DaVinci Resolve — reusable DevRel project template

Overview

A pre-configured Resolve project that you duplicate for every new video. It contains: a sensible bin hierarchy, a 1080p / 23.976 fps timeline, three render presets (YouTube 16:9, LinkedIn 1:1, Shorts 9:16), a starter color node tree, and a 100-track Fairlight timeline preset. Saved once, reused forever.

When to use

Symptoms:

• You ship a new video every 1-4 weeks for the same channel/audience
• You catch yourself recreating the same bin structure every time
• You want render queue presets that match your platforms' specs
• A teammate keeps asking "what render settings do you use for X"

When NOT to use:

• You only ship one or two videos a year (the setup cost is not worth it).
• You are editing a one-off feature film (different structural needs).

Quick reference

Steps

1. Create the empty project that becomes the template

1. In the Project Manager, click New Project.
2. Name it DEVREL_TEMPLATE_v1.
3. Double-click to open it.

2. Build the bin hierarchy in the Media Pool

1. Press Shift-4 to go to the Edit page (or click Edit at the bottom).
2. Open the Media Pool (top-left button).
3. Right-click the Master bin > New Bin. Name it 01 — Footage.
4. Repeat for: 02 — Audio, 03 — Music, 04 — Graphics, 05 — SFX, 06 — VO, 07 — Timelines, 08 — Exports.

The numeric prefixes force the bins to sort in workflow order. See templates/devrel-bin-structure.txt in this skill for a copy-pasteable list.

3. Build a Power Bin that survives across projects

Standard bins are project-scoped. Power Bins are project-library-scoped — perfect for music stings, brand logos, animated graphics you reuse.

1. View menu > Show Power Bins.
2. In the Power Bins panel, right-click > New Bin. Name it BRAND ASSETS.
3. Drag your logo PNG/SVG and any reusable music files in. Future projects in the same library will see this bin.

Editor's Guide p. 317 covers Power Bins in detail.

4. Create the master timeline

1. File > New Timeline (Cmd-N / Ctrl-N).
2. Uncheck Use Project Settings.
3. Set:
   • Timeline name: MASTER_TIMELINE
   • Start Timecode: 01:00:00:00 (standard broadcast convention)
   • Video tracks: 3 (V1: main, V2: titles, V3: B-roll/overlays)
   • Audio tracks: 5 (Stereo on all)
   • Resolution: 1920x1080
   • Frame rate: 23.976 (or 29.97 if your audience is North American TV-trained, or 25 if you are in Europe)
4. Create. Move the new timeline to the 07 — Timelines bin.

5. Name and color-code the audio tracks

1. Double-click the Audio 1 track name and rename to DIALOGUE. Right-click the track header > color > Teal.
2. Repeat:
   • Audio 2: VO (Violet)
   • Audio 3: SFX (Orange)
   • Audio 4: MUSIC (Olive)
   • Audio 5: BUS (Gray — this is your scratch/safety track)
3. Right-click any track > Lock Track if you want to prevent accidental edits later.

This naming is loosely based on the structure shown in Fairlight Audio Post pp. 527-528 for documentary projects.

6. Save the Fairlight timeline configuration as a preset

This is the magic: the entire timeline structure (tracks, busses, names) can be saved as a Fairlight Configuration Preset and applied to any future new timeline.

1. Press Shift-7 to switch to the Fairlight page.
2. Fairlight menu > Presets Library.
3. Change Filter by dropdown to Fairlight Configuration Presets.
4. Click Save New. In the dialog, click Create New.
5. Name it DEVREL_5_TRACK_TEMPLATE. Click OK.

Now any new timeline created in this project (or any project in the same library) can opt into this preset via the Use Fairlight Preset checkbox when creating.

Fairlight Audio Post pp. 530-531 documents this workflow.

