I've been watching your videos for a few months now and what I really like is you clearly know this product (and video editing!) extremely well, but you keep your videos simple and easy for a muppet like me to follow - thank you so much.
I've been playing with Resolve for a few years now, and this is quite possibly one of the most useful admin topics I've seen on t'internet-land. In fact I don't think I've come across a tutorial like this. There is one more thing that I really, really, really appreciate with this specific tutorial. And that's not having to hear the closing mantra repeated by every single person who publishes an episode "Hit that Like Button, subscribe, bla, bla, bla". It is incredibly boring, frustrating and tedious to hear that monotone mantra chanted on everything I watch. You played the self promotion just right with this episode.
I find this frustrating coming from FCP and Premier. Although probably the only thing I've disliked so far. The problem is that when you do export a project to say - a specific external work drive. Then you decide you want to open this project later to make a few tweaks. It actually creates a copy and imports it back into the local database. There seems to be no option to open in place and then save in place.
This! So frustrating. We want our projects to be self contained within a folder, not scattered throughout our devices where they're difficult to track down.
@@Alex-03I'm coming from FCP and am constantly work on various projects for different departments in my company that I would normally save in their own individual folder (footage, edits, deliverables, etc.). This is the one thing that makes me hesitate to make the switch to Resolve.
People go crazy explain how backing up and restoring works - but I couldn’t find simpler video then this - even 3 minutes video is more confusing then what you shared in 6 minutes. Crazy ❤️🔥
These are the basics I've always needed to know with my PCs since 1989. WHERE THINGS ARE. I guess there's a name for my condition but since I get asked a lot to retrieve images from other peoples' systems. I cannot stand the blind faith mentality of "it's on my computer." Davinci just changed up things a bit but this segment helps with parts of the puzzle, especially about using "export archive" which I think I'll be applying often for backups and sending off projects.
I have used tons of your tutorials and I love them, I also bought your course a while back and got some great value out of that too. Thank you for your content!
OMG. Life saver. And also reassuring. I've been driving myself mad wondering why you can't control where things are saved with "save as" and whether or not my files are being saved somewhere safe. Oh the uncertainty of it all. Thanks for the... resolve. Pun not planned but definitely intended.
The idea to work with PostreSQL instead of with files, is great! At the end we can always export in files, if needed, but the reliability of a database is much higher
Casey. Your videos are brilliant i am new to DR17 - it looks very powerful and your videos allow us newcomers to get an over and scope the editing package - your work is informative and excellent to give confidence to us newcomers to DR - thank you for your efforts greatly appreciated and developed my interest in Video creation - thank you.
I just wanna give you a huge thanks for you cause tNice tutorials is the most helpful video I've had in a wNice tutorialle and it really helped so keep up the
As usual very easy to understand and very useful content ! Thank you. A suggestion : it would be nice to have a quick guide about, what to do concretely, to keep organised medias/projects/database... Cause database is different from medias. So concretely, as a user, how am i supposed to manage all this ? When a project is finished, when my computer hard drive is almost full, what is the clean way of saving my medias/projects on another hard drive, without breaking the link database/medias... 🙂 Thank you !
Casey, mate. I love your videos. I would come back time and again simply to understand something or when I want to learn something new. This is video is a perfect example of that. However, I have to say, even if the videos were not as 'on point' as they are, I'd still come back. _ Why? For lines like: 'So, there you go. There's project loadin, savin, databasin'_ 😂😂😂 Your self-deprecating style and comic timing are fabulous. I can only imagine you guys have a ton of fun when working. I'm very jealous...In the best of ways. Keep up the fantastic work. I hope you are all well and keeping safe. Dave
Sorry, for some reason, I couldn't BOLD what I wanted...reasons...so I tried to italicise it. It has put underscores either end??? I thought they were and would render the italics when posted. I hope you all get what I was going for and meant. Ta, Dave
Casey, love your videos, and this one was excellent. I am like you and that I do not completely understand how to use one database and share it amongst my two Macintosh computers in my home. Can I put in a request for a video tutorial like that from you? Thank you love your stuff
When you archive a project ( when you are done ) I always delete all my render cache, unless I am exporting them with the project for handoff. But you have to do this in the project before you close and export. In the off chance you have to reopen and rework something, you can just give the project some time to re cache... this will save you A LOT of space on your hard drive..
