How to Use DaVinci Resolve: Full Beginner Course

TL;DR

DaVinci Resolve is an end-to-end post-production app whose pages run left to right in workflow order: Media for importing, Cut and Edit for assembling the story, Fusion for effects and graphics, Color for grading, Fairlight for audio mixing, and Deliver for rendering. The free version handles nearly everything, while the Studio version costs $295 as a one-time purchase with free updates.

Transcript

I designed this to be literally the best resolve video on the internet at the end of this video you'll be able to create your own projects and D Vinci resolve and you're going to know the basics of every step in the process from importing media to making a rough cut to polishing your story to adding visual effects and Graphics color grading audio m... Read More

Key Insights

• DaVinci Resolve is an end-to-end post-production program that handles every step from importing media through rough cutting, polishing, visual effects, graphics, color grading, audio mixing, and final render, all inside a single application rather than across multiple apps.
• The pages of Resolve are laid out left to right in the order work actually happens: Media for importing, Cut and Edit for assembling the story, Fusion for compositing and effects, Color for correction, Fairlight for audio mixing, and Deliver for rendering.
• The free version of Resolve can do nearly everything shown in this course, including all the advanced color correction tools, Fusion effects, and Fairlight audio mixing, with no watermarks, no trial periods, and full permission to use it for commercial work.
• Resolve Studio costs $295 as a one-time purchase and adds more effects, film grain, 10-bit video support, resolutions beyond 4K, and AI-driven effects. Updates are free, so a license bought back at Resolve 9 still works at Resolve 18.6.
• A good system is a genuine prerequisite for Resolve, meaning something like a mid-range gaming PC with a strong graphics card or a later Mac such as an M1 or M2. Resolve consumes resources, and an underpowered computer produces a bad experience.
• A .drp archive file is a folder containing both the project file and the media files together. The project file holds timelines, bins, edits, compositions, and color grades and stays very small, while the media files such as video, audio, and photos are the large part.
• Restoring an archive can be done two ways: double-clicking the unzipped archive file so it opens in Resolve, or right-clicking in the Project Manager screen, choosing Restore Project Archive, locating the folder, and hitting Open.
• Resolve supports collaboration over the internet or a local network, letting several people share one project file at the same time. One person can work in Fusion while another grades color and a third edits, which removes much of the friction of team projects.
• The Project Manager is the first window that appears when Resolve opens, and right-clicking its empty space gives options for new project, new folder, import project, and restore project archive. Projects are stored in a database, now called a library, that lives in a folder you choose.
• Prior editing knowledge helps but is not required. Experience with any other video editing app, or even audio editing and music production involving tracks and a timeline, transfers directly to Resolve and shortens the learning curve.
• The course covers Resolve 18.6.4 and follows a chaptered structure through the Media page, Edit page, Cut page, Fusion page, Color page, Fairlight page, and Deliver page, mirroring the app's own left-to-right workflow order.
• Fusion is presented as the part of Resolve with the steepest learning curve, which is why Ground Control offers a dedicated beginner course called Fusion Zero to Hero. The advice is to learn Resolve fundamentals first before attempting Fusion.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is DaVinci Resolve used for?

DaVinci Resolve is an end-to-end post-production program that covers every stage of making a video inside one application. It handles importing media, making a rough cut, polishing the story, adding visual effects and graphics, color grading, audio mixing, and the final render. Hollywood movies have been edited or at least color graded inside Resolve, and it is used for YouTube videos, television shows, and music videos as well. The main advantage is that everything needed for post-production lives in one place, so there is no need to round-trip between separate apps.

Q: How much does DaVinci Resolve cost?

There are two versions. The free version is genuinely free with no watermarks, no trial period, and permission to use it for commercial work, and it can render up to Ultra HD. The paid Studio version is $295 as a one-time purchase, and it includes free updates indefinitely, to the point that a license bought back at Resolve 9 still works on Resolve 18.6. Studio adds more effects, film grain, 10-bit video support, resolutions beyond 4K, and AI-driven effects. The advice given is to start with the free version and only upgrade if you keep hitting features that require Studio.

Q: What are the pages in DaVinci Resolve and what does each one do?

The interface is broken into pages, each with a different post-production job, arranged left to right in the order the work usually happens. Media is where you import your video and audio into the project. The Cut and Edit pages are for putting your story together. Fusion is for compositing, effects, graphics, and explosions. Color is for color correction and grading. Fairlight is for detailed audio mixing. Deliver is the final page, where you render the project out for other people to see. This left-to-right layout mirrors the natural order of a post-production workflow.

Q: What computer do you need to run DaVinci Resolve?

Resolve needs a reasonably powerful system, described as a mid-range gaming PC with a good graphics card, or one of the later Macs such as an M1 or M2, something fairly beefy. This is called out as the one real downside of Resolve: it likes resources. Running it on an underpowered computer will produce a bad experience. Having a capable machine is treated as a genuine prerequisite rather than a recommendation, alongside downloading the software itself, before any of the course content can be followed along with.

