DaVinci Resolve

When it comes to video and audio production, few pieces of software can truly be considered solutions for professionals. One of them is DaVinci Resolve, which places all the tools you can think of at your disposal, so you can create complex, professional-grade montages. Timeline editing, image adjusting, audio processing and customizing special effects are just a few examples of what you can do with this powerful tool. Furthermore, Resolve gives you full control over everything, in all departments, so you can make your effects exactly the way you've imagined them.

DaVinci Resolve is free to try, without any functionality restrictions, but you will get a watermark over your exported footage. Installing the software may take a bit longer than a lightweight utility, but the process is straightforward and it doesn't involve any complex configurations. Also, the program comes with everything it needs, so you don't have to install any additional tools or services.

You may need some time to study the user interface and get used to it and a video introduction wouldn't be a bad idea, but if you have anything to do with video editing, the accommodation will go smoothly. The best thing about the interface is that it doesn't just dump everything in front of you.

You can access different sections, via navigation tabs, on the lower edge of the window, where you may prepare your media, do the bulk of the editing, make color adjustments, process the audio and export the project. These sections are placed in a logical order and they have different tools on display, which are laid out with comfort and convenience in mind.

The editing section is where you will probably spend most of your time. It consists of a multi-channel timeline editor, two embedded players, one of which can be used to preview different types of media, as well as a comprehensive effects library. The software's core editing functionality is quite easy to grasp. Everything, from adding media to the timeline editor to inserting effects, can be achieved by simply clicking and dragging. When it comes to the actual editing in the timeline, it has to be mentioned that Resolve's controls are quite intuitive and highly responsive.

The timeline editor's support for multi-track and multi-cam editing, as well as its context-sensitive trimming allow you to create your story with almost no effort. Everything snaps neatly into place, so you don't have to worry about common mistakes, like leaving a blank spot or overlapping segments.

The software lets you access different sections on the interface if you need to adjust colors or make some audio enhancements. You can make color adjustments separately on each video segment you've cut. Manipulating the offset, gain, gamma or lift can be done on simple color wheels. Of course, you can find many other tools, like a color picker, curve or ratio sliders.

Fairlight is Resolve's integrated audio processor and it has a lot o offer. You can edit, mix and master audio, in multiple channels, on the fly. This gives you the possibility of enhancing your post-production workflow significantly.

Finally, when your work is complete, you can take advantage of DaVinci Resolve's output options. Besides making all the nitty and gritty configurations yourself, you can also choose from a wide range of output profiles, which will optimize your production for different platforms and services, like YouTube, Vimeo or mobile devices. It is also possible to make multiple selections, add them to a queue and let the software export your production multiple times, with different output settings.

Due to its robust and powerful editing capabilities, there isn't much else you can really ask from DaVinci Resolve.