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# How to Make a Split Screen in DaVinci Resolve
- URL: https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-split-screen/
- Published: 2026-10-11T05:39:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T12:24:21.000Z
- Description: Video Collage builds a split screen in the free version of DaVinci Resolve: one effect per clip, a layout copied with Paste Attributes and a tile picked for each clip. For two clips side by side, Crop and Position in the Inspector are enough.
- Author: Jason Miller
- Tags: Tutorials, Beginner Guides, #learn

**Quick answer:** DaVinci Resolve's built-in split screen tool is the Video Collage effect, and it works in the free version. Stack your clips on separate video tracks, put Video Collage on the top clip with Workflow set to Create Tile, design the grid, then copy that clip and use Paste Attributes to give the effect to the clips below, picking a tile for each. For a plain two-clip side by side you don't need an effect at all: crop each clip in the Inspector and slide it to its half with Position X.

The steps follow the DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual and the Resolve 21 New Features Guide. Control names come from 21.1, so an older version may label things differently or lack the newer tile styling. More step-by-step guides live in the [Tutorials section](https://davinciresolveclub.com/tag/tutorials/).

[Download](https://streamly.surf/c/2ebmf2MxAg6s?ref=davinciresolveclub.com)

## Which Split Screen Method Should You Use?

There are four ways to put several clips in one frame, and all four are in the free version:

| Method                           | Good for                                                          | What you set                                                        |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Crop and Position                | Two clips side by side or stacked, no effect needed               | Cropping and Position X or Y in the Inspector                       |
| Video Collage, Create Tile       | Two, three, four or more clips in a grid, borders, animated tiles | One copy of the effect per clip, each set to its own tile           |
| Video Collage, Create Background | A frame with windows that clips show through                      | The effect on the top clip only, clips below moved into the windows |
| Fusion                           | Diagonal splits, masks and shapes the tile controls can't draw    | A Transform and a Merge for each clip                               |

I'd reach for Crop and Position for a quick two-up, Video Collage for three or more clips or anything with a border, and Fusion only when the split isn't a rectangle. If you only need one small window over a full-frame shot, that's [picture in picture](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-picture-in-picture/#create-picture-in-picture-in-resolve-21), which has its own effect.

## Make a Side-by-Side Split Screen With Crop and Position

Put the two clips on V1 and V2 over the same stretch of the timeline. [Cropping creates transparency](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=921), so whatever sits on the track below shows through where a clip has been cut away. Select a clip, open the Inspector, trim its sides under Cropping, and then move it with Position X under Transform. If you haven't used those groups before, the Inspector guide shows [where the Transform controls are](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-inspector/#video-inspector-transform).

On a 1920 x 1080 timeline with clips that fill the frame, the numbers are simple arithmetic. Crop 480 pixels from both the left and the right of each clip, which leaves the 960-pixel middle of the shot. Then set Position X to -480 for the clip that goes on the left and 480 for the one on the right. That keeps the center of each shot, which is usually where the subject is. Keep Softness at 0 for a clean seam; the crop guide explains [what Softness does to the edge](https://davinciresolveclub.com/crop-video-davinci-resolve/#softness).

![Clip A and Clip B each cropped 480 pixels on the left and right, leaving a 960-pixel middle, then placed at Position X -480 and 480 on a 1920 x 1080 timeline with a guide at 0 on the seam](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/10/split-screen-crop-position-20261007.webp)

The crop math for a two-up on a 1080p timeline: 480 off each side, then each half moves 480 pixels out from the center.

Those numbers assume the crop moves with the picture, which is what happens while Retain Image Position is off. With it on, the crop stays fixed in the frame while Position and Zoom move the picture behind it. That makes it the better choice when the subject isn't in the middle of the shot: crop the clip down to its half of the frame, then slide the picture until the subject sits where you want. The crop guide explains [both states of Retain Image Position](https://davinciresolveclub.com/crop-video-davinci-resolve/#retain-image-position) and keeps a [seam checklist for a crop split screen](https://davinciresolveclub.com/crop-video-davinci-resolve/#use-crop-and-position-for-a-split-screen). If the two sources differ in size or framing, equal numbers won't give equal-looking panels, so go by what you see in the Viewer.

