DaVinci Resolve — export the same edit for YouTube, LinkedIn, and Shorts

Overview

One source edit, three platform-specific exports, optionally automated with Python. The core principle: let Resolve's AI Smart Reframe do the reframing for you — do not manually keyframe Position for every clip when you change aspect ratio. Then save custom render presets so the next video is a one-click affair.

This skill also covers two merged JTBDs: auto-generating subtitles and batch-rendering with the Python API.

When to use

Symptoms:

• Need to ship the same video to YouTube + LinkedIn + Reels/Shorts/TikTok
• Need a vertical version of an existing 16:9 edit
• Need to add captions/subtitles to your video
• Want to automate "render this and that and the other" with a script
• Have multiple timelines to render in series and do not want to babysit Resolve

When NOT to use:

• One-off rendering of a single platform — use Quick Export (Edit page top-right cloud icon).
• DCP (digital cinema) export — separate Colorist Guide workflow (pp. 431-447).

Quick reference

For HITL Resolve handoffs, create separate timelines before rendering:

• Instagram Semantic Cut or equivalent for vertical social.
• YouTube Semantic Cut or equivalent for horizontal long form.
• V1/V2/V3 for source picture layers.
• V4 for burned-caption/title graphics.
• A1/A2 for source and processed dialogue.
• A3/A4 for music, SFX, bumpers.

Do not treat an SRT file as enough when the user asked for burned-in Netflix-style captions. Captions must be visible in the video frame and editable as a layer or template until final render.

Steps

Phase 1 — Reframe your 16:9 source for vertical and square versions

Editor's Guide pp. 569-575 covers AI Smart Reframe.

1. Press Shift-4 to go to the Edit page.
2. Right-click your master timeline in the Media Pool > Duplicate Timeline. Name the duplicate MASTER_TIMELINE_VERTICAL.
3. Open the duplicate. In the timeline, click the Timeline Resolution dropdown (top of the viewer) > custom > set to 1080x1920 (vertical).
4. Resolve will warn that clips will be cropped. Click OK.
5. Select all clips. Right-click > Smart Reframe (Studio only — for free Resolve, use manual keyframes via the Position parameter in the Inspector).
6. In the Smart Reframe dialog, choose Object of Interest: Auto and click Reframe. Resolve adds keyframes that keep the main subject in frame even as the aspect ratio crops the edges.
7. Scrub through and check — if a clip drifted (e.g. the AI followed the wrong person), select that clip and either:
   • Reset Position keyframes and use the Reference Point mode to manually click the subject
   • Or set Position X manually via the Inspector
8. Repeat for MASTER_TIMELINE_SQUARE at 1080x1080.

Editor's Guide pp. 572-575 covers the Reference Point fallback when AI Smart Reframe picks the wrong subject.

Phase 2 — Add captions with AI-generated subtitles

Editor's Guide pp. 586-590 covers Create Subtitles from Audio.

1. With your timeline open, choose Timeline menu > AI Tools > Create Subtitles from Audio.
2. In the dialog:
   • Language: Auto (or specific language)
   • Caption Preset: Subtitle Default
   • Maximum: 42 characters per line
   • Lines: Single (or Double if you have very long sentences)
   • Gap Between Subtitles: 0 frames
3. Click Create. Resolve transcribes and adds a Subtitle track to your timeline.
4. Fix the inevitable errors — playback the timeline, double-click any subtitle clip in the Subtitle track to edit the text. The AI gets technical terms, brand names, and acronyms wrong constantly.
5. To export subtitles as an SRT file, right-click the Subtitle track > Export Subtitles > choose SRT format.

Phase 3 — Build the three render presets

Editor's Guide pp. 577-580 covers Save As New Preset.

1. Press Shift-8 to switch to the Deliver page.
2. In Render Settings, click H.264 Master.
3. Configure:
   • File Name: type %timeline_name then choose the Timeline Name variable from the dropdown
   • Location: browse to your 08 — Exports folder
   • Render: Single clip
   • Video tab: Format = MP4, Codec = H.264, Resolution = Timeline Resolution (this picks up the current timeline's dimensions)
   • Audio tab > Export Audio: ON, Codec AAC, Bit Rate 320 Kb/s
   • Audio tab > Audio Normalization: enable Normalize Audio > Optimize to standard > Standard = YouTube (-14 LUFS, -1.0 dBTP)
4. Click the Options menu (...) at top of Render Settings > Save As New Preset.
5. Name: DEVREL_YOUTUBE_1080. Check Add to quick export. Save.
6. Repeat for LinkedIn (1080x1080, audio standard = Streaming) and Shorts (1080x1920, audio standard = Streaming).

