In this video, we're going to look at speed ramping in DaVinci Resolve. Speed ramps are useful for adding impact or energy to footage. While they can be formed within camera, most are created while editing. As with any speed change, caution should be taken when slowing footage down. If a real-time to slow motion speed ramp is required, it's better to shoot in slow motion and speed your footage back up to real-time, rather than shoot in real-time and attempt to create slow motion in post. I'd like to add a speed ramp on this pour. I enjoy the camera motion, but it takes a while for the beverage to flow. I want the first portion of the clip to go quickly and then go into slow motion. Right-click on the clip to open the retime controls. On a Mac, you can hit CMD+R, or on Windows, that's CTRL+R. By default, the drop-down menu at the bottom allows me to change the speed of the entire clip. I only want to speed up the first part. To do that, I need to create a speed point, and put that at the moment in the clip where I want the speed ramp to happen. Position your playhead at the point in the clip where you would like the speed transition to happen. Now this time, when I open up the speed drop-down, the Add Speed Point option is no longer grayed out. Now there are separate speed controls either side of the speed point. You can add as many speed points as you'd like to a clip. Today, I only need one. Select the speed control for the first portion of the clip, and I'll adjust its speed to 800%. Aw man, look at that giant gap I just created. That's because I made this change with the Selection Mode tool enabled. Let's undo it. This time, I'll switch to my Trim Edit Mode tool. Now when I make that speed change, it automatically ripples the timeline. The operation has not left a gap. If you want to configure a speed that's not listed in the drop-down menu, you can manipulate the speed by dragging the speed point left and right. Make sure you click and drag on the upper portion of the speed point. This is a nice intuitive way to manipulate the speed of your clip. Making the portion of the clip shorter increases its speed, making it longer slows it down. Because I did this with the Trim Edit Mode tool, not the Selection Mode tool, my timeline has rippled. No gaps have been created, no clips have been overwritten. Remember I said to click and drag on the upper portion of the speed point? Here's why. Clicking and dragging on the lower portion of the speed point does something different. It maintains the speeds you selected, but slips the speed point left or right. This is great for adjusting the location of your speed ramp. This is looking good, but it could definitely be better. That's because we haven't created a speed ramp yet. We've just created an instantaneous speed change. For it to be a speed ramp, well, the speed needs to ramp. That is gradually change over time, not just change abruptly. Open the Retime Curve. It's in the right-click menu. This keyframe shows the location of our speed change, or speed point. This red line shows the speed of the clip over time. This transition is very abrupt, it's like a sheer drop off of the side of a cliff. Select the keyframe and use these buttons to change it to an east keyframe. These bezier handles allow you to adjust how quickly it eases. I'd still like the transition to be fairly tight. Now that is a speed ramp. Let's see the finished result. Speed ramping is really popular, especially when editing action, drone shots, or pack shots like you saw in our demo today. As with any other technique, however, make sure it is used in balance. Now, these videos take time to produce, so if you enjoyed it, make sure you give it a like and subscribe. That way we can reach an even wider audience. See you next time!
