DaVinci Resolve · Cutting and the timeline
How to make slow motion in DaVinci Resolve
The short answer
Set the clip below 100% with Change Clip Speed (R), then in the Inspector open Retime and Scaling and set Retime Process to Optical Flow for smoother in-between frames. Speed Warp, the AI motion estimation option, is in DaVinci Resolve Studio only.
6 steps
In DaVinci Resolve
- 01Use high-frame-rate footage if you have it
- 02Set the speed
- 03Choose how frames are made
- 04Pick the motion estimation
- 05Ramp into slow motion
- 06Render and check
01
Use high-frame-rate footage if you have it
For a 60 or 120 fps clip on a 24 or 30 fps timeline, right-click it in the Media Pool, choose Clip Attributes, and set the Video frame rate to the timeline's rate. It then plays as real slow motion with no made-up frames.
02
Set the speed
Select the clip on the timeline, press R, type a speed below 100% (50% is half speed), tick Ripple Sequence and click Change.
03
Choose how frames are made
Open the Inspector, go to Retime and Scaling, and set Retime Process to Optical Flow. Frame Blend is quicker but softer; Nearest repeats frames.
04
Pick the motion estimation
Under Motion Estimation, choose a quality setting. Speed Warp gives the cleanest result on hard motion but is Studio-only.
05
Ramp into slow motion
Press Cmd+R (Mac) or Ctrl+R (Windows) for Retime Controls, add a speed point where the move starts, and set the section after it to a slower speed.
06
Render and check
Optical Flow is heavy. Play the result with render cache on, and look for warping around edges and hands.
Good to know
Before you start
- Note 1
- The project default for Retime Process is in Project Settings > Master Settings under Frame Interpolation. The Inspector setting overrides it per clip.
- Note 2
- Optical Flow struggles with motion blur, crossing objects and fast camera moves. Shooting at a higher frame rate always looks better than made-up frames.
Eddie AI
Do it in Eddie
Eddie slows shots down and ramps into slow motion when you ask.
Ask "Slow this shot to half speed" or "Ramp into slow motion as she jumps." Eddie won't ramp a shot while someone is talking unless you insist. The speed change arrives in Resolve as a real speed change on the clip, so you can then choose Optical Flow or Speed Warp there.
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.
FAQ
Questions
- Is Speed Warp available in the free DaVinci Resolve?
- No. Speed Warp is a DaVinci Neural Engine feature in Resolve Studio. The free version has Optical Flow.
- Why is my slow motion choppy?
- Retime Process is set to Nearest, which repeats frames. Switch it to Optical Flow in the Inspector, or conform high-frame-rate footage first.
