How to Export Frame in DaVinci Resolve - Essential Tip

Exporting Frames In DaVinci Resolve 18

First off, let's understand why you might want to export a frame. How about creating custom thumbnails for your videos? Or what if you need a high-res image for a promotional poster? DaVinci Resolve allows you to do just that, and I believe it's a skill every video editor should master.

Native Method to Export a Frame

In my opinion, the native method inside DaVinci Resolve renders the highest-quality image, although it does take some clicking around to accomplish. Here's how you can do it:

1. Drag the Clip to the Timeline: Simply drag the clip you want to export a still from to the timeline.
2. Move to the Specific Frame: Move the cursor/timeline marker to the specific frame you want to export.
3. Enter the Color Workspace: Click on the "Color" workspace icon at the bottom to enter the Color workspace.
4. Open the Gallery Window: In the top right corner, move your mouse to click on "Gallery" and open the gallery window.
5. Grab the Still: Right-click (or Ctrl + click) on the preview window, select "Grab Still." The still image will now appear in your Gallery bin.
6. Export the Still: Navigate to the still in the Gallery bin, right-click (Ctrl + click) on it, then select "Export." Name your image file, select a save location, and choose the image format.

By the way, the default image export format for Resolve is a DPX file, which might not be very useful for most still image applications. You can change this to JPEG or TIFF before exporting.

Quick Hack for Thumbnail Images

On the other hand, if you don't need full resolution and just want to grab a quick still for a thumbnail, here's my favorite hack:

1. Locate the Frame: Locate the frame you want to export by dragging your timeline marker to the right location.
2. Full-Screen Preview: Make your preview window full-screen using the shortcut Ctrl + F.
3. Take a Screenshot: Use the appropriate shortcuts for Mac or PC to take a screenshot of your full-screen preview image.
4. Save the Screenshot: Select where to save your screenshot.

This hack works great if high-res isn't a huge concern. It's perfect for thumbnail images that don't need to be more than a certain size and saves you a lot of clicking around in Resolve.

Understanding Image Formats

When exporting a frame, you'll encounter various image formats. Let's break down the most common ones:

• JPEG: Most common, compatible with nearly everything, but it's a "lossy" format (quality degrades as you shrink or copy the image).
• PNG: A lossless format (doesn't discard image information), but relatively low resolution.
• TIFF: High-res, lossless, great for large print images, but file sizes can be massive.

In other words, the choice of format depends on what you plan on using the images for.

Leveraging Single Clips for Multiple Content

All things considered, being able to export still images from a video clip is a huge win for creating various digital and print materials from your video projects. For instance, you might as well use this skill to become a one-person marketing machine on social media. Furthermore, it's a useful skill for sending preview images to co-collaborators for review and approval.

FAQ

How to Export a Single Frame with Alpha Channel in DaVinci Resolve?

Exporting a single frame with an alpha channel might seem tricky, but it's doable. If you've created the alpha channel in Fusion, the "save image" option after right-clicking in the viewer should work. If you've created it in the color or edit page and set in/out on a single frame in the deliver tab, you can get an image with alpha. In Resolve 16, you first have to select "individual clips" instead of a single clip, then a checkbox with "export alpha" will appear. In the newest beta versions of 17, you don't have to select individual clips.

How to Grab Stills and Export Them in DaVinci Resolve?

1. Drag the Clip to the Timeline: Move the clip you want to export to the timeline.
2. Move to the Specific Frame: Move the cursor/timeline marker to the specific frame you want to export.
3. Enter the Color Workspace: Click on the "Color" workspace icon.
4. Open the Gallery Window: Move your mouse to click on "Gallery" in the top right corner.
5. Grab the Still: Right-click on the preview window and select "Grab Still."
6. Export the Still: Navigate to the still in the Gallery bin, right-click, and select "Export." Name your image file, select a save location, and choose the image format.
7. Click "Export": Now you'll have a high-res export of a single frame from your clip.

What Image Formats Are Best for Still Exports?

• JPEG: Most common, compatible with nearly everything, but it's a "lossy" format.
• PNG: Lossless format, used for digital applications, especially when a transparent background is needed.
• TIFF: High-res, lossless format, great for large print images, but can have massive file sizes.

Why Are My Clips Blurry After Export?

Blurry exports could be due to some odd frame rate conversion or a compression problem from the export. It might be related to the codec that you shot with or the settings on your export. Make sure to check the format, frame rate, codec, and workflow to avoid this issue.

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