I just got a new computer and am new to Davinci, this sounds like what I'm trying to do to maximize efficiency while editing, but not fill my computer's HD up. I want to keep everything on my computer while working on it, but then once i've completed a project, back it all up on an external drive and free up the space on my computer's drive. How do i delete all the render cache once I'm done with a project? I assume exporting the .DRA file to the external drive first is a good start.
I was told same; moved the dB to RAID. Learned that I need to keep current/active project(s) and media on my SSD, though, for fastest read/write and less errors while editing.
Great video. I've been using this app for a while now. Can I make folders in the Project Manager and drag old projects into the new folders to clean things up? It's getting messy in there. Edit: Never mind. I did it, checked it, and it works. Lots of organizing to do now.
Good stuff. I'm used to managing all my assets manually from my time with Adobe CC. *QUESTION 1: On your Project Page at, for example 6:00, It says at the top _"Projects/May_2021."_ Did you create that folder _"May_2021"_ or did Resolve create that itself? Is knowing where that sub-folder useful? *QUESTION 2:* What is the use of that "phantom" project outlined in red with _"Whatever You Want"_ under it? Thanks for a fantastically useful channel and for keeping many of these tutorials short so I can find the specific subject I need *RIGHT NOW, 'CAUSE I'M STUCK IN MY EDIT.* *SUBSCRIBED!*
Hi Casey. I like very much your videos, I've learned a lot from them. I have a question for you, if you be so kind to enlighten me. I use to manage all my media manually and set it in folders of source files and rendered files. However, I'm scared that i could loose part of the information of the davinci projects once I have finished the work and i need to move it out of my computer's hard disk drive. What do you think could be the best procedure to keep safe all the data for historical storage, in case I need to use it in the future? Thanks in advance.
So helpful, thanks! Watched while waiting in pharmacy drive thru line. Thought of a new tagline for you... Casey Faris: UN-wasting people's time, since 2013. 🙂
Oh my god! Thank you . I will be looking for how to restore the basic work space once I mess it up with a button click or mouse mistake. You know how some things change the whole look and feel? Getting it back to original is hard for a newbie... ooops.
This is probably one of the worst aspect of this software. Every normal software should keep project files in its folder where all clips are etc. Export also - simple copy of folder with some extra options.
Casey, I run the non-studio version of Davinci and have been having cache location issues when working on projects on different computers. I have a PC at work and Mac at home with 2 different SSD's. Any suggestions? TY, love your channel.
Hi Casey - thanks for this. It makes more sense now! I've updated from 17 to 18 without archiving those projects from 17 (was still getting my head around it). I can't seem to find those projects I created when on 17 as they don't appear in my database. Any thoughts?
Rats! I just formatted and while I thought to backup the entire "users" folder off my C: hard drive, I'm just now learning that I needed to export projects and not just save them. I have a lot of .db files but no .dra or .drp files. What an absolute disaster.
So... I have watched several videos about archiving projects and no one is addressing what to do after archiving! I want to get old projects and media off my laptop hard drive and recover disk space. Is there a good way to do this so that I don't see archived projects that no longer reside on my laptop drive unless I want to restore? And more importantly delete the cached files and media files for that project off the drive to recover space. How about a video about that?
How do you save different versions of a project? V1, V2 etc. or Title france, title spain, title uk. My Premiere Projects just require a name change save as and you’re good to go.
Thank you for this video. I have a few questions. When you upgrade to version 17 can you work on any of your projects that you created in version 16? Also I have a folder that was created when I installed v 16 that is named "Resolve Project Backups" and it contains a bunch of folders labeled with a string of numbers and letters and inside those folders are more files labeled with a string of just numbers. What are these files? How could I tell which video they are connected with? Then there is another location shown in the Project Manager that has a hidden folder : Library ▸ Application Support ▸ Blackmagic Design ▸ DaVinci Resolve. Should you leave this location alone? This is so confusing about DataBases and making sure where they go and what they mean and if you can work on a project created in v16 when you upgrade to v17.
Hi Casey, mate we have been following you since I started using Davinci Resolve and luv your work. Can I confirm that when you archive a project it takes & saves a copy of the asset be it video photo & audio with it?
