DaVinci - educational tools

[eager to learn]

Hi all,

It's been an arduous task but I've taught myself a little video editing.

I wanted to learn DaVinci Resolve and most of the YouTube tutorials are for older versions.

YT videos aren't exactly vetted so I'm trying to find the ones best for a beginner.

Has anyone taught themselves Da Vinci just watching YT videos?

Would you please share the ones you've found were most helpful?

Thanks.

[october262]

there is a beginners guide pdf - https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci-Resolve-16-Beginners-Guide.pdf

[eager to learn]

I read that PDF when I 1st downloaded it but it doesn't help much.

Thanks.

[davexnet]

What about the videos here?
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training

[super8rescue]

I concur with davexnet.
The training videos are the best, particularly the colour grading video.

That taught me more than any YT video, colour grading was essential for my needs.
What is specific to your needs?

I spent the entire lock down learning DV Resolve and still learning as I go, when I need to.
I consider myself well versed now, multiple time lines, power windows, all a peice of cake once you get how it works.

Rather than watch endless 'tutorials' on YT it is better to search for something specific.

If you stumble on a specific area of DVR then go look for that tutorial, but many of them are highly annoying and seem to feature the presenter more than the subject.

The best way to learn, import some video and start editing, when you get stuck, then go search for that answer.

One step at a time.
leave fusion for the time being, stick to simple edits, a bit of colour or contrast, and exporting.

Once you get that mastered, then dig deeper, don't try to learn everything in one day.

There is no point in trying to learn everything at once.

Master a small edit, add some text and few cuts, and export.

Editing shots and exporting are the most important, get those under your belt and the rest will follow as it becomes needed in your project.

[eager to learn]

super8rescue.. Did you learn DVResolve by watching each of the tutorials in the order they're listed on their web page?

I taught myself Open Shot but DV is very different (steeper learning curve.

Had you been using Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro?

[super8rescue]

super8rescue.. Did you learn DVResolve by watching each of the tutorials in the order they're listed on their web page?

I taught myself Open Shot but DV is very different (steeper learning curve.

Had you been using Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro?

I watched some YT tutorials on the basics to get me going, then I did as I suggested and cherry picked out what I needed to know to get a project done.

I have not watched all of the training videos, just the one's I needed to get my work done.

5 months later I don't watch any tutorials unless I get stuck, which is rare, as I know everything I need to know for the type of project I work on.

My projects don't ever require fusion so I haven't seen any tutorials on that subject.

I have never used Premiere and I last used FCP ten years ago.

Learn the basics, import, edit, export then search for specific things you need for a project is my best advice.

look at those exports, file size in particular, with regard to uploading or local playback.

Learn about different bitrates for different audiences. (applicable to any NLE not just DVR)

Check your Colour, contrast and so on, on more than one screen, until you are happy, then move on and learn more.

[eager to learn]

super8rescue

I'm trying to learn the basics of Da Vinci Resolve 16.2.2.1.012 for Windows 10 Pro.

43 seconds into the first DaVinci tutorial, provided by Black Magic, the instructor advises you to drag your media into the Media Pool Window by using The Finder.

He never shows nor describes the steps to activate The Finder.

Is that just for Macs?

If so the instructor never mentions he's using a Mac.

He next displays a view where you can see the same clip in 4 different windows so you can "scrub" but advises you to return to the Sidebar. I don't see the word Sidebar anywhere and when I search for it in the Da Vinci manual it says its under User Preferences but I don't see a tab or drop down menu with User Preferences indicated.

In his video he just clicks on the icon in the upper left which next to it displays Master and then he clicks on that icon and his displays a side bar. When I click on that icon it just prompts me to Add + a Bin.

I Ctrl/Z out of that all and find the 3 MP4 files I had imported into the Poole Media window are now missing.

