Cutsio Blog

DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor: adding and removing effects with Cut, Dissolve, and Smooth Cut

The DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor lets you add dissolves, smooth cuts, and custom transitions, or remove effects entirely with dedicated buttons. The smart indicator shows which edit point is affected as you scroll.

How do you add and remove effects with the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor?

The Speed Editor has three dedicated effect buttons above the edit mode keys. The Cut key removes any effect on the targeted edit point. The Dissolve key adds a dissolve transition using the default duration. The Smooth Cut key adds a smooth cut to eliminate jump cuts. The smart indicator in the timeline highlights which edit point will be affected, and you can scroll the timeline to move the indicator.

Cut

Press the Cut key to remove any transition effect from the edit point highlighted by the smart indicator. The cut key instantly restores a plain cut between two clips.

Dissolve

Press the Dissolve key to add a dissolve transition at the edit point using the default transition duration. This is faster than dragging a dissolve from the effects library onto the timeline.

Smooth Cut

Press the Smooth Cut key to add a smooth cut effect that eliminates jump cuts. This is particularly useful for interview editing where cuts between different sections of the same speaker can look jarring without a smooth transition.

How does the Add Transition function key work?

Press and hold the Transition button to see a palette of all available DaVinci Resolve transitions. Select the one you want, and it is applied to the edit point. This gives you access to wipes, irises, and custom transitions beyond the default dissolve.