Thanks Casey! What is the difference between media files and proxy media files? Do I need to include the proxy media files if exporting a project archive?
Media files are the full resolution. Proxies are small, lite versions that are used to speed up editing. You probably don't need to include these in a .dra
I'm afraid I'm having troubles with exporting the archive. I edited a multi camera project on my laptops hard drive. Finished with it, then went to try and export the archive to an external, did that, put the laptop hard drive version in the trash, then when I go to open up the archive version everything is offline for some reason. And I can't relink elements because of Canons fancy / not so fancy indexing / merging of sequential files. any help would be greatly appreciated if there's any advice you could offer. Thank you
Interesting and nicely explained thank you. when moving to DResolve 17, i find when i finished editing and save the project DR17 safes but it also keeps information on the my template project i like in DR15 and seems to remove files from the rendering queue. Was wondering if you can help
I noticed the time-numbers on your timeline, are much more clearly visible than mine ones, which are unreadable for some reason, only in the edit window. The other windows are readable.
When a timeline .drt file along with the media is imported from one computer to another, does Davinci make copy and place it somewhere on the database? I can't find the .drt files where the database is. I am guessing Davinci just copies the .drt and then the .drt can be deleted.
so all these many gigs of render files taking up tons of space on my computer.... can i trash those or do i need to archive them on a separate drive to keep forever?
Hi! Is it possible to create chapters, dvd menu and deliver to dvd format…? (I have searched on youtube, but do not find anything meaningful for davinci use.)
So what if the project is too long and you want to cut it in half? how do you do that without losing all of the project? Example. I have an hour long video, I want to cut it in half. Is there a way to copy my clips/audio from where ive split it or do I have to reupload the whole hour long video into davinci?
If I started a project on DR17 for Windows, with media imported, and mostly built out, then decide to finish the project on a DR17 for Mac, what do I do? Are exports from a PC compatible with a Mac? I tried importing, but it said all of the media had failed, and I had a whole bunch of red on the screen.
Hello. I have received a project file which was exported with the latest free version of Davinci Resolve. I am unable to import the project file with my Studio version 18.1.2. First I thought maybe the different version is the issue, but the projectfile itself is only 80kb which seems to be not a normal size it's too small it should be 1+ MB. Do you have any idea what could be the issue? Thanks a lot.
I've been watching your videos for a few months now and what I really like is you clearly know this product (and video editing!) extremely well, but you keep your videos simple and easy for a muppet like me to follow - thank you so much.
Great tip about the export to archive, what a useful feature.
I've been playing with Resolve for a few years now, and this is quite possibly one of the most useful admin topics I've seen on t'internet-land. In fact I don't think I've come across a tutorial like this.
There is one more thing that I really, really, really appreciate with this specific tutorial. And that's not having to hear the closing mantra repeated by every single person who publishes an episode "Hit that Like Button, subscribe, bla, bla, bla".
It is incredibly boring, frustrating and tedious to hear that monotone mantra chanted on everything I watch. You played the self promotion just right with this episode.
So concise, So useful thanks Casey !
It was my struggle yesterday, thanks for clarifying this matter
THANK YOU! I was able to set up everything properly now.
Exactly what I needed to know. Inspired me with a little more confidence going forward. Many thanks. Really enjoy watching your material.
I find this frustrating coming from FCP and Premier. Although probably the only thing I've disliked so far. The problem is that when you do export a project to say - a specific external work drive. Then you decide you want to open this project later to make a few tweaks. It actually creates a copy and imports it back into the local database. There seems to be no option to open in place and then save in place.
This! So frustrating. We want our projects to be self contained within a folder, not scattered throughout our devices where they're difficult to track down.
Yeah, I find this a bit anxiety inducing as well. Also, I wonder how one should go about doing proper versioning with this system.
@@Alex-03I'm coming from FCP and am constantly work on various projects for different departments in my company that I would normally save in their own individual folder (footage, edits, deliverables, etc.). This is the one thing that makes me hesitate to make the switch to Resolve.
@@Alex-03 yeah its sucks on so many level
I'm coming from FILMORA and every single action on Resolve means watching tutorials for 3 hours, I wish FILMORA got their act together,.
