6 DaVinci Resolve Mistakes All Beginners Make (and How to Avoid Them)
Reading Time: 4 minutesJust because DaVinci Resolve is user-friendly doesn’t mean the learning curve will be easy. Avoid these mistakes to speed up the process.
DaVinci Resolve is popular with filmmakers for several reasons. The fact that you get several useful tools with the free version is great, and its processing speeds are often excellent. In addition to this, the app is very user-friendly compared to many other popular video editing platforms.
But even if DaVinci Resolve is easier to use than some of its competitors doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes. Beginners still need to learn how to use tools that they might not have seen elsewhere, such as nodes. Moreover, getting your frame settings right is crucial.
Knowing which errors beginner DaVinci Resolve users make will help you enjoy a smaller learning curve.
1. Not Checking the Frame Quality Settings
While 1080p is still fine for many users, you should film your content in 4K where possible. Your footage will look higher quality, which is especially important if you’re completing client projects. One trap many people fall into is not checking their time frame settings in DaVinci Resolve.
When you create a new project in the app, you can customize your timeline. If you’ve shot in 4K, make sure that you’ve picked 2160p UHD—rather than 1080p. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to export your footage in HD.
It’s also worth ensuring that everything is set up correctly before you export your files. Getting halfway through rendering, before realizing that you’ve made a mistake, is quite annoying—to say the least.
2. Not Using Ripple Delete
Like many other video editing platforms, removing parts of your clip you don’t want is easy with DaVinci Resolve. You can use the razor tool to cut your video however you feel is necessary; after doing that, all it takes is clicking and hitting the backspace key.
While there’s nothing wrong with adopting this method, you’re making life needlessly difficult for yourself. A much better way to remove unwanted parts of your clip is by using the Ripple Delete option.
To use Ripple Delete:
- Cut both sides of the clip that you want to remove.
- Right-click on the section (or press control + your trackpad if you use a MacBook).
- Select Ripple Delete when the list of options appears.
3. Ignoring Nodes for Color Grading
When you import your video to your editing software, you’ll notice that it often doesn’t look how you want it to. And regardless of whether you use Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or something else, learning how to color correct and color grade is a valuable skill.
DaVinci Resolve has a useful feature known as nodes. In essence, these make your color correction and grading journey much simpler. You can make however many you feel are necessary, and they allow you to break down your editing into more bite-sized steps.
Many beginner DaVinci Resolve users find the nodes feature intimidating at first. As a result, it takes them longer to start learning it. This is a huge mistake; try learning how to use nodes from the start.
Once you start using nodes, you might find it hard to imagine color grading without them. Start by choosing a couple for key stages in the editing journey; if you need to, you can always build on them in future projects.
4. Not Making Proper Audio Adjustments
If you’ve only just started a YouTube channel, your audience can forgive you for suboptimal image quality. What’s harder to look past, however, is bad audio. If your audience finds it hard to listen to your video, you will have the uphill task of trying to convince them that they should stick around.
It’s easy to focus too much on the video editing side of things, only to neglect audio, but DaVinci Resolve can help you significantly in this aspect. You’ll find several tools for making your voice sound crisper, ranging from simple volume adjustments to the Parametric Equalizer and more.
To give yourself a better starting point for editing your audio, consider getting a microphone. You can connect a mic to your computer in several simple ways.
5. Using Too Many Tools for Color Grading
When you begin editing your colors in DaVinci Resolve, you’ll quickly notice that the app has a huge suite of color grading options. Some you might not have seen in previous software you’ve used include the Gamma and Offset wheels. The color webs are also excellent for editing your video colors.
Although it’s a good idea to understand how each of these tools works, many beginners try to use too many at once. This isn’t unique to DaVinci Resolve; new photo editors often make similar mistakes in Lightroom too.
Trying to use too many tools without knowing how they work can result in your edits looking sloppy. You’re much better off keeping things simple and improving one thing at a time with each video you create. Over time, you’ll look back with pride at how far you’ve come.
6. Ignoring the Scopes
When editing your videos, the most important thing is to actually get started. But once you’ve completed a couple of projects, thinking about where you can begin improving is a good idea. Looking at Lumetri scopes while you edit is a good way to ensure that your colors are consistent across multiple devices.
Many beginner editors in DaVinci Resolve don’t pay attention to the scopes, which can result in their edits looking sloppy. You can choose from different layouts in DaVinci Resolve, so it’s worth finding whichever one works best for you.
Reading Lumetri scopes in DaVinci Resolve is similar to reading Lumetri scopes in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Decrease Your Resolve Learning Curve by Avoiding These Mistakes
DaVinci Resolve is one of the best video editing tools on the market. It’s quite user-friendly, but you should still expect a learning curve when you start using the software. You’ll find numerous features you might not be used to, and not knowing how to use these can result in your edits coming out worse than expected.
In your early days using DaVinci Resolve, your best option is to keep everything as simple as possible. Focus on improving steadily; with six months of consistent work, your projects will probably look significantly better. These tips are a handy starting point.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/davinci-resolve-mistakes-to-avoid/
Ref: makeuseof
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