## Instructions - Work the page order: Media → Cut → Edit → Fusion → Color → Fairlight → Deliver. Don't color before the edit is locked. - Media management first: bins per scene, proxy media for 4K on weak machines (Playback > Proxy handling), optimized media for H.264/H.265. - Edit with keyboard (J/K/L, I/O, B blade) — mouse-only editing is 3x slower. Learn 10 shortcuts before anything fancy. - Color: normalize (CST) → balance (white/gray) → contrast (curves) → look (LUT as starting point only, dialed back) → match shots with split-screen stills. - Fairlight: normalize dialogue to -23 LUFS broadcast / -14 LUFS YouTube, loudness meter on the bus, de-esser + noise reduction before EQ. - Deliver: master file (DNxHR/ProRes or high-bitrate H.265) FIRST, then platform renders (YouTube 4K preset). Never render only the compressed copy. - Project settings before import: timeline resolution + frame rate MATCH the delivery (mismatched rates cause drift); `Project Settings > Master Settings` locked before editing starts. - Shortcuts that pay rent: `Ctrl/Cmd+D` duplicate, `Shift+Delete` ripple delete, `T` trim mode, `M` marker, `Shift+Z` fit timeline, `/` play-around — 10 learned shortcuts beat 100 known effects. - Multicam: angle sync by waveform/timecode, cut live with number keys, flatten before grading so color sees one clip. - Text: Text+ in Fusion for animated titles, plain Text for captions; burn style (font/size/stroke/shadow) into a shared preset — per-clip font tweaks drift across episodes. - Backup: live-save on, project `.drp` export + stills gallery export after every session; database backup (`Project Manager > Backup`) weekly. ## Examples - Talking-head video: sync audio, multicam if 2 cams, cut silences (detect with Fairlight silence detection), light grade, loudness pass, deliver. - Screen recording: 60fps timeline, zoom cuts via keyframed transform, cursor highlight in Fusion. - Podcast-to-YouTube: static-image timeline + waveform overlay in Fusion, chapter markers from shownotes, loudness-first master. ## Workflows 1. Import → bins → proxies → selects on timeline. 2. Rough cut (story first, no effects) → review → lock. 3. Sound pass (levels, cleanup) → color pass (balance → look → match). 4. Titles/lower-thirds (Effects Library templates, customize fonts/colors once, reuse). 5. Deliver master → platform copies → archive project (.drp export + media). 6. Review the render (watch the export, not the timeline) before upload — catches baked-in mistakes. ## Templates - Folder layout per project: `01_media/ 02_audio/ 03_graphics/ 04_exports/ 05_project/`. - Fusion title template: Text+ node → Merge over background → animate with keyframes on `Size`/`Position`, publish controls for text/color. - `ffmpeg` pre-convert phone footage to constant-frame-rate MP4 before import (avoids A/V drift): `ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -r 30 -c:a aac fixed.mp4` - Fairlight dialogue chain: `Noise Reduction (-6dB light) → De-Esser (6-8kHz) → EQ (HPF 80Hz, cut 300Hz mud) → Compressor (3:1) → Limiter (-1dBTP)`; preset per mic, tweak per episode. - Deliver presets: `Master_DNxHR-HQ` (archive), `YouTube_4K_H265` (upload), `Shorts_1080x1920` (vertical reframe) — render queue holds all three, overnight batch. ```text # Node-tree order (left to right, labeled, shared stills for matching) # CST-in -> Balance ( parade ) -> Contrast ( curves ) -> Look ( LUT @40% ) -> Match ( split still ) # -> CST-out -> Grain ( 35mm 0.3 ) | scopes open: parade + vectorscope + waveform ``` ## Tools - SARAH `shell_run` with `ffmpeg` for conversions, loudness check (`ffmpeg -i out.mp4 -af loudnorm=print_format=json -f null -`). - SARAH file tools to organize media folders and write render checklists. - Cache policy: Smart cache on Fusion-heavy timelines, User cache off otherwise — red bars mean render-cache, blue means cached. ## Advanced - Color management: DaVinci YRGB Color Managed (CST in/out per clip) over manual LUT stacks; timeline colorspace = delivery colorspace (Rec.709 for YouTube), HDR only with an HDR monitor + scopes. - Scopes always: parade (balance), vectorscope (skin-tone line), waveform (exposure 0–100 IRE) — monitors lie, scopes don't. - Node tree discipline: `CST-in → Balance → Contrast → Look → Match → CST-out → Grain` left-to-right, labeled nodes, shared stills (`Grab Still`) for shot matching across scenes. - Fusion performance: `Render in Place` for finished composites, loader/caches purged per session, proxy mode Half res while keyframing. - Fairlight automation: bus structure `Dialogue/Music/SFX → Master`, loudness history graph on the master, true-peak limiter last — mix into the limiter, not under it. - Troubleshooting: relinked media offline → filename/drive-letter change, `Relink Selected Clips` to the new path; audio drift → VFR phone footage (CFR convert) or mismatched sample rates (48kHz everywhere); render cache balloons → set cache location to a fast scratch disk, `Delete Render Cache > Unused`; Fusion text blurry → Text+ at timeline res, check proxy mode before judging sharpness. - Edit-page speed kit: `Shift+Z` fit, `Shift+\` fullscreen viewer, `Ctrl/Cmd+D` duplicate clip, `Alt+drag` swap-insert, `X` mark clip under playhead, `F9` insert-edit from source — cut assemblies 2x faster with six keys. - Proxy ladder: originals 4K H.265 → optimized media DNxHR LB at Half res for the cut, back to originals for grade (Playback > Use Optimized Media If Available toggled per phase). - Loudness delivery table: YouTube −14 LUFS / podcast −16 stereo / broadcast −23 or −24 LUFS — one Fairlight preset per target, measure on the bus with the history graph open. ## Templates ```text # Render-queue triple (every project ships all three overnight) # 1 MASTER_ProRes422HQ.mov (timeline res, full range, archive + re-edits) # 2 YT_4K_H265.mp4 (3840x2160, 45Mbps, AAC 320k, -14 LUFS mix) # 3 SHORTS_1080x1920.mp4 (vertical reframe, burned captions, -14 LUFS) # Pre-upload watch: play export #2 end-to-end, check first 10s hook + last 10s end screen ``` ## Documentation - Official manual (PDF, definitive): https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support/ (DaVinci Resolve manuals) - Fusion reference: built-in Help > Fusion Reference Manual - Color pipelines: built-in Help > DaVinci Resolve Color Management guide