If you have never edited a video before, this is a good place to start. In the video above I take a few stock clips and build a short, clean video from scratch in DaVinci Resolve: basic cuts, B-roll, a voiceover, music, a transition, a title, and the final export. I use Resolve, but the same steps work in pretty much any other video editor.
DaVinci Resolve has a free version, so you do not need to buy anything to follow along. I am on the paid Studio version in the video, which is a one-time payment, but you can do everything here in the free one.
If you came here from my video on filming yourself with an iPhone, welcome. The written guide for that one is iPhone video setup that actually works. Below are the steps in the same order as the video.
Step 1: Gather Your Footage, Music, and Voiceover
I did not shoot anything for this edit. I pulled it all from Artlist, which is my first pick for stock footage because it is cleared for client and commercial work. Here is what I downloaded:
- A-roll: a 4K clip of an older man who looks like he is telling a story. A-roll is your main shot, usually a person talking.
- B-roll: two clips of old-school film gear, including a projector. B-roll is the footage you show while the person talks.
- Music: one track from the top downloaded list.
- Voiceover: the stock clip has no sound, so I generated one line with the AI voiceover tool on the same site. I picked a male professor voice with an American accent and typed: "In my old days, this technology was fantastic and groundbreaking."
I saved everything to the desktop. I wrote more about the voice part in AI voice generators for video.
Step 2: Create the Project and Lock In the Frame Rate
Open DaVinci Resolve, create a new project, name it, and choose where it gets saved. Resolve opens on the Cut page. Switch to Edit using the tabs along the bottom.
Before you drag anything onto the timeline, click the gear icon to open the project settings. Two decisions matter here:
- Horizontal or vertical. For a vertical video, click the use vertical resolution button and Resolve flips the numbers for you.
- Frame rate. The usual choices are 23.976 (what most people mean when they say 24p), exactly 24, 25, or 30.
Make the frame rate decision now. It stays that way even if you later drop in clips shot at a different frame rate. I went with Ultra HD at 23.976. I left video monitoring on HD, which only affects the preview while you edit.
Step 3: Drop In the A-Roll and the Voice
Drag the main clip onto the timeline. My stock clip had a different frame rate, so Resolve asked whether I wanted to change the project to match the clip. I said no, and Resolve adjusts the clip to fit.
Most of the time a talking head clip brings its own sound, and the audio waves show up on the track under the picture. My stock clip is silent, so I dragged the generated professor voice onto the audio track right under it.
Step 4: Trim the Clip
My clip was way too long for one line of voiceover. There are two simple ways to shorten it:
- Grab the edge of the clip and drag it inward.
- Pick the blade tool and click where you want the cut. Then go back to the pointer, select the piece you do not need, and press Delete or Backspace.
Step 5: Stack the B-Roll on the Track Above
Grab a B-roll clip and drag it onto the track above the A-roll. The rule is simple: whatever sits on the higher track is what shows on screen.
You can drop B-roll on the same track as your A-roll, but I suggest you keep it clean. Double click the track names and call them A-roll and B-roll.
I dragged the front edge of my first shot to where I wanted it to start, then made a cut with the blade right when the button gets clicked and deleted the side I did not need. Two more things help when you place the second clip:
- If you drag one clip over another on the same track, it overwrites the part it covers.
- Hover over the spot where two clips meet. You can shorten either clip, or grab right in between and move both at once, like they are pushing each other out of the way.
Step 6: Fix a Clip That Does Not Fill the Frame
One of my B-roll clips had a different aspect ratio, so you could see its edges. Select the clip and raise the zoom in the Inspector. Zoom X and Y are linked. Keep going until the edges are gone.
Then reframe it. I dragged the X position to show more of the hand, and raised the Y position a tiny bit to put more attention on the button.
Step 7: Add Music and Set the Volume
Drag the music down underneath the voice. My track did not really start until around 16 seconds in, so I dragged the front edge of the music clip to that point and moved the whole clip back to the start of the timeline. Then I cut off the end with the blade.
The music was a little too loud. Drag the thin bar that runs across the audio clip up or down, or use the volume control at the top of the Inspector. Check that the music clip is the one selected first. In the video I changed the professor's voice by accident.
Step 8: Add a Transition
I did not want a hard cut between two of the clips. Open Effects, go to Video Transitions, find Cross Dissolve, and drag it onto the spot between the clips. Mine was way too slow at first, so I grabbed the edge of the transition and dragged it shorter.
Step 9: Add a Title
In Effects, go to Titles, pick a basic title, and drag it onto the track above the clip you want it over. Shorten it, type your text (mine just says Film), pick a font and a size, and move it where it needs to sit.
To fade the title in smoothly, hover over the top corners of the title clip. Little handles show up there. Drag one inward to create the fade, then do the same on the other corner for a fade out.
Step 10: A Quick Color Fix
Color is more advanced, and DaVinci Resolve is one of the best color tools out there. If you only need a quick fix, go to the Color tab, select a clip, and click the A button. Resolve adjusts the color automatically. Do it for each clip. When you are ready to go further, here is how I grade faster with a color panel.
Step 11: Export From the Deliver Page
Go to the Deliver tab. Pick the resolution and the frame rate for where the video is going. For my YouTube channel I would choose 4K Ultra HD. For this example I picked HD, the way I would for Facebook, and set the frame rate to 24. Name the file, choose where it saves, and click Add to Render Queue. The job shows up in the top right corner.
You can line up several edits in the queue, click Render All, and walk away for lunch. How long it takes depends on how big the video is and how many effects you added.
The Takeaway
That is the whole basic edit. There are not a lot of differences between editors at this level. Every one has its own twist, but the basics carry over.
If you still need something to edit, the free iPhone Video Setup Cheat Sheet on my free tools page will help you film your first clips. To see what I shoot and edit with, check out my gear page.
