Advanced Audio Editing in DaVinci Resolve

Unlock the power of Fairlight to create professional-sounding videos.

DaVinci Resolve provides professional tools for every part of the post-production process, and audio is no exception. The Fairlight page gives you access to most of the features you’d find in a dedicated audio software, from precision sound editing tools to creative effects and a robust mixer section. Best of all, it’s all laid out in a way that’s accessible to video editors.

In a previous article, we shared a few basic tips for sound editing in DaVinci Resolve. Today, we’re digging a little deeper with an exploration of some of the more advanced tools and features available in Fairlight. 

Fairlight Overview

Although it’s just one part of Resolve’s extensive toolset, Fairlight is a fully-fledged digital audio workstation (DAW) on par with industry-standard software such as Nuendo and Pro Tools. While Resolve’s Cut and Edit pages allow basic audio editing, Fairlight provides specialized features and an audio-centric workflow.

Fairlight features

• Freeform audio editing - Unlike the Cut and Edit workflows, where audio and video clips are linked by default, Fairlight allows you to freely cut, move, and trim audio clips without affecting the rest of your timeline.
• Versatile automation - Automate almost any audio parameter, from fader levels to plugin controls, with thousands of times more resolution than regular Keyframes.
• Expanded mixer - Access all of your audio track controls and mix settings in one place, including signal routing, buses, plugins, and more.
• Advanced metering - Keep an eye on all of your levels at once, including the extremely useful Loudness meter with specific settings for broadcast, YouTube, Netflix, and more.
  
  

Tip #1: Better Fades and Crossfades

When you apply a fade to an audio clip, Resolve defaults to a linear curve which goes from silence to full volume (or vice versa) at a steady rate. While this usually sounds acceptable for very short fades, it often sounds unnatural on longer fades. Fortunately, Resolve makes it easy to adjust the curve of your fades by moving the little white dots that appear when hovering over a clip. This allows you to morph those boring linear fades into several more useful shapes:

• Exponential fades - Dragging the dot inward creates an exponential curve, which starts slowly before quickly ramping up to maximum volume (or vice versa). Exponential fades are ideal for ending an audio clip suddenly without an audible cutoff, such as a door slam or a dog’s bark with too much echo.
  
  
• Logarithmic fades - Dragging the dot toward the edge of the clip creates a logarithmic curve, which is the opposite of exponential: a fast start with a slow end (on a fade in) or a slow start with a fast end (on a fade out). Logarithmic fades are great for softening clips that start with a loud sound, such as a hard consonant at the beginning of a sentence.
  
  
• Cosine or “S” fades - Dragging the dot diagonally along its axis creates more complex curves. Dragging toward the lower corner creates a cosine-shaped curve that starts exponential and transitions to logarithmic, creating a smooth fade that’s great for slowly introducing music tracks or long sound effects. Dragging diagonally upward creates the opposite shape, which is not as commonly used.
  
  
• Custom crossfades - Crossfades can be customized, as well. Simply apply a crossfade transition between two audio clips, then move the dot around to alter the fade-in and fade-out curves simultaneously. This is an excellent way to fine-tune a transition between two sound effects or blend a raw clip into an effected clip.
  
  

Batch Fades in DaVinci Resolve

If you need to create many fades at once, or apply a custom set of fades, use the Batch Fades tool. This feature is especially useful in dense dialogue edits, but it can also be used on one clip at a time. Here’s how to use it:

1. Select all of the clips you want to apply fades to.
2. In the Fairlight menu, select “Batch Fade Settings”.
3. Use the toggles to select whether you want to apply fade-ins, fade-outs, or crossfades.
4. Choose a shape for each fade*, enter the desired length in frames or milliseconds, and select whether you want to overwrite any existing fades.
5. Click “Apply.” (Next time, you can simply select Fairlight > Apply Batch Fades).

Tip #2: Automation vs. Keyframes

If you’re an experienced Resolve user, you’re probably familiar with Keyframes: the feature that allows you to program parameter changes over time. Keyframes can be used to control audio parameters such as volume and panning in the Edit page, but the options are fairly limited. However, Fairlight gives you far more options in the form of audio automation.

Fairlight’s automation differs from Keyframes in a few big ways. While Keyframes can only be placed on individual frames, audio automation occurs at the sample rate level, which provides thousands of times more resolution. Automation is far more flexible, too – you can automate almost any parameter related to audio, from plugin controls to reverb send levels. As of Version 19, you can even group tracks and write automation to all of them at once.

