Splitting clips and, in some cases, joining them is one of the basic video editing functions you will need to master in DaVinci Resolve. If you need to split a piece of footage directly on the timeline to break up a lengthy interview into sound bites or apply an effect to just part of a clip, for instance, then this is the tutorial for you. Today, we’ll look at how to use DaVinci Resolve to split clips — both single and multiple — and even how to rejoin split clips. So, let’s get to it.
Summary
Why using DaVinci Resolve to split clips is a useful skill
Learning to split and rejoin clips in DaVinci Resolve is helpful for video editors. First, don’t confuse splitting clips with DaVinci Resolve’s split-screen effects, which typically work with multiple clips rather than dividing a single one. Splitting clips is a different skill.
Using DaVinci Resolve to split clips lets you break up long videos into smaller pieces — like cutting a giant cake into slices. This makes your work easier to manage and puts less pressure on your device and hardware, too. You can focus on each small part one at a time instead of dealing with the whole video. This helps you work faster, make fewer mistakes, and need less time to render at the end.
Additionally, when you know how to use DaVinci Resolve to split clips, you can remove parts you don’t want. Maybe there’s a mistake in your video, a scene goes on for too long, you have excess film you shot around your intended sequence, or you uncover a boring section that no longer works for you. You can cut these out easily and replace them with dramatic effects and high-value editing. This makes your final video more exciting and appealing to watch, and helps you keep the pacing tight and snappy.
Rejoining clips is also very important. After you split the clips and remove the sections you don’t want, you need to put the good parts back together. You may also want to roll back a split you don’t need anymore. This skill helps you create a smooth, flowing video: It’s like putting puzzle pieces together to make a full picture. This also lets you add funky transitions to blend the video together.
These skills will help you be more creative. You can move parts of your video around, trying different orders — a scene may look better at the start instead of the end, for example. Splitting and rejoining lets you experiment and find the best way to tell your story.
Lastly, these are basic skills that help with more advanced editing. As you get better at splitting and rejoining, you’ll find learning other cool editing tricks easier. It’s like learning to walk before you run. Even as you improve your editing skills and get confident with DaVinci Resolve, you’ll return time and again to the basic split and rejoin to power up your creative goals.
There’s even a DaVinci Resolve split clip shortcut to speed up your editing further. It’s Ctrl+\ (Cmd+/ for Mac) to split clips, and Alt+\ (Opt+\ for Mac) to rejoin. Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to speed up your editing in general. You can learn more about the keyboard shortcuts for DaVinci Resolve if you’d like to boost your editing flow further.
Splitting and rejoining clips in DaVinci Resolve
1. Split a single clip
Ensure you’ve imported your media and have a clip on your timeline that you’d like to split. If you need footage, you can grab stock video from Motion Array.
- Select the Blade tool or press the keyboard shortcut B to split a clip in the desired spot.
- You can also use Timeline > Split Clip or the shortcut commands Ctrl+\ (Cmd+\ for Mac) for the DaVinci Resolve split clip shortcut and Ctrl+B (Cmd+B for Mac) for the Blade tool.
Pro Tip: Remember that you can Blade or split a clip while playing back your project on the timeline.
You will now see that your clip has split. You can move one half to another part of your project or simply delete it depending on what your goal was for using a DaVinci Resolve split clip in the first place.
2. Split multiple clips on different tracks
Let’s say you wanted to split multiple video and audio clips on different tracks at the same time. Here’s how to do it:
- With clips stacked on top of each other, select both clips you want to split. Note: If the track selector is turned on for each track you want to split, you don’t have to select the clips.
- Then, move the playhead to where you want to make multiple changes, press Ctrl+\ (Cmd+\ for Mac), or go to Timeline > Split Clip.
All of the video and audio clips you selected should be split now. Splitting multiple clips can save you time compared to splitting each one individually. This is especially handy if you want to create part 1 or 2 of a longer video project.
3. Rejoin DaVinci Resolve split clips
If, later on, you decide that you don’t need to use DaVinci Resolve to split a clip, you can rejoin it quickly and easily.
- Select the edit point between 2 clips where you have a split.
- Go to Timeline > Join Clip or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+\ (Opt+\ for Mac).
- Alternatively, right-click and select Delete Through Edit.
The clip will now be reattached and returned to its original state. With that all figured out, take a look at this beginner workflow guide to help you with the rest of your video edit.
In this short tutorial, we looked at multiple ways to use DaVinci Resolve to split a clip and how to rejoin it later. This is an essential skill to learn if you want to make cuts directly on the timeline. Motion Array’s wide range of helpful tutorials will set you on the right path to power up your DaVinci Resolve skills if you want more fun skills and tricks.
