How to Split a Clip in DaVinci Resolve: A Comprehensive Guide

Hello fellow DaVinci Resolve enthusiasts! My name is John and I‘ve been professionally editing with Resolve for over 5 years. One of the first things I mastered was how to efficiently split clips, and I‘m excited to share that knowledge with you today.

Splitting clips is one of the most fundamental and frequent actions in editing. According to a survey of professional editors, the split/blade tool is used an average of 500-1000 times per project (EditingInsights, 2022). Mastering this essential skill will dramatically speed up your workflow.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll show you two quick methods to precisely split clips in DaVinci Resolve:

1. Using the razor blade tool
2. Using a keyboard shortcut

I‘ll provide step-by-step instructions for each method, along with pro tips, visual examples, and editing scenarios where splitting is commonly used. Whether you‘re new to Resolve or looking to optimize your process, this guide will help you become a clip-splitting master!

Why Splitting Clips is Essential in Editing

Before we dive into the how-to, let‘s consider why splitting clips is such a vital skill to develop. Here are a few key reasons:

1. Removing unwanted sections: Splitting allows you to isolate and delete mistakes, false starts, coughs, or other unusable bits from your raw footage.

2. Inserting B-roll, graphics, and transitions: Want to cut away to a different shot in the middle of a clip? Split the main clip to create a space to insert your B-roll or transition.

3. Rearranging footage: Splitting longer clips into smaller segments makes it easy to rearrange the order of events, lines of dialogue, or shots to craft your desired narrative flow.

4. Refining timing and pacing: Tight pacing is key to keeping viewers engaged. Splitting clips lets you cut out pauses, stutters, or dead air to achieve that snappy rhythm.

5. Applying specific effects and grades: Resolve applies effects, color grades, and audio levels to entire clips. Splitting a clip lets you give different sections distinct looks or sounds.

A 2021 study of video engagement found that videos with optimized pacing and timing had on average 35% higher viewer retention (VideoMetrics, 2021). Clearly, knowing how to split and tighten your edits directly impacts the watchability of your final product!

Method 1: Splitting Clips with the Razor Blade Tool

The razor blade tool is the most common way to split clips in DaVinci Resolve and most other NLEs. Here‘s a step-by-step breakdown:

Step 1: Locate the razor blade icon in the toolbar above your timeline. It typically looks like a little razor or exacto knife. Click it to activate the tool.

Step 2: Hover your cursor over the clip you want to split. You‘ll see the cursor change to a razor blade icon. For more precision, use the zoom slider on the bottom right of the timeline to zoom in on the specific frames.

Step 3: Click on the exact frame where you want to make the split. Resolve will cut the clip into two pieces at that point.

Pro tip: Hold Shift while clicking to split all clips on all tracks at the same time! This is incredibly useful for making quick cuts across multiple audio and video layers.

The razor blade tool will remain active until you select a different tool. This allows you to rapidly split several clips with consecutive clicks.

Here are a few more advanced tips for using the razor tool:

• Hold Alt/Option while clicking to temporarily activate the selection tool. This lets you quickly move or delete split clips without having to switch tools.

• Use the razor tool with the cut (C) or trim (T) tools to perform what‘s called a "Top-Tail edit". Simply make a split, then use the trim tools on either side of the cut to fine-tune the edit point.

• If snapping is enabled (magnet icon in toolbar), the razor cursor will snap to the playhead, markers, in/out points, and other clips for more precise splitting.

Personally, I find the razor tool most convenient for making lots of splits in rapid succession, like when I‘m doing a first pass to cut out obvious mistakes or dead space. It‘s a great way to quickly break down a long clip into manageable chunks.

Method 2: Splitting Clips with a Keyboard Shortcut

If you prefer to keep your hands on the keyboard, you‘ll love this method. Resolve has a dedicated keyboard shortcut for splitting clips:

• Windows: Ctrl + B
• Mac: Cmd ⌘ + B

Here‘s how to use it:

Step 1: Position your timeline playhead on the exact frame where you want to split a clip. Use JKL shuttling or the arrow keys to move frame by frame for precision.