People go crazy explain how backing up and restoring works - but I couldn’t find simpler video then this - even 3 minutes video is more confusing then what you shared in 6 minutes. Crazy ❤️🔥
You saved my bacon AGAIN... I upgraded my computer, and I thought I lost everything (insert PANIC)...Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
These are the basics I've always needed to know with my PCs since 1989. WHERE THINGS ARE. I guess there's a name for my condition but since I get asked a lot to retrieve images from other peoples' systems. I cannot stand the blind faith mentality of "it's on my computer." Davinci just changed up things a bit but this segment helps with parts of the puzzle, especially about using "export archive" which I think I'll be applying often for backups and sending off projects.
I have used tons of your tutorials and I love them, I also bought your course a while back and got some great value out of that too. Thank you for your content!
These DRA helped me a LOT !! Been watching your content always ! Thank you !
OMG. Life saver. And also reassuring. I've been driving myself mad wondering why you can't control where things are saved with "save as" and whether or not my files are being saved somewhere safe. Oh the uncertainty of it all. Thanks for the... resolve. Pun not planned but definitely intended.
Desperately needed this. I think I'm ready to switch.
thanks so much for that video, I needed exactly that kind of info
The idea to work with PostreSQL instead of with files, is great! At the end we can always export in files, if needed, but the reliability of a database is much higher
That was EXTREMELY HELPFUL thank you so much. This program is very strange so different from Premiere.
Thank you Casey!
Thank you sir, very helpful.
Thanks a lot for this video.
Finally, someone explained it simply and clearly:) K
Perfect tutorial, I just bought it and tNice tutorials helps heaps
Awesome, thanks! 👌
Really like your clear way of explanation and wonderful tone and friendliness. And I learned what I needed. Thank you.
Thanks 4 this video. It came in handy. Was looking 4 this info. Thanks AGAIN !!
Casey. Your videos are brilliant i am new to DR17 - it looks very powerful and your videos allow us newcomers to get an over and scope the editing package - your work is informative and excellent to give confidence to us newcomers to DR - thank you for your efforts greatly appreciated and developed my interest in Video creation - thank you.
Thank Casey!
Dude thank you.
Now THIS is how you make a great guide!
thank you
I just wanna give you a huge thanks for you cause tNice tutorials is the most helpful video I've had in a wNice tutorialle and it really helped so keep up the
Super helpful! Coming from Premiere I'm very much lost when it comes to the unique systems of Davinci!
Thank you!
Awesome TIPS!
Now I know how to save and manage, It's very different from Pr.
Amazing! Complete and quick (the way is should be)
Meny thanks to you for taking the time to make and post this great information.
valuable tips! thank you
This was perfect explanation! Thanks.
Thanks great video.
As usual very easy to understand and very useful content ! Thank you. A suggestion : it would be nice to have a quick guide about, what to do concretely, to keep organised medias/projects/database... Cause database is different from medias. So concretely, as a user, how am i supposed to manage all this ? When a project is finished, when my computer hard drive is almost full, what is the clean way of saving my medias/projects on another hard drive, without breaking the link database/medias... 🙂 Thank you !
very well explained, thank you.
Super helpful! Thank you Casey!
this is what I wanted, thank you.
I love love love love this channel, thank you Casey!
Found a video of some other dude explaining this, but he is not Casey.
So here I am 😎
Very handy information, thanks a lot !
Thank you.
Casey, mate. I love your videos. I would come back time and again simply to understand something or when I want to learn something new. This is video is a perfect example of that. However, I have to say, even if the videos were not as 'on point' as they are, I'd still come back. _ Why? For lines like: 'So, there you go. There's project loadin, savin, databasin'_ 😂😂😂
Your self-deprecating style and comic timing are fabulous. I can only imagine you guys have a ton of fun when working. I'm very jealous...In the best of ways. Keep up the fantastic work. I hope you are all well and keeping safe. Dave
Sorry, for some reason, I couldn't BOLD what I wanted...reasons...so I tried to italicise it. It has put underscores either end??? I thought they were and would render the italics when posted. I hope you all get what I was going for and meant. Ta, Dave
This is excellent! Thank you for putting it together.
Super Helpful. Thank You!
Casey, love your videos, and this one was excellent. I am like you and that I do not completely understand how to use one database and share it amongst my two Macintosh computers in my home. Can I put in a request for a video tutorial like that from you? Thank you love your stuff
This is such a helpful video! But, Davinci Studio 18 looks a little different...maybe an updated tutorial?