Phase 4 — Queue and render all three

1. Open your YouTube timeline > Deliver page > select DEVREL_YOUTUBE_1080 preset > click Add to Render Queue.
2. Switch to your LinkedIn timeline > Deliver page > select DEVREL_LINKEDIN_1080 preset > Add to Render Queue.
3. Switch to your Shorts timeline > Deliver page > select DEVREL_SHORTS_1080 preset > Add to Render Queue.
4. In the Render Queue panel (right side), click Render All.
5. Walk away. Resolve renders all three serially.

Python automation — batch render multiple timelines

This is the merged "batch render with Python API" JTBD. The script below assumes Resolve is running, a project is open, and you have already saved render presets named DEVREL_YOUTUBE_1080, DEVREL_LINKEDIN_1080, DEVREL_SHORTS_1080. The script walks every timeline in the project and adds a render job for each preset that matches the timeline's aspect ratio.

See scripts/multi_platform_render.py for the full script.

The script uses the official DaVinci Resolve scripting API as documented in DaVinci Resolve/Developer/Scripting/README.txt:

Resolve.GetProjectManager()
ProjectManager.GetCurrentProject()
Project.GetTimelineByIndex(idx)
Project.GetTimelineCount()
Project.LoadRenderPreset(preset_name)
Project.SetRenderSettings(settings_dict)
Project.AddRenderJob()
Project.StartRendering()
Project.IsRenderingInProgress()

These methods are real and documented. The script has been written defensively — it prints what it would do before doing it, and it confirms via stdin before starting the actual render.

Common mistakes

• Manually keyframing Position to vertical-frame every clip -> there is a button for that. Use AI Smart Reframe (Studio) or at minimum the per-clip Reframe button in the Inspector. (Editor's Guide pp. 572-575.) (This is the misconception this skill addresses head-on.)
• Saving the YouTube preset without enabling audio normalization -> your videos will be inconsistent across uploads. Always enable Optimize to standard.
• Forgetting that AI Smart Reframe is Studio-only -> free Resolve has manual Position keyframes only. Either upgrade or accept manual reframing.
• Trusting AI-generated subtitles without proofreading -> always playback and fix. They will mangle product names, acronyms, and technical jargon.
• Rendering all three timelines at once on a single GPU -> Resolve renders serially anyway. There is no penalty for queueing all three; do not start three Resolve instances.

Verification

You succeeded if all of the following are true:

1. Your 08 — Exports folder contains three MP4 files: one 1920x1080, one 1080x1080, one 1080x1920.
2. Each file plays cleanly when dragged into VLC / QuickTime.
3. The vertical version keeps the main subject in frame for the entire duration (no awkward background-only stretches).
4. Subtitles burn in correctly on platforms that auto-display them, or are exported as .srt for upload alongside the MP4.
5. Audio loudness measured by a third-party LUFS meter (e.g. YouLean Loudness Meter, free) reads -14 LUFS ±1 for the YouTube file.

Transfer

Now try this: add a fourth target — Twitter / X video at 1920x1080 but capped at 2:20 duration. Build a Twitter timeline that is a shorter cut of your master (use the trim workflow from davinci-resolve-cut-screen-recording). Save a new DEVREL_TWITTER_1080 render preset. Add it to the Python script. You now have a one-script, four-platform export pipeline.

Working reference

• docs/wiki/editors-guide.md#lesson-9--delivering-projects-pp-545-617 (full Deliver chapter — primary)
• docs/wiki/editors-guide.md#lesson-9--delivering-projects-pp-545-617 (AI Smart Reframe specifics inside the chapter notes)
• docs/wiki/master.md#shared-glossary-terms-that-appear-across-multiple-pdfs (LUFS / dBTP / AI Smart Reframe glossary)
• docs/wiki/master.md#reset-matrix--when-the-user-pushes-back-read-this (Smart Reframe + render failure rows)

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

If the user reports Smart Reframe drift, render failures, missing subtitles, or wrong loudness on delivered files, read these PDF page ranges to reset:

• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 545-617 (Lesson 9 — Delivering Projects, full chapter)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 569-575 (AI Smart Reframe — Object of Interest vs Reference Point modes)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 577-580 (Creating a Custom Render Preset)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 586-590 (Generating Subtitles from Audio)
• DaVinci-Resolve-20-Editors-Guide.pdf pp. 597-617 (Customizing Deliver Presets, Verifying the Exported Files)
• DaVinci Resolve Scripting API: DaVinci Resolve/Developer/Scripting/README.txt (shipped with installer)