DaVinci Resolve

The color is graded, the sound is mixed, and now someone wants the second scene two seconds shorter. When color and sound are finished in other programs, every late change to the cut sends the project through another round of exports. DaVinci Resolve keeps all of that work in a single project, split into pages you switch with one click. Cut and edit hold the timeline, Fusion handles visual effects and animated titles, color is for grading, and Fairlight is for audio.

On the color page, beginners start with sliders for contrast and color temperature. Finer work goes through a node editor, where each correction is a separate step that can be rearranged. Version 21 adds a photo page that brings these tools to still images, including RAW files from Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon and Sony cameras.

Several people can work on one project at the same time through shared project libraries, on a local network or through Blackmagic Cloud. Projects also move to and from other editing software, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro included. Blackmagic sells editing keyboards and color grading panels that control the app by hand.