7. Build the three render presets — YouTube, LinkedIn, Shorts

Each preset reuses the same source timeline but with different reframing and dimensions. See the dedicated skill davinci-resolve-export-multi-platform for the full workflow including AI Smart Reframe. Here is the short version for getting the presets saved into the template:

1. Press Shift-8 to switch to the Deliver page.
2. In Render Settings, click H.264 Master.
3. Set File Name field to %timeline_name (variable). Click the variable dropdown if you want %timestamp appended.
4. Set Resolution: 1920x1080, Frame Rate: Timeline Resolution.
5. Audio tab > Audio Normalization > Optimize to standard > Standard: YouTube. This bakes in YouTube's -14 LUFS standard.
6. Click the Options menu (...) at the top of Render Settings > Save As New Preset.
7. Name: DEVREL_YOUTUBE_1080. Check Add to quick export. Save.
8. Repeat for LinkedIn (1080x1080, audio standard = streaming) and Shorts (1080x1920, audio standard = streaming).

Editor's Guide pp. 577-580 documents this exact workflow including the YouTube audio normalization standard at -14 LKFS / -1.0 dBTP.

8. Save the project as a template

Resolve does not have a true "save as template" command — the workflow is to duplicate the project for each new edit.

1. Close the project (File > Close Current Project, or just go back to Project Manager).
2. In Project Manager, right-click DEVREL_TEMPLATE_v1 > Duplicate.
3. Rename the duplicate to 2026-05-WhateverVideo.
4. Open the duplicate, replace media, edit. Your template stays clean.

You can also Export Project Archive (right-click in Project Manager) to ship the template as a .dra file to teammates.

Common mistakes

• Treating Smart Bins like Folder Bins -> Smart Bins are dynamic queries (e.g. "all clips tagged 'interview'"). They are not folders. Use regular bins for hierarchy and Smart Bins for filtering. Editor's Guide p. 302.
• Forgetting that Power Bins span projects -> If you delete a clip from a Power Bin while editing one project, it disappears from every project that uses that Power Bin. Be careful.
• Picking the wrong frame rate -> Once a timeline has clips in it, changing the frame rate causes retiming. Decide upfront. 23.976 is the cinematic standard; use 29.97 if your audience watches your videos on a North-American TV; use 25 if you are in Europe.
• Saving the YouTube render preset without enabling audio normalization -> your audio will be inconsistent across uploads. Always enable Optimize to standard.

Verification

You succeeded if all of the following are true:

1. Project Manager shows DEVREL_TEMPLATE_v1 and you can right-click > Duplicate it.
2. Opening the template shows the eight numbered bins in the Media Pool.
3. The Quick Export menu (Edit page > top-right cloud icon) shows your DEVREL_YOUTUBE_1080, DEVREL_LINKEDIN_1080, DEVREL_SHORTS_1080 presets.
4. Creating a new timeline with Use Fairlight Preset checked offers DEVREL_5_TRACK_TEMPLATE in the dropdown.
5. The duplicate project (your actual working project) has empty bins but identical structure.

Transfer

Now try this: ship one real video using the duplicated project. After you have shipped, go back to the template and add anything you wished was there (a specific lower-third graphic, an SFX bin you reused, an additional render preset for Twitter/X). Version-bump the template to DEVREL_TEMPLATE_v2. Templates compound — each iteration shortens future setup time.

Working reference

• docs/wiki/editors-guide.md#lesson-5--project-organization-pp-245-321 (bins, Smart Bins, Power Bins — primary)
• docs/wiki/editors-guide.md#lesson-9--delivering-projects-pp-545-617 (render presets workflow)
• docs/wiki/fairlight-audio-post.md#lesson-8--busses-and-nested-timelines-pp-475-533 (Fairlight timeline preset)
• docs/wiki/master.md#shared-glossary-terms-that-appear-across-multiple-pdfs (bin vs Smart Bin vs Power Bin definitions)

When the agent's work isn't matching expectations (context-rot reset)

If the user pushes back on the template structure, bin types, render presets, or Fairlight preset workflow, read these PDF page ranges to reset:

• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 246-321 (Lesson 5 — Project Organization, full bin/metadata workflow)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 317-321 (Power Bins — specifically the library-scoping behavior)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 577-580 (Creating a Custom Render Preset)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 246-253 (Creating a New Project and Project Settings)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Fairlight-Audio-Post.pdf pp. 525-532 (Creating a Timeline Template)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Fairlight-Audio-Post.pdf pp. 530-532 (Saving a Timeline Configuration in the Presets Library)