Q: Where do you download DaVinci Resolve?

Go to blackmagicdesign.com/support and scroll down to the latest downloads section, where you will find the latest version of DaVinci Resolve. Both the free version and the Studio version are available there. The course itself uses Resolve 18.6.4 with the Studio version, but almost everything demonstrated works identically in the free version, and any place where a feature differs is called out explicitly during the course. Beginners are encouraged to grab the free version and follow along with it.

Q: What is a .drp file in DaVinci Resolve?

A .drp file is a DaVinci Resolve archive. It is essentially a folder that contains both the project file and the media files bundled together. The project file itself holds the project data: timelines, bins, edits, compositions, color grades, and all the changes you have made, and it is very small. The media files, meaning video clips, audio clips, photos, and sound effects, are the large part and normally live separately from the project file. An archive puts both together in one package so a whole project can be moved or shared.

Q: How do you restore a project archive in DaVinci Resolve?

There are two ways. If the archive arrived in a zip file, unzip it first, then simply double-click the archive file and it will open in Resolve, and double-clicking the project inside opens it. Alternatively, from the Project Manager screen in Resolve, right-click on the empty space and choose Restore Project Archive, then navigate to the archive folder and hit Open. Either route loads the project along with its media so you can work with the exact same files that were packaged in the archive.

Q: Can multiple people work on the same DaVinci Resolve project at once?

Yes. Resolve supports collaboration over the internet or over a local network, where everyone shares a single project file and works on it simultaneously. In the example given, one person works on Fusion compositing while another handles color and a third edits or works with media, all on the same project at the same time. This removes many of the headaches that come with coordinating a big team project. That said, Resolve is equally well suited to working alone, and the same tools apply either way.

Q: Do you need editing experience before learning DaVinci Resolve?

No, but it helps. Some knowledge of editing, video production, and media is described as something that will do nothing but help on your Resolve journey. Experience with other video editing apps transfers directly, and so does experience with audio editing or making music, since anything involving tracks and a timeline builds the right mental model. The course is deliberately paced slowly and explains things for beginners regardless. The other requirement mentioned is time, since real practice beyond the length of the video is what actually cements the concepts.

Q: Should you learn Fusion before or after learning DaVinci Resolve basics?

After. Fusion is the page for making effects, graphics, and fancy visual work, and it is described as having a decent learning curve. The guidance is explicit: if you do not know Resolve, you are not really ready to learn Fusion yet. The recommended path is to pick up Resolve first, start using it to make videos regularly, and come to Fusion once the fundamentals feel natural. Ground Control offers a dedicated in-depth beginner course called Fusion Zero to Hero for that later stage, having taken hundreds of students through it.

Q: What is the Project Manager in DaVinci Resolve?

The Project Manager is the first window that appears when you open Resolve. It is where you open existing projects and create new ones. Right-clicking on the empty space brings up options including new project, new folder, import project, and restore project archive. Projects themselves are not stored loosely as files here but live in a database, which is now called a library. You can click Add Project Library on the left side and tell Resolve where to put that library, which is just a folder on your system.

Q: Is the free version of DaVinci Resolve good enough for real work?

Yes. The free version can be used for commercial work with no watermarks and no trial period, and it renders up to Ultra HD. It includes essentially all of the advanced color correction tools, all of the Fusion capabilities, the powerful Fairlight audio mixing, and the solid editing tools. Nearly everything demonstrated in this full beginner course can be done in the free version. The recommendation is to start free, play around, and only consider paying if you repeatedly run into features that Resolve tells you require the Studio version.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• DaVinci Resolve is an end-to-end post-production program that replaces a whole suite of separate apps. Editing, compositing, color correction, audio mixing, and final rendering all live inside one application, so no round-tripping between programs is needed. Hollywood movies have been edited or at least color graded inside Resolve.

• The interface is split into pages, each with a distinct post-production job, arranged left to right in the order work normally happens. Media handles importing, Cut and Edit assemble the story, Fusion builds compositing and effects, Color does correction and grading, Fairlight handles detailed audio mixing, and Deliver renders the final file.

• Resolve comes in a free version and a Studio version costing $295 as a one-time purchase that includes free updates. The free version has no watermarks or trial periods and can be used for commercial work, rendering up to Ultra HD with the full color, Fusion, and Fairlight toolsets available.

• Getting started requires a reasonably powerful computer, such as a mid-range gaming PC with a good graphics card or a later Mac like an M1 or M2. Resolve is resource-hungry, and running it on an underpowered machine makes for a bad experience. Download it from blackmagicdesign.com/support under latest downloads.

• Projects open through the Project Manager window, where you can create new projects, make folders, import projects, and restore project archives by right-clicking empty space. Projects live in a database called a library, and you can add a project library and choose the folder where it lives.