Create professional quality videos using Kdenlive and other tools.
Create a project directory
Copy video and audio to project directory
Start editing
Pre-process audio with Audacity
Davinci Resolve
Create and edit videos with Kdenlive.
Please read the disclaimer before proceeding. We review and update guided solutions regularly. If you have suggestions or requests, please write support@kfocus.org.
Create a project directory to hold all your clips and other project files. Name it something like VideoProject-001.
Use KDE Connect to download files and videos from your Android device to your project directory. Alternately, copy the files directly from an SD Card or USB stick using the Dolphin file manager or terminal.
The official Kdenlive documentation provides an up-to-date tutorial for getting started with video editing. We recommend starting here.
We often use Audacity to edit audio files that are extracted from video.
We have considered LightWorks and DaVinci Resolve. While neither are free software, both are available at no cost to get started. What we really appreciate about DaVinci Resolve is that it uses GPU acceleration throughout the production pipeline.
DaVinci Resolve requires a discrete GPU in order to function. It therefore works on M1 and M2 devices, but will not start properly on systems with only an iGPU, such as XE, Ir, and NX devices.
To install Resolve 18 on 24.04 LTS (Noble) systems, you first must download the software from this page. To start the download, you will need to fill out the required fields for first and last name, email, phone number, country, street, city, state, and zip code information and then click on Download Linux. As of 2024-06-27, Davinci Resolve 19 is in public beta. The download version we have here is 18.6.6.
To install Resolve 18 on 24.04 LTS (Noble) systems, some workarounds are required. We have confirmed the following installation procedure (adapted from here) works on Kfocus M1 and M2 systems.
Upon first startup, you may encounter a solid-white/gray window upon first startup. If this happens, click it, press [ALT][F4] to close it, then wait for KDE to inform you that the application is not responding. In the pop-up window that appears, choose to terminate the application. Resolve should then launch normally. This appears to only occurs when you launch Resolve for the first time.
One thing DaVinci Resolve cannot do is convert video files for import on-the-fly like Kdenlive, so we recommend converting to xvid using WinFF. To do this, copy the following and save it as xvid.wff. Then, in WinFF, click File > Import Preset and select this file.
Then add media to convert and using the profile called Xvid MOV Davinci Resolve to convert the media. This page provides more details.
The licensed Davinci Resolve Studio has better import capability, so if you have purchased the software, this step may not be necessary for many formats. This software package differs from the free version and you can download it here. The guide below shows how to activate a license.
Blackmagicdesign has tutorials for Davinci Resolve and you can find and download them from their website here. We highly recommend you download, decompress, and follow the first two training videos and follow along to test your installation.
Q: The video preview window in Davinci Resolve isn't working. How do I fix this?
A: This is an application error in Davinci Resolve. It can be fixed by saving your project, closing Davinci Resolving, and opening it again.
Q: I plugged in a microphone but when I went to record in Audacity nothing showed up. How do I fix this?
A1: Go to Pulse Audio Volume Control, under Output Devices make sure that the microphone is unmuted and set as default and mute any other mics using the icons in the top right corner of the microphone control.
A2: Audacity 3.4.2 on Kubuntu 24.04 LTS was originally problematic on Nvidia systems. However, as of Fall 2024, it appears to be working correctly again. Other tools you might consider for sound mixing include Ardour, Kdenlive, DiVinci Resolve, OBS Studio.
This is a partial revision history. See the git repository for all entries.
2024-07-02 c83184e4 Switch to kfocus-mime schema2024-06-27 363bc135 Update for Davinci Resolve and WinFF2024-06-10 d2d31013 Update for Noble, Kdenlive, DaVinci Resolve2024-03-18 fb9b592d Add syntax highlighting for codeblocks2023-11-18 e770b1c6 Add search and help bar2022-08-05 23ad1db1 Replace old tool image2022-08-04 45ce66b5 Update text and change video link2022-01-21 668e16d4 Update titles, images, and carousel image presentation2021-10-25 9036f3fe Overhaul table and links2021-10-11 f726f2bf Secure links2021-10-10 5728326e Reformat to 2-column2021-09-22 dc862884 Update link and headline colors2021-08-23 681261b4 Review and update codeblocks2021-06-02 5bf90ae2 Adjust links2021-06-01 db8d7d72 Add WinFF instructions2020-06-10 c4ed9299 Restructure layoutWe try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.
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