Ways to use automation

• Record fader movements in real time for consistent levels without using compression
• Engage a high-pass filter to muffle dialogue behind a closed door
• Adjust the reverb send on a footsteps track as a character moves through different spaces
• Pitch-shift sound effects over time to create a doppler effect

How to use audio automation in DaVinci Resolve

First, click the “Toggle Automation” icon (two circles connected by a diagonal line) located next to the transport controls. This will enable a new drop-down menu on each track, where you can select an automation parameter to view and edit.

Writing automation manually

There are two ways to add automation points manually. To add points one by one, Ctrl+Click (PC) or Cmd+Click (Mac) on the green line, then click and drag to move them. This method is best for simple on/off automation. To draw freehand automation, select the Pencil tool below the transport controls or hold Shift+Alt (PC) or Shift+Opt (Mac) for quick access. This method is best for complex automation such as volume and panning.

Recording real-time automation

To record automation in real time, click the “Automation Controls” icon (next to Toggle Automation) and select which parameters you want to record. You can also customize automation behavior such as Trim and Latch modes, although the default settings are fine for most situations. During playback, adjusting any enabled parameter (with the mouse or a control surface) will write automation to the selected track(s).

Editing automation

Any automation point can be moved by clicking and dragging it, and the same can be done for the sections in between points. To delete single points, use Ctrl+Alt+Click (PC) or Cmd+Opt+Click (Mac). To delete multiple points, enable Focus Mode (next to the Pencil tool), select a range, and press Backspace (PC) or Delete (Mac). Finally, to make your automation stay with your clips while you edit, make sure “Automation Follows Edit” is selected (below the Automation Controls icon).

Tip #3: External Audio Processes

Resolve comes with a variety of plugin effects that can be placed on tracks or individual clips, but what if you need to process audio in an external app or use a plugin that Resolve doesn’t support? Fortunately, Resolve has a built-in feature called External Audio Processes that makes it easy to send audio to and from other apps. 

Examples of External Audio Processes

• Perform spectral editing in standalone apps such as iZotope RX and Steinberg Spectralayers
• Send a clip to a dedicated DAW such as Reaper for advanced sound design
• Save edited clips to your sound effects library by sending them to SoundQ

How it works

When you send a clip to an External Audio Process, Resolve creates a duplicate of the clip as a new file. Then, it opens the selected app and automatically loads the file if possible (see below). As long as you save your processed audio without changing the filename or location, Resolve will automatically swap it with the original on your Timeline. 

How to set up and use External Audio Processes in DaVinci Resolve

1. Navigate to DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > Audio Plugins > Setup External Audio Processes.
2. Click “Add,” then double-click the Name area to give your new entry a name.
3. Click the Path section and locate the application you want to access. 
4. In the Type column, select one of the three options:
   1. Command Line: automatically opens the app and loads the audio file (if possible)
   2. Clipboard: opens the app and copies the file location to the clipboard (if command line isn’t possible)
   3. Reveal: opens the app and shows the file location so you can drag and drop (if supported by the app)
5. Click “Save” and restart Resolve.
6. Right-click a clip and select a process from the External Audio Processes submenu.
7. Process your audio in the external application and save it without changing the filename or location.
   
   

Tip #4: Re-timing Audio with Elastic Wave

In your sound editing adventures, you’ll eventually come across a sound effect or piece of music that has the sound you want, but the timing just isn’t right for what you want to do. It might be a car passby that lasts just a bit too long for the shot, an explosion you want to stretch out for a slow-motion effect, or a song you need to re-time to hit certain visual cues. 

Simple speed changes can be done in the Edit page, but what if you need more control than that? That’s where Elastic Wave comes in handy. This tool allows you to change the speed of an audio clip at specific points with just a few mouse clicks, so you can do things like extend the tail of an explosion without affecting the initial blast sound, make a song go into double time just for the chorus, and so on.

Elastic Wave Modes

Elastic Wave has three modes, each using a different algorithm suited to processing different types of content.

• Voice is specifically formulated for time-stretching dialogue without artifacts.
• General Purpose is optimized for sound effects, music, and everything else.
• Varispeed changes the clip’s speed and pitch simultaneously, similar to what you hear when you play a vinyl record at the wrong RPM (also known as the “chipmunk” effect).