To check the seam, turn on View > Guides and add a vertical guide at 0 in Pixel units. The pixel ruler counts from the middle of the frame, the same way the Position fields do, so that guide marks the center line. With the Transform overlay showing, from [the button at the bottom left of the Timeline Viewer](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=1212) or with Shift-\`, a clip you drag also snaps to the center of the frame and around its outer thirds. [When an image edge snaps to a guide, the line turns purple](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=875). Hold Option, or Alt on Windows, to drag without snapping. Once one clip is right, the crop guide shows how to [copy the crop to other clips](https://davinciresolveclub.com/crop-video-davinci-resolve/#copy-the-crop-to-other-clips).

## Make a Split Screen With Video Collage

Video Collage is a Resolve FX Transform effect made for split screens. It works on the Cut and Edit pages and has [two modes in its Workflow menu](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3723), Create Tile and Create Background. Create Tile takes a little longer to set up, but it fits every clip into a layout you design, so it's the one I'd learn first. Typing Collage into the search field of the Effects library is the quickest way to find it.

1. Put each clip on its own video track over the same stretch of the timeline. If you want a background behind the tiles, put that clip on the bottom track.
2. Drag Video Collage from the Resolve FX Transform group of the Effects library onto the topmost clip and set Workflow to Create Tile.
3. Turn on Preview Layout and set Columns and Rows, then Rounding, Margins and Spacing. For panels that meet edge to edge, set those last three to 0.
4. Turn off Preview Layout, click Tiles, and use Pan, Tilt and Zoom under Resize Content to frame the clip inside Tile 1.
5. Copy the top clip, select the other clips that need a tile, right-click one and choose Paste Attributes, check Plugins under Video Attributes and click Apply.
6. Select each pasted clip in turn and choose its tile in the Active Tile menu, or turn on the Open FX overlay and click the tile in the Viewer.
7. Frame each clip with Resize Content, then play the section and look at the seams and the audio meters.

Copy and Paste Attributes are Command-C and Option-V on a Mac, Ctrl-C and Alt-V on Windows. The background clip on the bottom track doesn't get the effect. Right after the paste, [the pasted clips sit in Tile 1](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3727), on top of each other, which looks broken until you work through the Active Tile menu. Turning on the Open FX overlay in the Timeline Viewer lets you [click a tile to make it the active one](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3728), which is faster with four or more clips.

![Clip A on V2 set to Tile 1 and Clip B on V1 set to Tile 2, Video Collage on Create Tile with 2 columns, 1 row and Rounding, Margins and Spacing at 0, giving two panels side by side](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/10/video-collage-create-tile-20261007.webp)

One clip per tile: with Rounding, Margins and Spacing at 0, the two panels meet edge to edge.

### Get Panels That Meet Edge to Edge

The default layout is four rounded tiles. For panels that touch, set [Rounding, Margins and Spacing](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3731) to 0 under Globals and look at the seams in the Viewer at 100 percent. Columns and Rows decide the grid: 2 and 1 give a two-up side by side, 3 and 1 a three-way split, 2 and 2 a four-up. The Stagger sliders shift rows or columns against one another, and the Offset sliders move the whole group off center.

If the picture doesn't fill its tile, open Tiles and use Zoom under Resize Content until it does, then Pan and Tilt to pick which part of the shot shows. When you pan past the edge of the picture, [Edge Behavior decides what fills the gap](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3733): Transparent shows the tile color, Reflect mirrors the picture, Wrap repeats it and Replicate stretches the edge pixels.

### Change the Layout Before You Paste

This one catches people. If you change the Globals layout after the effect has been pasted and the tiles assigned, the other clips keep the old layout, and the manual says [you have to copy, paste and reassign again](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3729). Settle the grid, margins and spacing with Preview Layout before step 5, and the rest of the work only happens once.

## Use Create Background for a Frame With Windows

Create Background turns the effect around, and Blackmagic calls it the simplest way to build a split screen. It goes on the topmost clip, which becomes the background, with four empty rectangles cut into it by default. The clips on the tracks below show through those windows, and you size and place each one with its own Transform controls. The manual's [Create Background example](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3724) notes that the frame gives each clip some room to move inside its window, so the edges don't have to be exact.

It's a good fit for a branded frame or a still image with windows for several speakers. Because the windows don't resize the clips for you, I'd still use Create Tile when the clips have to fill identical panels.

## Stack Clips Vertically for a 9:16 Split Screen

Vertical videos usually stack clips top and bottom. Start with a vertical timeline. [Use vertical resolution](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=141) swaps the width and height of the timeline resolution, and [unchecking Use Project Settings](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=838) when you create a timeline gives that one timeline its own format while the rest of the project stays 16:9\. The aspect ratio guide shows how to [change the aspect ratio of one timeline](https://davinciresolveclub.com/change-aspect-ratio-davinci-resolve/#change-the-aspect-ratio-of-one-timeline) and [which resolution to use for 9:16](https://davinciresolveclub.com/change-aspect-ratio-davinci-resolve/#what-resolution-should-i-use-for-916-video).