Very useful, thank you. I hate how Resolves handles projects, so frustrating
Love your videos.
I'm using DR18 and I can't find "New Database". How I can move my DB to a different drive?
good stuff
When you archive a project ( when you are done ) I always delete all my render cache, unless I am exporting them with the project for handoff. But you have to do this in the project before you close and export. In the off chance you have to reopen and rework something, you can just give the project some time to re cache... this will save you A LOT of space on your hard drive..
I just got a new computer and am new to Davinci, this sounds like what I'm trying to do to maximize efficiency while editing, but not fill my computer's HD up. I want to keep everything on my computer while working on it, but then once i've completed a project, back it all up on an external drive and free up the space on my computer's drive. How do i delete all the render cache once I'm done with a project? I assume exporting the .DRA file to the external drive first is a good start.
Thank you for the great video. I've heard that it's better keeping project media (database) in a different drive than your OS SSD drive.
I was told same; moved the dB to RAID. Learned that I need to keep current/active project(s) and media on my SSD, though, for fastest read/write and less errors while editing.
Thanks!
Great video. I've been using this app for a while now. Can I make folders in the Project Manager and drag old projects into the new folders to clean things up? It's getting messy in there. Edit: Never mind. I did it, checked it, and it works. Lots of organizing to do now.
Thanks for making this video, it really helped me :)
Perfect timing all the time!
For me it came one day too late. I had to find out myself how to export and it was terrible ;)
1:30 that was exactly what I was looking for. Is there a way to remove all media that is not in your timeline before you save a project archive?
This is helpful. Perhaps wrongly, I tend to avoid videos with a header snapshot of a person pointing.
Thank you extremly helpful!
Good stuff. I'm used to managing all my assets manually from my time with Adobe CC.
*QUESTION 1: On your Project Page at, for example 6:00, It says at the top _"Projects/May_2021."_ Did you create that folder _"May_2021"_ or did Resolve create that itself? Is knowing where that sub-folder useful?
*QUESTION 2:* What is the use of that "phantom" project outlined in red with _"Whatever You Want"_ under it?
Thanks for a fantastically useful channel and for keeping many of these tutorials short so I can find the specific subject I need *RIGHT NOW, 'CAUSE I'M STUCK IN MY EDIT.*
*SUBSCRIBED!*
Thanks, this was exactly what I was looking for. It's looks weird coming from Premiere Pro.
Hi Casey. I like very much your videos, I've learned a lot from them. I have a question for you, if you be so kind to enlighten me. I use to manage all my media manually and set it in folders of source files and rendered files. However, I'm scared that i could loose part of the information of the davinci projects once I have finished the work and i need to move it out of my computer's hard disk drive. What do you think could be the best procedure to keep safe all the data for historical storage, in case I need to use it in the future? Thanks in advance.
So helpful, thanks! Watched while waiting in pharmacy drive thru line. Thought of a new tagline for you...
Casey Faris: UN-wasting people's time, since 2013. 🙂
super thanx tutor
Great Tut Casey ! thank you
Very helpful; thanks!
Oh my god! Thank you .
I will be looking for how to restore the basic work space once I mess it up with a button click or mouse mistake. You know how some things change the whole look and feel? Getting it back to original is hard for a newbie... ooops.
This is probably one of the worst aspect of this software. Every normal software should keep project files in its folder where all clips are etc. Export also - simple copy of folder with some extra options.
Casey, I run the non-studio version of Davinci and have been having cache location issues when working on projects on different computers. I have a PC at work and Mac at home with 2 different SSD's. Any suggestions? TY, love your channel.
Thanx!
thanks a lot
hei Casey, I would like to know how can I get back from a Folder to the main Database. I tried but I coudn't do it
The "save as" function is a direct ticket to a surprise heart attack
Hi Casey - thanks for this. It makes more sense now! I've updated from 17 to 18 without archiving those projects from 17 (was still getting my head around it). I can't seem to find those projects I created when on 17 as they don't appear in my database. Any thoughts?
Rats! I just formatted and while I thought to backup the entire "users" folder off my C: hard drive, I'm just now learning that I needed to export projects and not just save them. I have a lot of .db files but no .dra or .drp files. What an absolute disaster.