He then loads a clip into "his" source viewer which opens 2 separate windows to the right of Media Pool window. When I left click on a clip in the Medial Pool it only opens 1 window to the right, not 2 windows. I don't get a Source Viewer AND a Timeline View like he does. I searched the answer in the Manual and it advises you to press the letter Q which just makes the video disappear from the window to the right of the Media Pool.

Watching the tutorial further, he then instructs you to drag the clip to the Timeline (I've done that many times in Open Shot) but when I drag the clip down to the Timeline in Da Vinci, it places a copy of that video clip in a multitude of window panes to the right of the "PlayHead" - not at the beginning of the Timeline at 00:00:00.

His Timeline also displays and Audio Track on Track 2 and a Video on Track 1 - mine only displays a video track on Track 2 with Track one empty.

He then advises you can mark where you wish your clip clip to end using Mark In and Out. Mark In and Out do not appear on my screen. I searched the manual and it says they only appear when Empty Timeline is checked Off. I see the "tab" for Timeline but in the drop down menu I do not see Empty anywhere to check it on or off. I then visited File > New Timeline and in the drop down menu I saw a checkmark next to Empty Timeline so I unchecked that check mark but in that window to the right of the Media Pool I see the slider but no Mark In or Out.

As I watch this tutorial it informs me I'll probably need a forum for Da Vinci beginners and that's not the official Da Vinci Resolve forum.

This instructor approached the video instruction as if I had used Da Vinci before or other advanced video editor (e.g. Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro) so he skips steps or presumes you know how to navigate around Da Vinci.

4:43 into this video I don't see much of what he displays on screen so I first need to ascertain how to set the setups he uses before I can start attempting to replicate cutting, slicing, etc. he instructs about.

Have you found any other Da Vinci forums

Thank you!

[super8rescue]

The finder is indeed apple mac, the same as windows explorer in windows.

They assume you know as a mac user, it is clear to see it's a mac computer by the rear of the screen.

You can drag and drop media, I prefer to use the option to find my media from media storage in the media pool.

I don't use bins, I import media in to the media pool, and then from the edit tab, I use the media icon at the top left of the screen to add media to my time line.

There are a number of facebook groups for davinci resolve, but being FB it's likely to drive you mad.
Here is a beginners davinci FB group. (at your own risk, facebook can be a bit horrible)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325101968295523/


2 beginner videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNPpzrSbhog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jres9YDi0Fs

I can't explain why you're having some issues, I haven't had such problems.
Use the media tab (bottom of the screen) to import media in to the media pool.
Use the edit tab (bottom of the screen) and bring your media to the timeline using the media pool tab at the top left of the screen on the edit tab, and edit away....
Then go to the deliver tab (bottom of the screen) to export

I don't mark in and out to select shots, I drag the entire video in to my timeline from the media tab and chop it up or remove frames as I need it.
The only time I use in and out points is in the deliver tab, if I need to export a particular section of my time line for a test clip.

This also looks like a good beginner video
https://youtu.be/b_8x8O4QviQ

[eager to learn]

super8rescue - Thank you so much for the 2 YT tutorials. I'm watching the learn DAR in 40 minutes with Chris. I reached 7:41 and he's on the Cut "mode" and has dragged 2 videos to Timeline 1 and 2. I can replicate that. He then grabs the top Playhead and drags it to the right and eventfully the video clip on the top Track aligns itself automatically (after) the 2nd Track. Mine doesn't. Have you been able to get the top track to align with the bottom track on that same track automatically?

He proceeds to discuss how to you can see both video clips in the Preview Window but I can 't because I'm stuck at this auto insert juncture. He further discuses creating a 3rd Timeline but I won't see any of that until I can solve this auto jump clip technique.

Also, is DAR by default set to auto save? I prefer to save manually. How can I check/change to save manually?

I clicked File > Save Project and it saved but I have no idea where it saves to. Is there a way, like in my browser, to make DAR save a Project to a certain folder or sub-folder on my flash drive or laptop hard drive?

