How to Edit Interviews in DaVinci Resolve: A Step By Step Guide

Editing interviews can be a challenging yet rewarding process. The goal is to distill hours of footage into a seamless, engaging narrative while maintaining the authenticity of the conversation. In this article, I’ll guide you through my step-by-step workflow for editing interviews, specifically in DaVinci Resolve. Whether you’re new to editing or a seasoned professional, these techniques are designed to help you streamline your workflow, ensuring a polished final product. This guide builds on concepts discussed in my first tutorial, so make sure to check that out as well for a complete understanding.

I’m Edoardo, the owner of CROMO, a video production company in Northern Italy. With over 15 years of experience using editing software like Avid Media Composer, Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, and now DaVinci Resolve, I’ve honed a versatile method applicable across platforms.

You can watch the video tutorial here! If you’d rather read, continue below the video.

Step 1: Marking Interviews

Before diving into edits, you need to understand your material. For this tutorial, I’m using footage from my upcoming documentary, The Missing Head.

The first step in editing interviews is to thoroughly mark the material to prepare for a smoother editing process. Here’s how to do it:

1. Organize and Sync Footage
   Ensure all your files are synced and grouped properly. This foundation is crucial for the rest of the workflow.

2. Watch and Place Markers
   Begin by watching the interviews in full. Place a BLUE marker at the end of each question, just before the interviewee starts speaking. Write the corresponding question in the marker description.

3. Highlight Soundbites
   Identify soundbites you think you’ll use, even if you’re unsure where. Use ORANGE markers at the beginning and end of these soundbites. Write a brief description in the first marker and label the second as “END.”

4. Mark Room Tone
   Mark with a GREEN marker the section where there’s silence (no speaking, breathing, or noise), just the room tone. This will be essential later for creating seamless audio transitions.

By systematically marking your footage, you’ll have a clear map of the material, making the editing process much faster and more organized.

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How a Marked interview should look once you're done marking.

Step 2: Pre-Selection

Once you’ve marked your footage, it’s time to begin the pre-selection process, where you identify the sections you want to work with:

1. Create a New Timeline
   Start a new timeline and name it clearly, such as Client_ProjectName_v1_InterviewSelection.

2. Listen and Select Clips
   Listen to the interviews again, setting IN and OUT points for clips you like. Use the Overwrite and Insert tools to arrange them in the timeline in the order you think they’ll have in the final video. You don’t have to follow the interview’s chronological order!

3. Group by Concept
   Leave space between clips covering different ideas and group related clips together. This visual organization helps you see the flow of the interview at a glance.

4. Keep All Material Intact
   At this stage, don’t worry about cutting mistakes or cleaning up pauses. Leave the clips as they are to ensure you preserve all potential material for later refinement.

This pre-selection step creates a foundational timeline that gives you a clear sense of the direction your edit is heading.

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The timeline with the selected parts of the interview.

Step 3: Creating a Paper Cut

After pre-selecting your clips, move on to creating a paper cut, where you plan the structure of the interview in detail:

1. Duplicate the Timeline
   Duplicate your pre-selection timeline, rename it to v2_PaperCut, and open it. This preserves the original timeline for future reference if needed.

2. Transcribe the Selected Clips
   Use DaVinci’s Transcribe tool to generate a written version of your selected clips, or do this manually if transcription isn’t available.

3. Rearrange the Script
   Review the transcription and rearrange the text into a logical order on paper. Look for any repetitive or redundant sections and make notes for potential cuts or adjustments.

4. Use the Paper Cut as a Guide
   Translate the paper cut back into your timeline by rearranging the clips to match the written structure. While the paper cut may not always perfectly account for tone or pacing, it will help you clarify the narrative flow.

Creating a paper cut gives you a clearer picture of how the interview will come together and allows you to approach the edit with a strong sense of direction.

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The Transcribe Tool in DaVinci Resolve

Step 4: Cleaning Audio

Duplicate the timeline once more, rename it to V3 Clean, and ensure you double-click to activate the new timeline.

Now, it’s time to clean the audio. Start by loading the audio clip containing the silence you previously marked into the Clip Viewer. Place an IN point at the marker where the silence begins. With this ready, follow these five steps to refine your audio:

1. Add Silence at Sentence Transitions
   Insert a few frames (10 frames to 1 second) of silence at the beginning and end of each sentence. This helps create smooth fades in and out of the room tone, ensuring natural transitions between spoken parts.

2. Eliminate Breathing Sounds and Random Noises
   Identify sections with breathing sounds or random noises. Replace these with the room tone you've marked. If a pause feels unnaturally long without the breathing, shorten it. Start by halving the original pause duration and adjust further if needed.

3. Fix Repetitions and Uncertain Delivery
   Locate and address any repetitive phrases or moments where the delivery feels unsure. Tighten these sections for clarity and flow. For more advanced techniques on handling repetitions, check out the third video in this series, where I’ll dive into cutting them cleanly.

4. Adjust Pacing for Natural Delivery
   Pay close attention to the pacing of the speaker. Some people naturally speak faster or slower. Your goal is to make their delivery sound fluent while maintaining their authentic rhythm. Adjust pauses and timing to achieve the best flow.

