Studio 21.1.1
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FRAMING & MOTION

How to crop a video

DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1 · Original practical guide

Cropping removes visible edges of a clip. It is different from changing timeline resolution, and it can reveal another layer underneath instead of automatically filling the frame.

Before you begin

Select a video clip on the Edit timeline and open the Inspector.

ACTUAL RESOLVE INTERFACEView full size ↗
Crop overlay in the timeline viewer
Crop overlay in the timeline viewer Reference example from the DaVinci Resolve 21.1 manual, page 1213. Software screenshot © Blackmagic Design. The demonstration media and selected settings may differ from your project.

Step by step

  1. On Edit, select the timeline clip and open Inspector > Video > Cropping.
  2. Adjust Left, Right, Top, or Bottom while watching the viewer. Use a small change first to understand which edge is affected.
  3. If the remaining picture must fill the frame, adjust Transform > Zoom and Position separately. Check the image at its final display size.
  4. Scrub the entire clip to ensure the crop does not cut off a moving face, hand, subtitle, or important object.

Check your result

The unwanted edge is gone and the subject stays correctly framed throughout the shot.

If it doesn’t work as expected

Cropping is not a replacement for a vertical timeline. Set the output shape first when making a portrait version, then reframe each shot.

BUILD THE UNDERLYING SKILL

Advanced editorial workflows

Go deeper with the course’s explanations, exercises, and knowledge checks.

Open module 05 →
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Technical reference: DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual, Blackmagic Design, September 2026. Screenshot page numbers refer to that manual. Independently written guidance; specific controls may vary by platform and build. Authorship & image credits.