DaVinci Resolve Keywords Explained

Guide to Using Keywords Effectively

Feeling bogged down sorting through mountains of footage? Whether it’s hours from a wedding shoot – capturing the first dance, speeches, cake cutting, and all that essential B-roll – or any large project, finding that one perfect shot can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. It kills your momentum and pulls you out of the creative flow.

But what if I told you there’s a powerful, built-in DaVinci Resolve feature that can dramatically speed up your editing and keep your projects perfectly organized?

That’s where keywords come in. Knowing how to effectively use keywords in DaVinci Resolve has been a game-changer for my workflow, especially when I need to build a compelling story from lots of clips.

In the video above, I walk you through exactly how to leverage keywords, using a wedding project as an example (though these techniques apply to any project!). Below, I’ll break down the key concepts we covered.

Why Bother with Keywords? Speed and Sanity.

Simply put, keywords save you hours in the edit. Instead of scrubbing endlessly or clicking through dozens of bins, you can instantly pull up relevant footage. This means:

1. Faster Editing: Find specific moments, reactions, or B-roll shots in seconds.
2. Better Organization: Keep track of complex projects with lots of different scene types or subjects.
3. Improved Storytelling: Stay focused on crafting the narrative instead of getting lost searching for clips.
4. Easier Collaboration: Help other editors (or even your future self!) quickly understand and navigate the footage.

How to Add Keywords in DaVinci Resolve (The Easy Ways)

There are a couple of great methods I use for adding keywords:

1. The Metadata Panel:
   • Select the clip(s) you want to tag in your Media Pool.
   • Open the Metadata panel (usually in the top right).
   • By default, it shows ‘Clip Details’. Click the dropdown and select Shot and Scene.
   • Find the Keywords field and simply start typing!
   • If the keyword already exists in your project’s dictionary (more on that later), it will autosuggest. Just select it.
   • If it’s a new keyword, type it out and hit Enter.
   • This method is great for selecting multiple clips in a folder and applying the same keyword(s) all at once.
2. The Keyword Manager (My Faster Method):
   • This is my go-to for speed. Access it via the Workspace menu > Keyword Manager.
   • Here, you can pre-load up to nine frequently used keywords as ‘Favorites’.
   • Each favorite is automatically mapped to a keyboard shortcut: Alt/Option + Shift + [Number 1-9].
   • Now, just select your clip(s) in the Media Pool (or even on the timeline!) and hit the shortcut for the keyword you want to apply. No typing needed!

• Pro Tip: Tagging clips directly on the timeline can be super useful if you have an assistant editor reviewing footage or if you prefer skimming through sequences that way.

Consistency is Key: The Keyword Dictionary

Avoid the trap of using variations like “bride,” “bridal,” “the bride,” and “her” for the same subject. This makes searching less effective. DaVinci Resolve helps enforce consistency with the Keyword Dictionary.

You can manage this dictionary within the Keyword Manager (Workspace > Keyword Manager). Sticking to consistent terms here makes finding everything much easier later.

The Payoff: Finding Footage Instantly with Smart Bins

So, you’ve tagged your footage. How does this actually help you find things? Enter Smart Bins.

• In the Media Pool, click the three little dots (…) in the top-right corner and make sure Show Smart Bins is enabled.
• If your Bin List is open on the left, you’ll now see a Smart Bins section.
• Open it up, and you’ll find a sub-folder for Keywords. Inside, Resolve automatically creates a bin for every single keyword you’ve used in the project!
• Click on a keyword bin (e.g., “First Dance,” “Speeches,” “Bride”), and only the clips tagged with that keyword will appear. It’s incredibly efficient.
• Bonus: You can also tag clips by dragging them directly from the Media Pool into one of these keyword Smart Bins!