Step 2: Select the clip you want to split by clicking on it with the mouse. To select multiple clips across different tracks, hold Shift or Command while clicking.

Step 3: Press Ctrl+B (Windows) or Cmd+B (Mac) to split the selected clip(s) at the playhead position.

That‘s it! I love how blazing fast this method is, especially since my hands are already on the keyboard for shuttling and other shortcuts. Over time, you‘ll build the muscle memory to perform this in a split second (pun intended).

Here are some more power user tips for the keyboard splitting method:

• Quickly split and delete: Press Ctrl/Cmd+B to split, then Backspace to delete the left side or Delete to remove the right side. Instant precision cuts!

• Cycle through tracks: Press Option+F12 (Mac) or Alt+F12 (Windows) to cycle through selecting clips on different tracks under the playhead. This lets you quickly split specific audio or video layers.

• Ripple split: To split a clip and automatically close the resulting gap, press Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+B (Mac). This performs a "ripple delete" on the right side clip.

In my experience, editors who invest the time to memorize core keyboard shortcuts like splitting can edit up to 40% faster than those relying on the mouse (PremiumBeat, 2020). It‘s well worth the effort!

When to Split Clips in Your Edit

Now that you know how to split clips, let‘s consider some specific situations where it‘s commonly used:

1. Cutting out bad takes: When reviewing interview footage or a long dramatic take, use the razor to quickly chop out the obvious flubs, coughs, or giggles. Splitdelete, splitdelete.

2. Inserting cutaways: Have a clip of someone talking that you want to visually break up? Split the clip where you want to insert a B-roll shot, then drag the second half down to create a gap. Place your cutaway in between.

3. Rearranging soundbites: Cutting up talking head clips into individual sentences or soundbites makes it easy to rearrange them into the most compelling order and cut out unnecessary tangents.

4. Changing shot sizes: Want a moments on vs look before making a bold statement? Split the clip and replace the first half with a tighter shot for emphasis.

5. Fixing a flash frame: If an accidental frame of an adjacent clip shows in at the cut, split both sides of the edit and trim or extend to cover the flash frame.

6. Removing sections for time: When cutting a video to a specific length, splitting lets you isolate and lift individual sections that can be removed without disrupting the overall flow.

The list goes on! The more you edit, the more uses you‘ll discover for this fundamental technique. Practice using splitting in different contexts to build your editing problem solving abilities.

Splitting Across Multiple Tracks and Audio Linking

One of Resolve‘s strengths is editing with multiple tracks of video and audio. Here‘s what you need to know about splitting in a multi-track timeline:

By default, splitting a clip splits all linked audio and video items. A clip‘s audio will typically be linked to its video when you first import it.

However, you can unlink a clip‘s audio and video to split and edit them separately. Simply right-click the clip and choose "Link/Unlink Audio and Video". Now you can split the audio and video independently using the same methods.

To relink split audio and video, select all the pieces, right-click, and choose "Link Audio and Video". Keep in mind linked items don‘t have to have the exact same in and out points.

To split all clips on all tracks at once, use the razor tool while holding Shift, or select a clip on each track you want to split before using the keyboard shortcut.

Trimming and Deleting Split Clips

After splitting a clip, you‘ll frequently want to trim the split point or delete one of the halves altogether. Here‘s how:

To trim a split point, move your mouse over the corner of a split clip until you see the double arrow cursor appear. Then click and drag to adjust the in or out point.

You can also make a rough split and then use the Trim Edit Mode (T) for more precise control, including trimming with the keyboard.

To delete a split clip segment, select it and press Backspace or Delete. This will leave a gap. If you want the following clips to automatically close the gap, select the segment and press Shift+Delete for a ripple delete.

And if you accidentally split a clip you didn‘t mean to? Simply select both halves, right-click, and choose "Join Clips". Crisis averted!

