Beginner Guides

New to DaVinci Resolve? Start here. These beginner guides cover your first project, the page-based workflow, basic editing and color, and how to export — one step at a time.

16 guides, updated for Resolve 21

What this library covers

Choose the task, then open one focused guide

Choose by the result you need, not by the name of a Resolve page or tool. Each card takes one job from the first setting to a result you can check.

Start with the resultPick the card that matches what you need to finish, fix or understand.

Use one guide at a timeEach article owns one task, so you do not have to decode a giant index.

Move to the next real stepRelated tasks stay visible without repeating every link on the page.

Choose the task

Guides in this library

One card opens one focused guide. Covers stay visible, and the same article is not repeated in a second link list.

DaVinci Resolve timeline split with Blade tool and playhead shortcut

8 min read How to Split a Video in DaVinci Resolve Use the Blade tool when you want to click one specific clip. Use Split Clips at the playhead when you want every intersecting clip on Auto Select-enabled tracks cut at once. Keep linked selection on for normal audio/video edits, and protect other tracks with Auto Select or track locks.

DaVinci Resolve free version features, what is included without Studio

10 min read DaVinci Resolve Free Version Features: What You Lose Without Studio The free tier is a full editor: editing, color, Fusion and Fairlight with no watermark. The real Studio gaps are the UHD 60fps export ceiling, Neural Engine AI tools, advanced noise reduction, the single-GPU limit and some ResolveFX. Whether they matter depends on your deliverables.

DaVinci Resolve tutorial for beginners, a first edit from import to export

10 min read DaVinci Resolve Tutorial for Beginners Download the free version, check your machine against the real requirements, then learn the 7-page workflow: project setup, Cut page vs Edit page, a first grade without node fear, and export settings for a first deliver. The route from install to finished video.

DaVinci Resolve 21 system requirements for Windows, macOS and Linux

9 min read DaVinci Resolve System Requirements (2026) Blackmagic's Resolve 21.0.4 readme requires Apple Silicon and macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Windows and Linux needs are mostly unchanged: GPU VRAM sets effects and 4K headroom, while RAM and storage shape overall smoothness.