Burning Question: How do I get started with Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve?

To make this easier, I’m going to break this up into general categories, although some of the tutorials will span more than one category.

A few things first…

• DaVinci Resolve Lite – if you don’t have the full version, download the free Lite version to learn the program. The download link will take you to Toolfarm Downloads. Resolve is under “Standalone”.
• DaVinci Resolve 11 Manual – A whopping 899 pages!
• Buy DaVinci Resolve – Save 5% everyday at Toolfarm. That’s roughly $50!

Delfina 2014 – DaVinci Resolve grading and relighting examples before/after comparison

If some of you are not familiar with Resolve, have a look at this color grading comparison video, produced, shot an edited by Mark Spencer, and graded with DaVinci Resolve by Gary Yost.

DaVinci Resolve Colorist Reel by AJFrankla

Resolve Editing Tutorials

If you’re new to Resolve, here are some tutorials to get you started.

DaVinci Resolve Tutorial – The very basics of DaVinci Resolve

I really like the Resolve tutorials from Theo at MiesnerMedia. Here’s the basic tutorial.

DaVinci Resolve Edit Parts 1 & 2

Paul David Murray explains the interface of DaVinci Resolve and goes over the “nuts and bolts”. He wants to “slowly start building a solid foundations of Final Cut Pro inspired short cuts.”

In part two, Paul builds on that foundation, “burrowing down further into short cut Nirvana”. He is not only and editor and colorist, but a wordsmith!

DaVinci Resolve 11 Basics | DaVinci Resolve 11 Basic Workflow

Color Grading

DaVinci Resolve Lite – Color Grading Tutorial

Filmmaking Central gives a nice overview of how to use the color grading tools in DaVinci Resolve Lite.

Davinci Resolve Looks Tutorials

MiesnerMedia has a great series of fun tutorials on how to create Looks in well known movies, shows and music videos. He normally shoots raw on his BlackMagic Cinema Camera and then explains how he created the look.

House of Cards Look

Skins

Taylor Swift “Blank Space” Look

Tracking & Image Stabilization

DaVinci Resolve in Under 5 Minutes: Tracking a Shot

A tutorial from Ripple Training.

See also: Get Better Results from the DaVinci Resolve Motion Tracker

Need more training?

There are a TON more tutorials on YouTube for DaVinci Resolve, but hopefully this is enough to get you started comfortably.