5. Add Fades to Audio Cuts
   Apply a small fade between each audio cut. If the audio waveform shows a jump, it can cause clipping, leading to a harsh “P” or popping sound. These fades can be as short as 1-2 frames but make a significant difference in the audio's smoothness. If the recording has noticeable reverb, extend the fade at the start of the silence to about 4-5 frames to allow the reverb to decay naturally.

Perform all these steps without altering any video angles. The result will be a clean, naturally sounding interview with a jump-cut editing style.

Pro Tip: Avoid adjusting video angles at this stage. Since most cuts will be covered with B-roll later, tweaking angles now can waste time. Focus on perfecting the audio before moving forward.

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How the timeline looks after the audio is cleaned.

Step 5: Adding B-Roll

Now that the audio is clean, it’s time to incorporate B-roll, which adds visual depth and enhances storytelling. Follow these steps to integrate B-roll seamlessly into your project:

1. Duplicate and Name the Timeline
   Duplicate your timeline once more, rename it to V4 B-roll, and double-click to activate it.

2. Add a Second Video Track
   Right-click in the timeline and select Add Track to create a new video track. Highlight this track (V2) to ensure all B-roll clips are placed there.

3. Identify Key Sections for B-Roll
   Watch the edited interview and highlight the sections where visuals would enhance the narrative. You can mark these areas by adding a marker directly to the clip or changing the clip color to make them stand out. Focus on sections with minimal audio cuts, as heavily edited audio can make it harder to match visuals naturally.

4. Insert B-Roll Using the 3-Point Editing Method
   Instead of dragging and dropping clips, use the 3-point editing method for precision:

   • Set an IN and OUT point on the B-roll clip in the Source Viewer.

   • Place the playhead on the timeline where you want the clip to appear.

   • Use the Insert or Overwrite tools to add the B-roll directly to the second video track (V2).

5. Adjust Timing as Needed
   Don’t worry about matching the B-roll duration perfectly to the audio. If the B-roll is longer than the audio segment, use Trim Mode to align the edit. You can also extend silent sections to match the B-roll length without disrupting the flow.

Pro Tip: Pay attention to visual rhythm. When cutting B-roll, try to maintain a flow that complements the pacing of the interview audio.

By following these steps, your B-roll will not only enhance the visual appeal but also add context and depth to your interview, making the final product more engaging and professional.

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A look at my timeline after the BRoll was added. Last step, choosing the Inteview Angles.

Step 6: Choosing Interview Angles

Once you’ve completed the B-roll edits, it’s time to refine the interview footage by adjusting the angles. This step ensures that your cuts feel natural and visually appealing. Here’s how to proceed:

Duplicate and Rename the Timeline
Duplicate your timeline again, rename it to V5 Interview Angles, and double-click to open it.

Focus on Key Areas
Examine your timeline. Most of the interview will already be covered with B-roll, so only a few key sections will need angle changes. By addressing these areas now, you save a significant amount of time compared to doing this earlier in the process.

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As you can see, the angle choices are reduced at this stage, as most of the interview is covered by BRoll.

Offset Video Cuts for Smooth Transitions
For cuts between two angles of the interview, slightly offset the video cut to make the transition less noticeable.

• Place your mouse between the two clips.

• Adjust the cut by moving it one or two frames before or after the audio cut.

• Test different positions until the transition feels as seamless as possible.

By working on the angles after completing other edits, you streamline your workflow and avoid unnecessary adjustments. This approach allows you to focus on creating smooth and professional-looking transitions only where they’re needed, ensuring a polished result.

Step 7: Finalizing Audio

The final step in your interview edit is to refine the audio further and add music or sound elements to enhance the overall production. Here’s how to approach it:

1. Duplicate and Rename the Timeline
   As with previous steps, start by duplicating the timeline. Rename it to V6 Final Audio, and double-click to open it.

2. Add Music and Sound Effects
   Begin by selecting appropriate music or sound effects that complement the tone of your interview. Add these to separate audio tracks below your main audio.

3. Avoid Editing Over Music
   It’s crucial not to let music dictate your edits. Instead, finalize the pacing and structure of your interview before adding music. This ensures that the music enhances the content rather than driving it.

4. Adjust Music Levels
   Balance the audio levels by lowering the volume of the music under dialogue sections. Use automation to create smooth fades and transitions where necessary, ensuring the music supports the interview without overpowering it.

5. Fine-Tune the Mix
   Carefully adjust the overall audio mix. Ensure that dialogue is clear and consistent throughout, and that room tone is subtly present to avoid jarring silence between sentences or edits.

This final pass ensures that your interview sounds polished and professional, with music and sound effects working in harmony with the dialogue to create a cohesive experience for your audience.

Watch the video tutorial untill the end to see my Final Result for this tutorial.

What’s Next?

In the next tutorial, I’ll explore advanced techniques for cutting between sentences to achieve natural flow and pacing. Stay tuned for more insights into professional interview editing!

If you enjoyed this guide or are curious about my upcoming documentary, The Missing Head, check out the trailer linked below. Happy editing!