So... I have watched several videos about archiving projects and no one is addressing what to do after archiving! I want to get old projects and media off my laptop hard drive and recover disk space. Is there a good way to do this so that I don't see archived projects that no longer reside on my laptop drive unless I want to restore? And more importantly delete the cached files and media files for that project off the drive to recover space. How about a video about that?
How do you save different versions of a project? V1, V2 etc. or Title france, title spain, title uk. My Premiere
Projects just require a name change save as and you’re good to go.
Does the database store media files? I'm coming from Final Cut where everything is packaged into a library file.
So I guess when I archived a special 55th Class Reunion Project, I wasn't supposed to make a special folder called (Davinci Resolve Archives)?
Thank you for this video. I have a few questions.
When you upgrade to version 17 can you work on any of your projects that you created in version 16?
Also I have a folder that was created when I installed v 16 that is named "Resolve Project Backups" and it contains a bunch of folders labeled with a string of numbers and letters and inside those folders are more files labeled with a string of just numbers. What are these files? How could I tell which video they are connected with?
Then there is another location shown in the Project Manager that has a hidden folder : Library ▸ Application Support ▸ Blackmagic Design ▸ DaVinci Resolve. Should you leave this location alone?
This is so confusing about DataBases and making sure where they go and what they mean and if you can work on a project created in v16 when you upgrade to v17.
Hi Casey, mate we have been following you since I started using Davinci Resolve and luv your work. Can I confirm that when you archive a project it takes & saves a copy of the asset be it video photo & audio with it?
Thanks Casey! What is the difference between media files and proxy media files? Do I need to include the proxy media files if exporting a project archive?
Media files are the full resolution. Proxies are small, lite versions that are used to speed up editing. You probably don't need to include these in a .dra
I'm afraid I'm having troubles with exporting the archive. I edited a multi camera project on my laptops hard drive. Finished with it, then went to try and export the archive to an external, did that, put the laptop hard drive version in the trash, then when I go to open up the archive version everything is offline for some reason. And I can't relink elements because of Canons fancy / not so fancy indexing / merging of sequential files. any help would be greatly appreciated if there's any advice you could offer. Thank you
Interesting and nicely explained thank you. when moving to DResolve 17, i find when i finished editing and save the project DR17 safes but it also keeps information on the my template project i like in DR15 and seems to remove files from the rendering queue. Was wondering if you can help
I just want to clip the start and the end of a video and then save that cropped file as a playable video - how do I do that?
I noticed the time-numbers on your timeline, are much more clearly visible than mine ones, which are unreadable for some reason, only in the edit window. The other windows are readable.
When I create an archive with media, does it copy all the files from the Media Pool or only the ones used in the timeline?
When a timeline .drt file along with the media is imported from one computer to another, does Davinci make copy and place it somewhere on the database? I can't find the .drt files where the database is. I am guessing Davinci just copies the .drt and then the .drt can be deleted.
so all these many gigs of render files taking up tons of space on my computer.... can i trash those or do i need to archive them on a separate drive to keep forever?
Hi! Is it possible to create chapters, dvd menu and deliver to dvd format…? (I have searched on youtube, but do not find anything meaningful for davinci use.)
So what if the project is too long and you want to cut it in half? how do you do that without losing all of the project? Example. I have an hour long video, I want to cut it in half. Is there a way to copy my clips/audio from where ive split it or do I have to reupload the whole hour long video into davinci?
What I'm confused about bw local and external database is, should we save the project internally, but can we use our footage from an external drive?
If I started a project on DR17 for Windows, with media imported, and mostly built out, then decide to finish the project on a DR17 for Mac, what do I do? Are exports from a PC compatible with a Mac? I tried importing, but it said all of the media had failed, and I had a whole bunch of red on the screen.
Hi, new to resolve from PP, first project, are my media files now copied to the database also, can I delete them from my desktop
Hello. I have received a project file which was exported with the latest free version of Davinci Resolve. I am unable to import the project file with my Studio version 18.1.2. First I thought maybe the different version is the issue, but the projectfile itself is only 80kb which seems to be not a normal size it's too small it should be 1+ MB. Do you have any idea what could be the issue? Thanks a lot.
Hi Casey, thank you so much for sharing - so should I be using project archive or project export after the final render (if any at all)? Thanks!