Eddie AI
Contact salesSign inSign up
Features
Solutions
Resources
PricingGet the appContact salesSign in
EddieDaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve · Cutting and the timeline

How to make a compound clip in DaVinci Resolve

Updated 5 stepsFor DaVinci Resolve

The short answer

Select the clips on the timeline, right-click and choose New Compound Clip, and give it a name. To edit inside it, right-click and choose Open in Timeline; to break it apart again, right-click and choose Decompose in Place.

Jump to the steps Do it in Eddie
A close view of an editing timeline with blue and purple clips and the playhead.
Photo by Peter Stumpf on Unsplash

5 steps

In DaVinci Resolve

  1. 01Select the clips
  2. 02Create the compound clip
  3. 03Edit inside it
  4. 04Treat it as one clip
  5. 05Break it apart

  1. 01

    Select the clips

    On the Edit page, select the clips to group, across as many tracks as you need.

  2. 02

    Create the compound clip

    Right-click the selection and choose New Compound Clip. Name it and click Create. The clips become one clip on the timeline and a new item in the Media Pool.

  3. 03

    Edit inside it

    Right-click the compound clip and choose Open in Timeline. Make your changes, then go back with the timeline name menu or the back arrow at the top of the timeline.

  4. 04

    Treat it as one clip

    Apply a grade, an effect, a transform or a speed change to the whole compound clip at once.

  5. 05

    Break it apart

    Right-click and choose Decompose in Place to return the original clips to the timeline.

Good to know

Before you start

Note 1
Changes inside a compound clip show everywhere you used that compound clip, because they all point to the same Media Pool item.
Note 2
Compound clips often don't survive an XML or EDL export. Decompose them before handing the timeline to another editor.

Eddie AI

Do it in Eddie

Eddie doesn't make compound clips; it works with whole edits.

In Eddie, each version is its own edit, and every prompt changes that edit. You can also cut several short clips from one video as separate edits. In Resolve, group the parts you want to treat as a block into compound clips after the hand-off.

Back to Resolve

Open the edit, click Export and choose Resolve. The default is a Resolve project (.drp) that opens with the timeline built; behind the arrow is a Resolve FCPXML you bring into the project you have open with File > Import > Timeline. In the desktop app, Send to DaVinci Resolve builds the timeline in the Resolve you have running, through Eddie's script (Workspace > Scripts > Eddie AI AE).

If you imported the footage through the desktop app, the timeline points at your original camera files. If you uploaded on the web or pulled from cloud storage, it points at Eddie's proxy media: relink to those in the Media Pool with Relink Selected Clips, not to the camera originals.

Try it in Eddie freeNew accounts start with 500 free credits.
A one-minute rough cut of eight shots in Eddie, with filler words removed and a prompt to cut a 60-second teaser.

From the help center

FAQ

Questions

What is the difference between a compound clip and a nested timeline?
Both group clips. A compound clip is a Media Pool item you create from a selection; a nested timeline is another timeline edited into this one. Both open for editing in the same way.
How do I undo a compound clip in Resolve?
Right-click it and choose Decompose in Place.

Cutting and the timeline

More DaVinci Resolve questions

Let Eddie do the DaVinci Resolve busywork

Add your footage, say what you want, and send the cut back to your editor. New accounts start with free credits.

Try Eddie freeSee pricing