In Video Collage, set Columns to 1 and Rows to 2 for two clips or 3 for three. A tile in a 1080 x 1920 frame is far narrower than a 16:9 shot, so Zoom under Resize Content will take the sides away, and Pan picks which part stays. With the crop method, crop the top and bottom instead of the sides, move the clips with Position Y, and add a horizontal guide at 0\. For Reels, the Instagram guide starts by [making a separate 1080 x 1920 timeline](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-instagram-reels-export-settings/#1-make-a-separate-1080-%C3%97-1920-timeline).

## Add Borders, Dividers and a Background

Video Collage has its styling under Tiles. [Tile Styling](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3733) adds a border with its own width, color and opacity, and a fill color behind transparent parts of the tile. Check Apply to All Tiles to style every tile at once, or leave it off to style only the active one. Drop Shadow sits just below it, and both sets of controls can be animated. Resolve 21 added [separate fill and border controls for Video Collage](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/SupportNotes/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21%5FNew%5FFeatures%5FGuide.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=97), similar to Picture in Picture.

For a thin divider instead of a border, leave a small amount of Spacing between the tiles and let the background show through. A [Solid Color generator](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=1192) on the bottom track makes a clean background color. With the crop method, put the generator on V1, the clips on V2 and V3, and crop a few extra pixels at the seam so the color shows as a line. Raising Rounding gives the tiles curved corners; the [round corners guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/round-corners-davinci-resolve/) covers other ways to do that, and the picture in picture guide shows how to [add a border to a single inset](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-picture-in-picture/#add-a-border).

## Build Uneven Layouts With Spanning Tiles

Not every split screen is a tidy grid. A common layout is one large clip on the left with two small ones stacked on the right. In Video Collage, set a two-by-two grid, then in Tiles choose the active tile and give it a different Start Row and End Row so it [spans more than one grid position](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3732). Assign the other two clips to the tiles in the right column.

Custom Size/Shape changes the scale and rounding of one tile without touching the rest, and Mute Tile hides the active tile. Mute Tile can be keyframed, so tiles can appear and disappear on cue. For overlapping tiles or uneven spacing, turn on Manual Tile Management, which lets you add and delete tiles by hand.

## Animate the Tiles

Tile Animation in Tiles mode builds intros and outros for you. The Animate menu offers Intro Only, Outro Only, Intro & Outro or Manually Keyframe, with Fly, Shrink, Rotate and Fade in any combination and a Duration slider. Blackmagic's notes on [animating tiles](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3729) add that the animations can be eased automatically and that Fly, Shrink and Rotate can have motion blur.

Intros run from the start of each clip, so I'd bring the tiles in one after another by [offsetting the clips in the timeline](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3730) by a few frames. That reads much better than four tiles landing at once. If you later change the length of the clips, Synchronize Keyframing in Globals moves all of the effect's keyframes by the number of frames you set.

With the crop method, animate the Position and Crop values with keyframes instead. The keyframe guide shows how to [create your first two keyframes](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-keyframes-curve-editor/#create-your-first-two-keyframes) and [smooth the motion with ease in and out](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-keyframes-curve-editor/#make-motion-smooth-with-ease-in-and-out).

## Pick Which Audio Plays

A split screen stacks pictures, but it doesn't choose a sound for you: every audio track that isn't muted plays in the mix. Decide which clip carries the sound and [mute the other audio clips](https://davinciresolveclub.com/mute-split-audio-davinci-resolve/#how-to-mute-one-audio-clip), or [mute a whole audio track](https://davinciresolveclub.com/mute-split-audio-davinci-resolve/#how-to-mute-an-entire-audio-track). Keep both when both people need to be heard, as in a phone call, and balance their levels. The clone guide uses the same rule for [two takes of one person](https://davinciresolveclub.com/clone-yourself-davinci-resolve/#free-method-the-resolve-split-screen-clone-effect), since doubled room tone gives the trick away quickly.

## Keep Playback Smooth With Three or Four Clips

Every tile is a full video stream decoding at the same time, plus a Resolve FX effect on each clip, so a four-up asks much more of the computer than a single shot. Two settings help without making new media. [Playback > Timeline Proxy Resolution](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=195) set to Half or Quarter lowers the working resolution while you edit. And Resolve FX applied on the Edit page can be cached; [the Render Cache OFX Filter submenu](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=202) in the right-click menu for timeline clips picks which effect to cache.

