How To Export In DaVinci Resolve 16 (2020) - Motion Array

If you need to export your DaVinci Resolve project, this is the tutorial for you. You’ll learn how to identify the settings you need to take your project from a DaVinci Resolve timeline to a video you can share, publish, or send to clients. It’s simple once you know how.

After you’ve mastered the basics, Motion Array has also included some advanced tips to help with more specific exporting woes. So, let’s learn how to use DaVinci Resolve to export videos.

Summary

• Part 1: How to export a DaVinci Resolve project
• Part 2: 4 pro tips to successfully export video in DaVinci Resolve

Part 1: How to export a DaVinci Resolve project

First you need to know the basics of using DaVinci Resolve to export your video. Think of your edited video as a mixture of ingredients in a bowl: it won’t be ready to share until you’ve baked it. That’s where rendering your clips through the export comes in. You can choose to do this in a few settings, but here are the basic principles.

Step 1: The Deliver tab

You’ll start learning to export videos in DaVinci Resolve in the Deliver tab, exploring the different areas and functions below. This is where you’ll find the settings to fully control your final exported videos.

1. Click the Deliver tab on the bottom bar of DaVinci Resolve.
2. Your timeline is at the bottom of the window. Remember that you can’t change the order of your clips in the Deliver tab.
3. Your Preview viewer is in the middle of the window.
4. The top-left column is where you’ll change your video’s settings before exporting it. These are your Render Settings.
5. The top-right column in your Render Queue shows how many timelines are in line to export.
6. You can show or hide the selected clips by pressing the Clips button on the top-left toolbar.

Step 2: Video export settings

When you export a DaVinci Resolve project, you have a lot of control over your custom export settings. You can, for example, use DaVinci Resolve to export Mp4s or other video formats.

There are render settings available for any type of video you may want to export. You’ll look more into some of the presets readily available below, but for now, let’s focus on how to export a high-quality video in a small, simple file.

1. Enter what you want your file to be called in the File Name field.
2. Click the Browse button next to the location field to select your file destination. Then navigate to the folder where you want your final video to be saved.
3. Select Single Clip to ensure your final export is a single video clip, otherwise it will export individual clips separately.
4. Make sure the Export Video box is checked unless you’re exporting audio-only.
5. Select Quicktime or MP4 from the Format dropdown menu.
6. Leave your Codec as H.264.
7. Leave your Resolution and Frame Rate to match your project settings.
8. If you want to export a different resolution such as square or vertical, select Custom next to Resolution and enter your desired size (in pixels).
9. You can leave your export quality on Automatic. If you’re trying to limit your file size, try selecting Restrict and lower your bitrate (Kb/s).
10. You can leave the rest of the options on their default settings.

Step 3: Render your project

1. Click Add to Render Queue. Your project will appear on the list in the workspace on the right of your screen.
2. You can queue up several versions of your project for export. To edit their settings, click on the pencil icon next to their title in the Render Queue.
3. Click Start Render when you want the exports to begin.

Part 2: 4 pro tips to successfully export video in DaVinci Resolve

The Deliver tab may be confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize there’s not much more to it than what you’ve learned today. Having said that, there are a few potential issues when exporting DaVinci Resolve projects you may want to learn how to manage.

Many editors need help with slow exports. A variety of things could affect your export time, including the number of programs you’re running and the space available on your computer.

If you don’t mind losing a bit of quality, you can try reducing the bitrate (the Kb/s setting under the Quality heading of your export settings) or the Resolution of your video to see if that helps with your export time.

In addition to fixing long export times, here are some other tips that could help you out when exporting your DaVinci Resolve project.

1. Export your DaVinci Resolve project

Sometimes you may need to export your footage on DaVinci Resolve as a project rather than a video. This allows you to continue to work on it on another computer or pass it to a collaborator. The first step is to export your project as a .drp file:

1. Open your desired project.
2. Click File > Export Project.
3. Select the location you want to save your file. It will automatically save as a .drp file.

2. Export sections of your project

DaVinci Resolve will export your whole timeline by default, but you can also export only part of your timeline if you wish.

1. Before you add your project to the Render Queue, click and drag your timeline playhead to where you’d like your exported clip to begin.
2. Press I on your keyboard to set your In point (where the clip will start).
3. Position the playhead where you want your export to end and click O on your keyboard to set your Out point.
4. Add your project to your Render Queue as usual.

If you need to brush up on how to import video in DaVinci Resolve, Motion Array has another handy tutorial.

3. Export with subtitles

Exporting with subtitles in DaVinci Resolve is slightly different, but you just need to tweak a few settings. Here’s what to do:

1. If you have Subtitles, go to the Video tab and scroll down to Subtitle Settings.
2. Check the Export Subtitle box.
3. Choose from the dropdown menu whether you’d like your video exported as a Separate File (such as an SRT file) or to Burn into Video.

4. Export presets

To amp up your editing even more, let’s take a moment to look at some of the export presets that DaVinci Resolve offers that may be useful in your workflow.

1. The YouTube preset is available in 720p, 1080p, or 4K resolution. Choose this option if you quickly want a file that’s compatible with a YouTube upload. You can now check the Upload directly to YouTube box and link your account to upload your video straight from DaVinci Resolve to YouTube. This could speed up your editing.
2. The Vimeo preset is also available in 720p, 1080p, or 4K. Its settings are similar to the YouTube template. You can now check the Upload directly to Vimeo box and link your account to upload your video straight from DaVinci Resolve to Vimeo.
3. ProRes (Mac only, not available on Windows) is a format where the final file is minimally compressed. Many editors export in ProRes to have a high-quality copy of their final work or as an intermediate file to pass to their colorist, for example, when editing their video. This large file retains a lot of data.
4. H264 is the standard video compression for most online videos, and H265 is its successor.
5. IMF is a high-quality file to meet the requirements of submissions for streaming services like Disney and Netflix.
6. Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Avid,and Pro Tools presets let you export your project into a new timeline compatible with each software.
7. Audio Only exports just the audio from your project.

Extra: Create your own preset

DaVinci Resolve also lets you save your export settings as a preset to speed up your workflow in the future. This works very similarly to making and using DaVinci Resolve effects.

1. Set your desired custom export settings.
2. Click on the icon of 3 small dots in the top-right corner of your Render Settings space.
3. Select Save As New Preset.
4. Your new preset will appear in the toolbar with the other ready-made presets.

Now that you know the basics of exporting video in DaVinci Resolve, you can see that it’s not so intimidating. Many options exist, but you’ve already learned how to use them.

DaVinci Resolve is a powerful tool for high-end professional editors so some advanced settings don’t need to be touched unless you need high control over a bigger project. With these tips, nothing can hold you back from sharing your projects with your collaborators, clients, and the world.

Suppose you’re looking for details on exporting with an alpha channel? Motion Array’s tutorial will show you how to export footage or titles with a transparent background to use in another project or share.