Master DaVinci Resolve Slow Motion Effects with the Top 3 Ways

Slow-motion effects can add drama to your videos. This guide will explain how to use Davinci's slow-motion for your videos. CapCut, the top editing software that also supports slow-motion effects, has also been discussed here. Try it today!

davinci resolve slow motion
CapCut
CapCut2024-10-20
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Mastering the effects of slow motion in DaVinci Resolve can transform an ordinary video into a visual masterpiece. So, if you want to know how to make slow motion in Davinci, read this article as we inform you about the top 3 methods to use Davinci Resolve for slow-motion effects. We have also discussed the top video editing software, CapCut, for creating slow-motion effects. Now, let's dive into these techniques for flawless results.

Table of content

DaVinci Resolve smooth slow motion effects: Top 3 methods

DaVinci Resolve is a powerful video editing software known for its advanced color grading and professional editing tools. You can also make smooth slow-motion videos in DaVinci Resolve to enhance your video's appeal. To achieve cinematic-quality slow-motion videos, let's explore the following three methods to use DaVinci Resolve to produce slow-motion videos.

Method 1: Use Optical Flow

    Step
  1. Import the video
  2. To produce smooth slow-motion effects in DaVinci Resolve, open Davinci Resolve and create a new project. Next, click on the "Media" tab at the bottom. Go to "File," then "Import," to select your footage. After that, go to the "Edit" tab and drag and drop the video onto the timeline.
  3. 
    Import the video
  4. Step
  5. Apply Optical Flow
  6. Once the video is imported, it's time to apply slow-motion effects in Davinci Resolve using Optical Flow. For this purpose, right-click on the timeline and select "Change Clip Speed." In this window, adjust the speed to slow down the video. Now, go to the "Inspector" panel at the top right and scroll down to the "Retime and Scaling" section. Under "Retime Process," choose "Optical Flow." Select "Enhanced Faster" under the "Motion Estimation" section to achieve better results.
  7. 
    Apply Optical Flow
  8. Step
  9. Export the video
  10. After finalizing your video, go to the "Render Settings" tab located at the top left corner of the screen. Then, select the export preferences, such as resolution, format, file name, and location. Next, click "Add Render Queue" and "Start Render" to save the video to your PC.
  11. 
    Export the video

Method 2: Use the Boris FX Continuum plugin

    Step
  1. Import the video
  2. To produce slow-motion effects in DaVinci Resolve 18, first go to the "Media" tab. Next, import your video by dragging it into the Media Pool. Alternatively, go to "File" then "Import Media." After that, go to the "Edit" tab and drag and drop the video onto the timeline.
  3. 
    Import the video
  4. Step
  5. Apply the Boris FX Continuum plugin
  6. To use the Boris FX Continuum plugin, ensure it is installed in DaVinci Resolve. Then, select the video clip, open the "Effects Library," and go to the "Open FX" section. Find the "BCC Optical Flow" category and drag the "Frame Rate Converter" effect onto your clip. Navigate to the "Inspector" panel to adjust the settings, like speed and frame blending. Preview the adjustments to ensure that the video meets your requirements.
  7. 
    Apply the Boris FX Continuum plugin
  8. Step
  9. Export the video
  10. After finalizing your video, go to the "Render Settings" tab located at the top left corner of the screen. Then, select the export preferences, such as resolution, format, file name, and location. Next, click "Add Render Queue" and "Start Render" to save the video to your PC.
  11. 
    Export the video

Method 3: Use the Retime Curve

    Step
  1. Import the video
  2. To produce slow-motion clips in DaVinci Resolve using the Retime Curve, first, create a new project. Next, go to the "Media" tab to import your video using "File" and then "Import Media." Then go to the "Edit" tab and drag the video onto the timeline.
  3. 
    Import the video
  4. Step
  5. Use the Retime Curve
  6. To produce slow-motion effects in DaVinci Resolve, right-click on the video in the timeline and choose "Retime Controls." Next, click the arrow on the Retime bar and select "Retime Curve." In the Retime Curve, click on the curve to pinpoint the places where you want to change the speed. To slow down the video, drag these points downward. You can also adjust the curve shape to make smooth transitions.
  7. 
    Use the Retime Curve
  8. Step
  9. Export the video
  10. After finalizing your video, go to the "Render Settings" tab located at the top left corner of the screen. Then, select the export preferences, such as resolution, format, file name, and location. Next, click "Add Render Queue" and "Start Render" to save the video to your PC.
  11. 
    Export the video

These are the top 3 methods for creating the effects of slow-motion in DaVinci Resolve. However, the main problem with DaVinci Resolve is its steps are quite complicated. So, if you want to apply slow-motion effects with a few clicks, you can try CapCut. The following section discusses this software.

