Easily Create DaVinci Resolve Promos with Motion Array Templates

If you are new to video editing you’ve learned the basics of video editing and probably tried making some promo videos in DaVinci Resolve to promote your business or channel. Turns out it’s not as easy as you thought it would be and you find yourself losing hours editing your promo videos but still ending up with average content. Sometimes we all wish we just had a shortcut.

This is where a monthly or annual Motion Array subscription can help. You’ll gain access to a vast library of titles, transitions, motion graphics, stock footage, stock photos, music, and most important, templates for DaVinci Resolve, as well as other major video editing software. Templates are what bridge the gap between beginner and expert. The experts design the templates and all you need to do is add in the media, music and change the titles. The best part of it is you can source everything you need in one place from the Motion Array marketplace and you will end up with a professional-looking result. To show you how to do this we will create 2 DaVinci Resolve promo videos just with Motion Array assets in less than an hour.

Part 1: Create a Cool Sports Promo in DaVinci Resolve

If you have a YouTube channel that promotes healthy sports and provides tips, exercises, and great food choices, easily promote your services online. Let’s show you how easy it is to make a 30-second promo video with these resources: Dynamic Sport Opener for DaVinci resolve, a selection of sports stock video footage, a music track, and a motion graphics clip.

1. Download the DaVinci Resolve template from Motion Array.
2. Extract the files and copy the contents of the folder to your editing drive.
3. Install the font from the font link file.
4. Open DaVinci Resolve, right-click in the project manager and select Restore Project Archive.
5. Select the folder in the template that ends in .dra and your project will open.
6. In the Edit page media pool, you will find 3 bins named something like Edit, Final, and Others. It may vary depending on the template.
7. In the Final bin, you will see the final timeline while you will find the Media and Text placeholders in the Edit bin. All you will need to do is add media and change the text for all the placeholders.
8. Go to the Media page and add all your stock footage, music file, and motion graphics clip under the Master bin.
9. First, open all the Media placeholder timelines then drag and drop your stock footage or photos onto the respective timelines in the order you want them to appear in the template. Now close all the timelines.
10. Now open all the Text placeholders and edit each text placeholder to what you want it to say.
11. Add a music track to your timeline that fits the style and pace of your template, trim, and fade it at the end.
12. You can also add additional motion graphics like this to your clip. This one has a transparent background so all we need to do is place it above your media in the timeline then reposition and resize it.
13. Now go to your final timeline, delete the Render cache, and let it render again to see the result then make any further adjustments you need to before exporting your video to the Deliver page.

Part 2: Make a Stylish Fashion Promo in DaVinci Resolve

For the second tutorial, we will make a promo video to introduce a pretend fashion brand we’ll simply call Urban. It’s exactly the same process as before but we’ll use the Urban Fashion Promo template, a selection of fashion stock footage, and recommend the Let It Rock Right Now royalty-free music track.

1. Download the DaVinci Resolve template from Motion Array.
2. Extract the files and copy the contents of the folder to your editing drive.
3. Install the font from the font link file.
4. Open DaVinci Resolve, right-click in the project manager and select Restore Project Archive.
5. Select the folder in the template that ends in .dra and your project will open.
6. In the Edit page media pool, you will find 3 bins named something like Edit, Final, and Others. It may vary depending on the template.
7. In the Final bin, you will see the final timeline while you will find the Media and Text placeholders in the Edit bin. All you will need to do is add media and change the text for all the placeholders.
8. Go to the Media page and add all your stock footage, music file, and motion graphics clip under the Master bin.
9. First, open all the Media placeholder timelines then drag and drop your stock footage or photos onto the respective timelines in the order you want them to appear in the template. Now close all the timelines.
10. Now open all the Text placeholders and edit each text placeholder to what you want it to say.
11. Add a royalty-free music track to your timeline that fits the style and pace of your template, trim, and fade it at the end.

Up to this point, the process has been the same as before, so let’s add something a bit different. Color grading is one of the strengths of DaVinci Resolve and a great way to add a cohesive look that carries through your video. Unfortunately, color grading can be a complex and sometimes tedious process. Instead, we will apply some LUTs to the footage from one of Motion Array’s LUT packs called Pastel Color Grades. Learn more about using LUTs in DaVinci Resolve from our tutorial.

12. First, we need to install the LUTs by copying the folder containing the LUTs to the appropriate folder on your computer.
13. You will find the folder in the project settings, under Color Management. Click the button to Open LUT folder and then paste (Cmd+V or Ctrl+V)  the LUTs folder that you copied earlier here. Close the window and click Update List to load the LUTs.
14. Open all your media placeholders. With the first media placeholder selected go to the Color page and find your new LUTs in the LUTs panel. Choose your LUT and drag it onto the first node.
15. Repeat the process for all your media placeholders.
16. Now go to your final timeline, delete the Render cache, and let it render again to see the result.
17. Notice how using the same LUT on all the different shots creates a cohesive look throughout the video.
18.  Now make any further adjustments you need to before exporting your video to the Deliver page.

Pro Tip: Similar to how easy it is to apply LUTs, it’s even easier to use DaVinci Resolve Macros to further enhance your project. Macros come as titles, transitions, and effects that you can install in DaVinci Resolve and then simply drag them onto your timeline, or in the case of effects onto your clips.

Troubleshooting Tips

The thing with complex software is that every new version brings new features and changes that can make older features redundant or incompatible. That’s why it’s important to check that the template you are using is for the right version of DaVinci Resolve. You can even filter by Resolve versions when you search for a template. Always use templates for the same or older version of Resolve that you are using otherwise they may not work.

Operating systems, GPUs, CPUs, and other hardware and software come in many different configurations so there is always a chance that something in a template may not work perfectly on your system.

Here are a few things to try if you run into trouble:

• Make sure the font for the template is installed before you start.
• Check you have the latest drivers for your GPU.
• Check your system meets at least the minimum DaVinci Resolve requirements for the resolution of footage you want to work with
• Check the Render cache is set to User.
• Make sure you add media to all placeholders, especially the first few, and if the template has one for a logo.
• Make sure logos have a transparent background.
• Edit all the text placeholders and if the text does not show up well, change the font to something else. If that works you can change it back again.
• Once you made changes go to your final timeline and delete all the Render cache then let it render again.

I had a glitch with one placeholder where the video would not show up which required me to decompose the scene and replace the clip manually in Fusion.  This is not something that would normally be needed but if you run into such difficulty Motion Array has a great support team that will get you up and running very quickly.

Editing videos and making professional promo videos from scratch using Motion Array templates is definitely a game-changer. The templates are designed by skilled video editors and made especially for DaVinci Resolve so all you need to do is add your media in the placeholders, change the text, and add a nice tune. These templates put professional promo videos made for DaVinci Resolve within the reach of editors just starting out. 

It’s not just beginners that can benefit either. The templates are time-savers for busy video editors that need a professional look very quickly. The second promo video took all of 22 mins to put together. That level of editing would normally take even skilled editors hours. Go to Motion Array and browse to see all the assets that are available with a subscription.