The slow playback guide covers [when Timeline Proxy Resolution is enough](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-slow-playback/#try-timeline-proxy-resolution-before-generating-files) and [when the render cache is the better fix](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-slow-playback/#use-render-cache-for-expensive-timeline-processing), and the render cache guide explains [how caching works on the Edit page timeline](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-render-cache/#sequence-cache-edit-page-timeline-work).

## When Fusion Is the Better Tool

Video Collage draws rectangles and rounded tiles. For a diagonal split, a shaped mask, or a layout the tile controls can't describe, build the split screen in Fusion, where each clip gets its own branch with a Transform and a Merge. The Fusion grid guide explains why [a grid tool is not a multi-video layout](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-fusion-grid/#a-grid-is-not-a-multi-video-layout), and how to set those branches up.

## Split Screen Is Not Dual Screen or Split Clip

Three Resolve features sound alike and do different jobs:

- **Dual Screen.** [Workspace > Dual Screen > On](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=57) spreads the Resolve interface across two computer monitors. It is a workspace setting, not a video layout. The free version plays full screen on one display, and [Blackmagic's Studio page](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/studio?ref=davinciresolveclub.com) lists full-screen playback on a second monitor as a Studio feature.
- **Split Screen on the Color page.** [These viewer modes](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21.1%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com#page=3087) show several shots or versions side by side so you can compare them while grading. They change what you see, not what you render. The shot matching guide shows [how colorists use them](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-shot-matching/).
- **Splitting a clip.** Razor and Split Clips cut one clip in two at the playhead, which is editing, not a layout. The split video guide lists [the shortcuts for each](https://davinciresolveclub.com/how-to-split-a-video-in-davinci-resolve/#how-to-split-a-video-with-a-keyboard-shortcut).

And if you filmed one moment with several cameras and want to cut between the angles rather than show them all at once, that's [multicam editing](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-multicam-editing/).

## Does Split Screen Need DaVinci Resolve Studio?

No. Crop and Position, Video Collage and Fusion are all in the free version. Blackmagic's Studio page lists video collage among the tools in the free version, and the 21.1 manual doesn't mark it as a Studio effect, the way it marks some other Resolve FX in the same chapter. In [a January 2025 forum thread](https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?t=215387&ref=davinciresolveclub.com), a free user who couldn't find it was told it was a Studio feature, so if it's missing, check your version before anything else. The [free version features guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-free-version-features/) covers what else differs between the two editions.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I make a split screen in DaVinci Resolve?

Stack the clips on separate video tracks, add Video Collage to the top clip with Workflow set to Create Tile, design the grid, then copy that clip and use Paste Attributes with Plugins checked to give the effect to the clips below. Pick a different Active Tile for each clip. For two clips side by side, cropping each clip and moving it with Position X also works.

### Is Video Collage available in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. Blackmagic's Studio page lists video collage among the free version's features, and the 21.1 manual doesn't mark it as a Studio effect. If you can't find it, search the Effects library for Collage on the Cut or Edit page, and check how old your version is.

### How do I put two videos side by side without an effect?

Put the clips on V1 and V2\. On a 1920 x 1080 timeline with clips that fill the frame, crop 480 pixels from the left and right of each clip in the Inspector, then set Position X to -480 for the left clip and 480 for the right one. Check the seam with a vertical guide at the center of the frame.

### How do I stack two videos vertically for Reels or TikTok?

Work on a 1080 x 1920 timeline, add Video Collage to the top clip with 1 column and 2 rows, and use Zoom and Pan under Resize Content so each clip fills its tile. With the crop method, crop the top and bottom instead of the sides and move the clips with Position Y.

### Why do all my pasted clips show up in the same tile?

Paste Attributes copies the effect as it is, so every pasted clip starts in Tile 1\. Select each clip and choose its own tile in the Active Tile menu, or click its tile in the Viewer with the Open FX overlay on.

### How do I add a border between split screen clips?

In Video Collage, open Tiles and turn on Border under Tile Styling, then set its width, color and opacity, with Apply to All Tiles checked for the same border everywhere. For a plain divider, leave a little Spacing between tiles and let the background show through.

### Which audio plays in a split screen?

Every audio track that is not muted plays. Decide which clip carries the sound and mute the other clips or tracks, unless both people need to be heard, as in a phone call.