Use CapCut to create slow-motion effects effortlessly

CapCut is powerful video editing software known for its intuitive interface, making it suitable for beginners and professionals. It is also one of the best tools for creating slow-motion effects with minimal effort. The great thing about the software is that you can manually customize the video speed with the speed options. Moreover, you can have more control over speed transitions by using the "Curve Speed Adjustment" feature. You can download and try CapCut and effortlessly create slow-motion effects for videos here:

Steps to use CapCut to create slow-motion effects

    Step
  1. Import the video
  2. First, open CapCut and click "New Project." Next, click "Import" to select a video from your PC. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the video to your timeline. If the video is already present in CapCut, go to "My Spaces" to access it.
  3. 
    Import the video
  4. Step
  5. Apply slow-motion effects
  6. To apply slow-motion effects, select the video in the timeline and click the "Speed" option in the toolbar. Move the bar to the left to slow down the video using the speed sliders. You can also select "Smooth slow-mo" to get a better result. For more precise speed adjustments, select the "Curve" option to create gradual speed changes. After that, preview the video to ensure that it meets your requirements.
  7. 
    Apply slow-motion effects
  8. Step
  9. Export and share
  10. Once satisfied, click "Export" in the top right corner of the screen. Then, select the desired resolution and format and click "Export" to save the slow-motion video to your PC. You can directly share the video to TikTok or YouTube.
  11. 
    Export and share

Key features

  • Basic speed adjustment: CapCut allows you to change the video speed. You can control the speed for quick slow-motion and fast-motion effects.
  • Curve speed adjustment: The software offers curve speed adjustment options to create dynamic slow-motion effects to create dramatic slow-motion effects. This is especially helpful for creative storytelling, as it adds drama to your videos.
  • Adjustable video duration: With CapCut, you can modify the length of your video by entering the expected duration. Then, it will speed up or slow down your video automatically.

Now that you know how to create the effects of slow motion in DaVinci Resolve and CapCut, where can we use slow-motion videos? Let's explore the use cases in the next section.

Common use cases of slow-motion videos

  • Sports highlights
  • Slow-motion videos are great for sports highlights as they capture the precision and intensity of athletic performances. They mesmerize the viewers at key moments, like a soccer goal or a basketball dunk.
  • Educational videos
  • Slow-motion videos are effective for educators as they help them teach complex experiments, like mechanical movements and chemical reactions. This makes it easier for learners to process and understand them.
  • Movies and music videos
  • Filmmakers use slow-motion videos to enhance story-telling by creating dramatic visuals. This focuses on emotional moments, adding depth to the scenes in different movies and music videos.
  • Natural and wildlife videos
  • Different nature documentaries utilize slow-motion videos to show animal movements, behaviors, and interactions. This gives a detailed view of wildlife typically missed at normal speeds.

Conclusion

Slow-motion videos are essential for adding depth and drama to your videos. DaVinci Resolve's slow-motion effects effectively create slow-motion videos, making it the ideal choice for professionals. However, they can be quite complex for beginners. So, people looking for a user-friendly platform with effective tools for slow-motion effects should choose CapCut. Its features, like speed adjustment options and precise speed curve adjustment, make it the top choice for beginners. Apart from the speed adjustment tools, CapCut also supports you in adding creative visual elements for the videos or removing the video background. Don't wait anymore; just download CapCut and enhance your video editing experience from now on!

FAQs

  1. Are Davinci slow-motion effects free to use?
  2. Yes, you can use the basic version of Davinci Resolve's slow-motion effects for free. However, it requires complicated steps, and you need the paid Studio version to access the advanced features. Alternatively, you can use CapCut to make slow-motion videos. It is a great tool to get professional slow-motion effects for free. Its simple user interface and rich editing features will meet most of your video needs.
  3. What are the new features for slow motion in DaVinci Resolve 18?
  4. Davinci Resolve 18 has several new features for slow-motion effects. These include enhanced optical flow algorithms and retime controls, which help you easily adjust the speed and timing of videos. Moreover, compared to the previous versions, DaVinci Resolve 18 is more user-friendly, helping you easily create slow-motion effects. These updates have improved the users' overall efficiency and experience when editing videos.
  5. How to achieve smooth DaVinci Resolve slow-motion effects with 60fps footage?
  6. To achieve slow-motion effects with 60fps footage, import your video and adjust the clip speed. The "Optical flow" method is the most suitable for enhancing the visual quality of slow-motion scenes. The same goes for using DaVinci Resolve slow-motion effects with 120fps footage. The 120fps video provides greater flexibility when slowing down the videos. Moreover, you can use CapCut to create slow-motion effects on 24, 25, 30, 50, and 60 fps videos.
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