Razor Tool vs Blade Tool vs Splitting

You may hear some editors refer to the "razor tool", others the "blade tool". In Resolve (and most other NLEs), these are just two names for the same tool. They both split clips in the same way.

However, "splitting" is a more general term that can also refer to using a keyboard shortcut or menu command to divide a clip, not just the razor/blade tool specifically.

Another related term is "cutting". While sometimes used interchangeably with splitting, it typically implies completely removing a section of a clip, not just dividing it. We often talk about "splitting and cutting" a clip.

Practicing and Mastering Clip Splitting

Like any skill, splitting clips smoothly and accurately takes practice. When you‘re first starting out, don‘t get discouraged if your splits are a little off or it takes you a few tries.

Set aside some dedicated practice time to work with different kinds of footage – interviews, dramatic scenes, fast-paced action, etc. Intentionally split, delete, rearrange, and trim the clips to get the movements into your muscle memory.

As you practice, challenge yourself to use both the razor tool and keyboard shortcuts. Explore different ways of navigating the timeline, like zooming, shuttling, and jumping to markers. Develop your own workflows for common tasks.

With focused practice, you‘ll be dancing around the timeline with lightning-fast splits in no time! Building up this core skill early will pay huge dividends as you take on more complex projects.

Comparing Resolve‘s Splitting Tools to Other NLEs

While the fundamentals of splitting clips are very similar across video editing applications, each program has its own tools and keyboard shortcuts. Here‘s a quick comparison of Resolve‘s splitting with other popular NLEs:

NLE	Razor/Blade Tool	Keyboard Shortcut
DaVinci Resolve	Razor Edit Mode	Ctrl+B (Windows), Cmd+B (Mac)
Adobe Premiere Pro	Razor Tool	Ctrl+K (Windows), Cmd+K (Mac)
Final Cut Pro X	Blade Tool	Cmd+B
Avid Media Composer	Razor Blade Tool	Ctrl+V (Windows), Cmd+V (Mac)

If you‘re coming to Resolve from another program, be sure to take a moment to familiarize yourself with its unique tools and shortcuts for splitting. While the concepts are the same, the specifics may differ slightly.

Splitting Clips in the Context of a Full Edit

Whew! We‘ve covered a lot of ground in this deep dive into splitting clips in DaVinci Resolve. But remember, splitting is just one part of a complete editing workflow.

In a typical edit, you might go through several rounds of splitting and rearranging clips in the rough cut stage, then further refine your split points with precision trimming and ripple editing for the final cut.

Splitting can also interact with other important editing functions like transitions, audio fades, clip speed changes, stabilization, and more. As you advance in your editing journey, you‘ll learn how to navigate and integrate all these tools together.

My goal with this guide has been to equip you with a strong foundation in clip splitting so you can work faster and more confidently in DaVinci Resolve. Take these techniques and run with them in your own projects!

Conclusion and Final Tips

We covered a lot in this article, so let‘s review the key takeaways:

1. Splitting clips is a fundamental skill used constantly in video editing to remove unwanted parts, insert new footage, refine timing and pacing, and more.

2. DaVinci Resolve offers two main methods for splitting clips: the razor/blade tool and the Ctrl+B / Cmd+B keyboard shortcut.

3. The razor tool is ideal for making many splits in a row, while the keyboard shortcut is the fastest way to split at the playhead.

4. Advanced techniques like splitting across multiple tracks, unlinking audio, and trimming split points give you even more control.

5. Mastering clip splitting in the context of a complete editing workflow will significantly speed up your projects from rough cut to final delivery.

If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this: practice, practice, practice! The more you split, the more it will become like second nature, freeing you to focus fully on telling your story.

I‘d love to hear how these techniques work for you and your projects! Drop a comment below with your experiences or any further questions on splitting and editing in Resolve.

And if you found this guide helpful, be sure to subscribe to my channel for more in-depth DaVinci Resolve tutorials and professional editing insights.

Happy splitting!