Blackmagic's professional video editing and color grading suite

How to Record DaVinci Resolve

Record DaVinci Resolve's Color page with readable wheels and cached playback. Guide for color grading, editing, and Fusion VFX tutorials.

When you’d need to record DaVinci Resolve

Color grading tutorials

Record the Color page workflow — primary corrections, secondary qualifiers, Power Windows, node-based grading. DaVinci Resolve is the industry standard for color, and the Color page UI only makes sense on video.

Free alternative editing tutorials

Record DaVinci Resolve's Edit page as a free Premiere Pro alternative. The free version has no watermark and professional features — tutorials targeting budget-conscious editors have massive demand.

Fusion VFX compositing

Record Fusion page node-based compositing — green screen keying, motion tracking, particle effects. Fusion is built into Resolve for free, and its node interface needs video demonstration.

Fairlight audio post-production

Record the Fairlight page for audio mixing — EQ, dynamics, bus routing, ADR. Fairlight is a full DAW inside Resolve, and audio tutorials need the viewer to hear the changes you make.

Recommended settings

Resolution

2560x1440

Frame rate

30fps

Audio

Mic + system audio

System audio captures timeline playback — dialogue, music, and sound effects from your edit

Capture mode

Window Capture

Things to know

•DaVinci Resolve has 7 separate 'pages' (Media, Cut, Edit, Fusion, Color, Fairlight, Deliver) — each is a completely different interface
•The Color page's node editor and color wheels are the densest UI in any creative software — tiny controls everywhere
•Resolve's GPU usage for real-time grading is extreme — adding screen recording may force it to drop frames on playback
•The free version has nearly identical UI to the Studio version — tutorials work for both audiences

Step-by-step

1
In Screenify Studio, select Window Capture and pick the DaVinci Resolve window.
Enable system audio to capture timeline playback. Record at 1440p — the Color page controls are extremely dense.
2
Open DaVinci Resolve and your project. Navigate to the page you'll record (Edit, Color, Fusion, Fairlight) using the page icons at the bottom. Each page is a separate workspace — don't switch between pages mid-recording unless demonstrating the workflow between them.
3
On the Color page, ensure the node editor is visible (top-right of the Color page). If you'll demonstrate color wheels, expand them by dragging the panel divider. Default color wheel size is too small for recording.
4
Close Resolve's Quick Export panel and any floating windows (Stills library, scopes) you won't reference. The Color page especially becomes cluttered with open panels.
5
If demonstrating timeline playback, pre-render the Smart Cache: Playback > Render Cache > Smart. Wait for the red bar above the timeline to turn blue (cached). Uncached playback drops frames.

For Color, Fusion, and Fairlight pages

6
For Color page tutorials, open the Scopes panel (Workspace > Video Scopes > On). Position the waveform monitor next to the viewer. This shows viewers the technical result of your grading decisions, not just the visual look.
7
When demonstrating Fusion, zoom into the node graph so connections between nodes are visible. Default Fusion node view shows nodes as tiny rectangles. Zoom with scroll wheel until node names and connection labels are readable.
8
For Fairlight audio tutorials, maximize the mixer by double-clicking the Fairlight page tab. Show the channel strip with EQ, dynamics, and send controls. Play a section of audio before and after your adjustment.

Pro tips

Auto-zoom on the Color page wheels. The Lift/Gamma/Gain color wheels render at roughly 80px diameter with numerical readouts in 9px text. When you drag a wheel to shift the midtones warmer, auto-zoom catches the interaction and zooms in so viewers can see the RGB value change from 0.00 to +0.15.

System audio for timeline playback context. Even a color grading tutorial benefits from hearing the edit — viewers understand the scene's mood, which informs your grading decisions. Muted color grading demos feel disconnected from the actual filmmaking context.

Pre-render Smart Cache before recording. Resolve's real-time performance depends on GPU power. With screen recording active, your GPU is split between Resolve playback and Screenify capture. Pre-caching (red bar → blue bar) ensures smooth playback during recording.

Record one page at a time. Resolve has 7 pages that are essentially 7 different applications. Switching between Edit → Color → Fusion → Deliver in one recording confuses viewers. Record each page as a separate section or video.

Common mistakes

Recording the Color page without expanding the color wheels. Default layout shows color wheels as thumbnail-sized circles. Viewers can't see your adjustments. Drag the panel divider to give color wheels at least 30% of the screen width.

Playing uncached timeline during recording. Red bar above the timeline = not cached = dropped frames on playback. Viewers see stuttering video and think the grade looks bad. Always Playback > Render Cache > Smart, wait for blue bar.

Switching between 5 pages in one tutorial. You jump from Edit to Color to Fusion to Fairlight to Deliver. Viewers lose track of which page they're on — each has a completely different UI. Stay on one page per recording section.

Not mentioning the free version. Many viewers are on DaVinci Resolve Free, not Studio. If your tutorial uses a Studio-only feature (HDR grading, advanced noise reduction, neural engine), mention it. Otherwise viewers try to follow along and the feature doesn't exist in their version.