How to edit a video podcast in DaVinci Resolve, step by step

To edit a video podcast in DaVinci Resolve, import every camera and microphone recording, put them in one multicam clip synced by sound, cut between the angles on the Edit page as the conversation plays, then level the dialogue on the Fairlight page and export from the Deliver page. All of that works in the free version. This guide goes through each step, and notes where the paid Studio version would save you time.

These steps follow the menus in DaVinci Resolve 20 and 21. Older versions use most of the same names, but some options (such as reference audio for multicam clips) were added in version 20.¹

Before you start: free or Studio?

The free DaVinci Resolve covers a complete podcast edit. Studio adds the automatic tools. From Blackmagic Design's feature list for version 21.1:²

If you only edit the odd episode, start with the free version. You can upgrade later without changing how you work.

Step 1: Set up the project and organise the media

Clear names make the rest of the edit easier: when you are switching between four angles, "Sarah close" is quicker to find than "C0042".

Step 2: Create a multicam clip synced by sound

A multitrack recorder file, with one channel per microphone, works well as the reference audio angle: you can still reach each person's channel afterwards by Command-right-clicking the clip on the timeline.¹

If the sync fails, check that every camera recorded sound, and trim long stretches before the conversation starts. Our syncing guide covers the common problems.

Step 3: Cut between the cameras

Rules of thumb for a natural conversation edit:

• Show the person speaking. Cut shortly after a new speaker starts, not on the first syllable.
• Hold shots. Very short shots feel frantic. Do not cut away for a one-word interjection.
• Use reactions on long answers. A short shot of the listener nodding or laughing breaks up a long take.
• Go wide when people overlap. If two people talk at once, a wide shot shows both.

Letting Resolve Studio make the first pass

In DaVinci Resolve Studio 20 and later, you can skip the manual pass: right-click the multicam clip on the timeline, choose Multicam SmartSwitch, pick the settings and click Analyze. It chooses each angle from the audio, lip movement and whether the shot is wide or close, and you can set a minimum shot length, how long it waits after a new speaker before cutting, and how often it uses the wide shot.¹ Blackmagic describes it as a first pass for you to finesse, so still watch it back.

Step 4: Refine the cuts

Watch the edit back and fix any cut that lands too early or too late.

• To change the camera for a section, right-click it and choose another angle from Switch Multicam Clip Angle.¹ Every angle is still inside the multicam clip, so nothing is lost.
• To move a cut point, drag the edit with the trim tool. A rolling edit moves the cut without changing the length of the episode.
• To remove a false start or a long pause, cut it out across all tracks so the sound and picture stay in sync.

Step 5: Clean up the sound on the Fairlight page

Open the Fairlight page and work through the dialogue:

• Level it. The Dialogue Leveler, in the free version, smooths out loud and quiet passages without drawing volume curves by hand.⁴ You can also select clips, right-click and use Normalize Audio Levels to bring them to a common peak or loudness level as a starting point.⁵
• Remove background noise. In Studio, Voice Isolation separates speech from background sound, which Blackmagic describes as suited to interviews recorded in noisy places.⁴
• Deal with mic bleed. If each person's microphone picked up the others, see how to remove mic bleed.
• Check the loudness. Keep an eye on the loudness meter in the Fairlight mixer, and aim for the target your podcast host or platform recommends.

In Studio, the Fairlight Audio Assistant (Timeline > AI Tools > Audio Assistant) can do a first mix for you. It evens out the dialogue, ducks music and adds the processing needed to reach the delivery standard you choose.¹

Step 6: Export the episode

• Video for YouTube: use File > Quick Export and choose the YouTube preset. From version 20 you can also save your own presets to Quick Export.¹ For more control, use the Deliver page.
• Audio for podcast apps: on the Deliver page, turn off Export Video in the render settings, choose an audio format and render the timeline as audio only.
• Short clips: duplicate the timeline, change it to a vertical resolution and cut out the best moments. Our guide to turning a podcast into short clips covers what to pick, and the captions guide covers subtitles in Resolve.

Keep the project. It is the source for every clip, trailer and re-edit you make later.

Speed up the busywork with an AI assistant (MCP)

DaVinci Resolve 21.1 added a native MCP server, so assistants such as Claude, Claude Code and ChatGPT's Codex can work in your project when you ask in plain English.⁶ It needs DaVinci Resolve Studio in practice, because 21.1 moved advanced scripting to Studio.⁶ To set it up, install the assistant, then choose File > Setup AI Assistants in Resolve. Our Resolve MCP guide covers each assistant step by step.

Jobs that suit it on a podcast:

• Organising: "Rename the camera clips after the people in them and sort them into Host, Guest, Wide and Mics bins."
• Show notes: "Export the markers on this timeline to a CSV with timecodes", after you have marked each topic as you edit.
• Versions: "Duplicate this timeline as a 1080 × 1920 vertical version for Shorts."
• Renders: "Queue an H.264 master for YouTube and an audio-only WAV of the episode."

Keep the creative decisions for yourself, back up your project library before you start, and check every change before you render.

Watch it done

If you would rather see the whole workflow on screen, this independent tutorial covers a multicam podcast edit in DaVinci Resolve from setup to export.

Doing the first pass automatically, in the free version

Steps 2 and 3 are the slow, repetitive part, and they are what podswitch does before you open Resolve. It syncs every camera and microphone by sound, decides each cut from each speaker's own microphone (the speaker, reaction shots on long answers, the wide when people talk over each other) and builds a dialogue mix with the bleed removed.

You get an XML file. In DaVinci Resolve, import it with File > Import > Timeline and the episode opens already cut, with one track per camera and the mix on the first audio track. It works in the free version of Resolve, and your video stays on your computer: podswitch only uploads the audio. You start at Step 4.

Editing in a different program? See the guides for Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro.

Sources

1. Blackmagic Design, "DaVinci Resolve 20 New Features Guide" (Multicam SmartSwitch, reference audio for multicam clips, AI Audio Assistant, Quick Export presets). https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/SupportNotes/DaVinci_Resolve_20_New_Features_Guide.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Blackmagic Design, "DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Studio and iPad Features". https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/SupportNotes/DaVinci_Resolve_Studio_21_Features.pdf ↩

3. Blackmagic Design, DaVinci Resolve Edit page. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/edit ↩

4. Blackmagic Design, "Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 18.1", 11 November 2022. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/release/20221111-01 ↩ ↩²

5. Blackmagic Design, "The Fairlight Audio Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18". https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci-Resolve-18-Fairlight-Audio-Post.pdf ↩

6. Blackmagic Design Forum, "DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Update" release notes, 8 September 2026. https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=239823 ↩ ↩²