 is available if you want to finish there instead. For the XML route, name the file, in this example the name included the project name with Gling in parentheses, and save it into your project folder. Back in Resolve, go to File, Import, Timeline, select the saved file, and give the imported timeline a name. The new timeline appears with all the automated cuts already made, which in the example produced a 42-second short.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Organization comes before editing. Create a folder named for the specific project, then a footage folder inside it split into A-roll (talking head) and B-roll. Open DaVinci Resolve, click New Project, name it, then go to the Media page and drag the footage folder under Master so the existing folder structure carries into the project.

• On the Edit page, drag A-roll into the timeline, then right-click the timeline icon, go to Timelines then Timeline Settings, uncheck 'Use Project Settings', and choose 'Use Vertical Resolution' to get a 9:16 preview. Move the timeline file into its own bin (right-click, New Bin, name it Timelines) placed under Master.

• Cut bad takes with the blade tool or Command B, delete the failed clip, then delete the empty gap so playback stays seamless. Zoom into the timeline for precise trim points. The sponsor tool Gling automates this by detecting bad takes, silences, and filler words, then exporting a Resolve XML that imports back via File, Import, Timeline.

• For B-roll, listen through the A-roll to find where visuals are needed, set in and out points with I and O, and use the video-only drag option to keep the A-roll audio. Scale horizontal clips up in the Inspector so no black bars show, copy with Command C, then paste attributes to all clips with Option V and Video Attributes.