Sai Rachana M - VFX-001 Level 1 Report

18 / 8 / 2025

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1. Installation

To install DaVinci Resolve, I visited the official Blackmagic Design website through the link:
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/in/products/davinciresolve

Afterwards, I clicked on the Free Download button and selected the version suitable for my operating system. Once the download was complete, I followed the on-screen instructions to finish the installation.

Creating a Project:
I created a new project by clicking on “Create New Untitled Project”. This opened the DaVinci Resolve workspace, where I could explore the main pages: Media, Edit, Cut, Fairlight, and Deliver.

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2. Media Page

• Imported video and audio clips from various sources.
• Created folders (bins) to keep my media organized—for example, “Tropical Theme” or “London Clips.”
• When I used a particular source folder multiple times, I added it to Favorites by right-clicking or dragging it—this made it faster to locate later.
  
  

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3. Edit Page

Assignment 1 – 30-Second Tropical Video

• Theme: Tropical travel vibes.
• Collected travel clips from Pexels and other free video platforms.
• Arranged the clips in order and applied smooth transitions for a natural flow.
• While editing, I cut unwanted frames using the Blade tool and the shortcut Ctrl+B on both the starting and ending points of the timeline. After making cuts, I removed unnecessary portions using Ripple Delete (shortcut: Shift + Backspace), which automatically joined the remaining clips without leaving gaps.
• Did not face any major issues during this edit.
• Outcome: A 30-second video with a refreshing tropical theme.

Note: Always use copyright-free audio tracks when publishing on platforms like YouTube. Using copyrighted songs can lead to restrictions, muted audio, or even the video being taken down.

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4. Cut Page

Assignment 2 – 1-Minute Fast-Paced London Video

• Theme: London City.
• Gathered multiple clips from free video sources.
• Edited with quick cuts and fast transitions to give the video an energetic, fast-paced vibe.
• Faced playback lag since most clips were in 4K.
• To solve this, I generated proxy media:
  • Right-clicked on the clips in the Media Pool
  • Selected Generate Proxy Media
  • Chose a lower resolution (e.g., 720p) for smoother editing
  • Final export still used the original 4K quality
• Also explored the Titles feature to add text overlays and enhance the video.
• Outcome: A 1-minute fast-paced London edit with titles, transitions, and smooth playback thanks to proxy media.

Tip: If you only want to delete the audio without affecting the video (or vice versa), use the Lock feature. By clicking the lock icon next to the audio or video track, you can safely edit one track while keeping the other untouched.

Fairlight Page Audio Editing

Task Overview

For this task, I used the Fairlight page in DaVinci Resolve to edit a video clip of my friend speaking in class.
The original clip had a lot of background noise. My goal was to reduce noise and enhance the overall audio while adding effects and music.

Step 1: Clip Arrangement

I arranged the video and audio clips on the timeline as follows:

1.Title screen: Black screen with text “Before Noise Cancellation”

• Added intro music and applied a fade-out at the end.
  2.Original audio clip: Video of my friend talking (noisy).
  3.Title screen: Black screen with text “After Noise Cancellation”
  4.Edited audio clip: Same video clip after noise removal and effects.
  5.Outro music: Added at the end with a fade-out effect.

Tip: Using separate tracks for each clip made it easier to control volume and effects individually.

For fade - out effects

• Hover over the small triangles at the start/end of a clip.
• Drag inward to create a fade.
• Fade-in: music gradually appears.
• Fade-out: music gradually disappears.

Step 2: Noise Reduction

• Applied Noise Gate in Dynamics to silence background noise during quiet parts.

• Noise Gate

1. In Mixer, click Dynamics on your voice track.
2. Enable Gate.
3. Set initial values:

• Threshold: slightly above background noise (e.g., -50 to -40 dB)
• Attack: 5–10 ms
• Release: 100–300 ms

1. Play and adjust so silent sections are quiet but speech isn’t cut off.

Goal: Make the voice clear without affecting the natural tone.

Step 3: Audio Enhancements

I applied several effects to improve the voice quality:

• Reverb: Added subtle spaciousness to the voice.
• De-esser: Reduced harsh “s” sounds in speech.
• Clip Gain: Increased or decreased volume for specific parts of the clip.
• Normalize: Made overall volume consistent across the clip.
• Dynamics / Compression: Balanced loud and soft parts for an even sound.
• Wetness: Controlled how much of the effect (reverb) is heard compared to dry voice.

Through this task, I learned how to:

• Import and arrange clips on multiple tracks.
• Reduce noise using EQ, Noise Gate, and parametric filtering.
• Apply audio effects like reverb and de-esser.
• Adjust clip gain, normalize audio, and compress for consistency.
• Add music and smooth fade-ins/fade-outs for professional sound.

Overall: The Fairlight page allowed me to improve noisy audio step by step and explore multiple audio effects in a simple, beginner-friendly way. Watch on YouTube

Deliver Page Export

Task Overview

I used the Deliver page in DaVinci Resolve to export my finished 1-minute video for YouTube.

Step 1: Choose Preset

• Selected YouTube → 1080p preset for standard horizontal video.
• This automatically set the format (MP4) and codec (H.264) suitable for YouTube.

Step 2: File Name & Location

• Named the video file.
• Chose a folder to save the exported video.

Step 3: Check Settings

• Resolution: 1920 × 1080 (Full HD)
• Frame rate: same as project (60 fps)
• Audio: AAC
• Quality: Automatic → Best
  

Step 4: Add to Render Queue

• Clicked Add to Render Queue.
• Checked all settings were correct.

Step 5: Render

• Clicked Render All to export the video.
• Saved file was ready for YouTube upload.

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