How to Use Elastic Wave in DaVinci Resolve

1. Right-click a clip, navigate to Elastic Wave and choose a mode.
2. To add Timing Points, Ctrl+Click (PC) or Cmd+Click (Mac) where you want a speed change to begin or end. Note: you can add additional Timing Points to “lock off” sections before or after the part you’re editing.
3. Click and drag Timing Points to adjust the speed of the audio between points.
4. To delete Timing Points, Ctrl+Alt+Click (PC) or Cmd+Opt+Click (Mac), or select “Clear Timing Points” from the Elastic Wave submenu.
   
   

Tip #5: Mixing With Buses

If your videos require more than a handful of audio tracks, mixing can get very tedious – and that’s exactly why buses exist. Say you’re editing a commercial that starts with a lot of sound effects, but you need to turn everything down when the music or voiceover comes in. Instead of manually automating the volume on all of those tracks, routing them all to a bus lets you control them all with one fader.

A bus is a special type of mixer channel that can receive audio from multiple tracks and route it to one or more destinations. You can also insert plugins on buses to affect every channel passing through them. Every Resolve project contains one bus by default (Bus A, the master bus that routes all of your audio tracks to your headphones or speakers), but you can create as many additional buses as you need.

Ways to use buses

• Group your tracks into stems to make global adjustments to dialogue, music, and sound effects.
• Divide stems into subgroups such as characters, narration, backgrounds, and Foley.
• Submix multi-layered sound effects before applying processing such as compression or distortion.
• Create an alternate master bus for a different version of your mix, such as a stereo fold-down of a surround mix.

How to set up buses in DaVinci Resolve

1. Open the Fairlight menu and select Bus Format. 
2. Create as many buses as you need, then specify the format for each one (mono, stereo, surround). Be sure to name your buses and choose colors for easy identification. Click “OK” when finished.
3. Assign bus inputs and outputs. There are two ways to do this:
   1. Open the Fairlight menu and select Bus Assign. Select a bus, then click in the Bus Outputs area of the list below to route individual tracks to that bus. You can also route buses to other buses this way.
   2. In the Bus Outputs section of the Fairlight mixer, hover over the default bus assignment (Bus A) and click the arrow to change the routing. To add a new bus output, click the plus sign. To route multiple tracks, ctrl+click or cmd+click to select them, then hold ctrl+alt or cmd+option while selecting bus outputs.

Note: bus sends are similar to bus outputs, except that they provide a separate fader and pan control. In most cases, we suggest using bus outputs rather than sends.

Tip #6: Metering and Loudness

Managing loudness can be one of the trickiest parts of sound editing. Have you ever uploaded a video  to YouTube or Vimeo and then realized that it’s much louder or quieter than other videos? Depending on how you set your computer volume when you edit, you might be tricking yourself into mixing louder or quieter than you should. The only way to know the true volume of your content is to read Resolve’s audio meters, in order to make sense of them, you first need to know what they’re telling you.

How to read audio meters

Digital audio is measured in units called dBFS: decibels (dB) relative to Full Scale (FS). Full Scale is the maximum amplitude that can be encoded in an audio file, represented by the zero at the top of the meter. The negative numbers represent how many decibels below Full Scale the signal is. Decibels are a logarithmic unit, so a -6dB signal is half as loud as 0dB, -12dB is a quarter of the volume, and so on. 

The Loudness Meter

Most of Resolve’s meters display peak levels in real time, but in post-production, loudness is typically expressed as an average (or “integrated”) measurement. Resolve’s Loudness Meter gives you a reading of your content’s average level in units called LUFS, or Loudness Units - Full Scale. Different broadcast organizations have different standards and ways of measuring loudness, as do platforms like Netflix and YouTube. Fortunately, the Loudness Meter lets you select which standard to measure your audio against, so you can make sure your content is just the right level.

The Loudness plugin

By default, Fairlight displays the loudness of your entire mix at the top of the window, but you can measure any track’s loudness using the plugin located under Metering > Fairlight VST > Loudness. Try inserting this plugin on a voiceover track to ensure consistent levels for a video essay, or put an instance on each of your stem buses to keep an eye on the overall levels of your dialogue, music, and sound effects.

More Sound Editing Tips

Now that you’ve learned some of the finer points of sound editing in DaVinci Resolve, browse our blog and YouTube channel for more inspiration! Dig into in-depth tutorials on sound design, mixing, and immersive audio; interviews with world-class sound artists; and a thorough 101 Series covering common sound design concepts. To connect with the community, follow Pro Sound Effects on social media and join us on Slack or Discord.

Dante Fumo is a Minnesota-based freelance sound designer, editor, and mixer with more than a decade of experience working with sound. In addition to his audio work, Dante composes instrumental music that incorporates sound design and spatial audio.