As I work on laptops and desktops on a project, are there certain files and/or folders I must save so I can migrate from a laptop to a flash drive to a desktop to an external hard drive as I progress on working on a project?

I searched for these tasks in the manual but did not find them. I wish they had a FAQ pdf file.

Thank you again for all your kind help.

[super8rescue]

I rarely use the cut page, I drag my video in the time line and edit as I need, so I can't answer that other than suggest some YT tutorials on the Cut page, to see if that helps unravel your problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY5bi4JV_ys

For my cut page work, it's usually just to select a quick I and O point for a clip I might need from a longer video, that got forgotten

Creating timelines is easy, I have a project with 7 time lines.

While in the edit tab, go to File menu and choose 'new timeline' and give it a name

I use this feature a lot, it means you can create different time lines for the same media, maybe an extended edit, or different edit of the same footage, or perhaps a colour version and non colour version, or a trailer of the main footage for example.

Also very handy to be able to copy and paste between timelines.
Once created, the time line is selected at the top of the viewer in the Edit tab, there is a small down arrow by the name of the timeline, where you can select which time line to work on, out of the time lines you have created.

Having different time lines in one project means that when you get to the deliver page, you can set up all the timelines to render in one go.
This was useful to me with 7 time lines of the same project, all rendering together without having to load up each project to export

Photo 1 below.

I am not sure about auto save, I save as I go with a swift Ctrl+S after every edit or change I'm happy with.

I have mine set to save in my documents folder for projects. All of my media stored on my ext drives.

To find out where you project media is being saved, choose media management from the file menu, then under 'media destination' choose 'browse' and a dialogue box will open... photo 2 below.

I would imagine the project save will be in your documents folder, and the media stored in your Videos folder by default.

Autosave YT video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFjHzHCGaY

I haven't moved projects to different machines, so I can't give you a full answer, and probably if I could it would take pages to type.
Here is a YT video on moving projects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdW0ufsp4tg

[eager to learn]

Hi super8rescue,

Thank you for your help.

I've attached 2 jpgs so you can see what I see.

When I open the Edit tab up top, in the drop down menu I don't see different Timelines. I just see a check-mark (I didn't create) next to "Switch to Timeline After Edit"

Also, I imported 3 .MP4 files but one seems to display in the timeline as A for Audio?

I'm not sure why that happened or how to fix that?

Thanks again.

[eager to learn]

Sorry forgot attachments.

[eager to learn]

Hi super8rescue,

I'm so grateful for all your kind help. Thank you!

I' agree with you and I also prefer to press Ctrl + S as you do.

Doing that, how can I configure DAR to prompt me asking which folder/sub-folder I'd like to save it in?
I've pressed File > Save Project As and it saves but I have no idea where it saves that project to on my laptop hard drive or flash drive.

Also, just as an experiment, I created a very short project with 2 MP4s in it and pressed Crtl + S but did a search of my hard drive for all files name .drp but Windows Explorer (WE) found none. Projects saved are saved in the .drp format, correct?

I found a sub-folder named .gallery but when I open that .gallery in WE it lists files each having 23+ numbers as their name but no ending like .drp or (as in Librre Writer .odt) so I have no idea what format those files are in nor what they are but they seem, related to DaVinci.

There's also a CacheClip - same as above. They seem related to DaVinci but are they some of the folders you must migrate to an external hard drive and then to the other PC where one would be editing more of a project with DR?

That wasn't really explained in the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFjHzHCGaY

Something odd is happening. I press File > Import Media and choose 2 MP4 files and your png thumbnail. In the Project Window it shows them but places a music symbol in the video clips??? They aren't music clips.

Then, when I drag those 2 MP4 video clips and your PNG file down the Timeline under the Edit tab it creates an Audio and Video Track for the 1st MP4 and a Timeline in the Project Viewing window pane? s. I'm not sure what's happening. I watch a YT video and try to replace what they do but something's gone awry?

Thanks so much!