DaVinci Resolve how-to
How to change clip speed in DaVinci Resolve (slow, fast, freeze)
Short answer
Right-click the clip and choose Change Clip Speed (or Clip > Change Clip Speed), then set a percentage, frame rate or duration; tick Ripple Sequence to push following clips. For ramps use the Retime controls. For a freeze frame, park the playhead and press Shift-R. Linear speed changes retime the audio too, with pitch correction only on Mac; audio is muted on variable-speed sections.
Checked against: DaVinci Resolve 21, free version and Studio (Studio-only features are marked), Edit page unless stated, per the Resolve 21 Reference Manual (July 2026).
Method 1: Constant speed
Open Change Clip Speed
Select the clip and choose Clip > Change Clip Speed, or right-click it and choose Change Clip Speed.
ClipChange Clip Speed
Set speed
Change speed by percentage, frame rate or duration. Ripple Sequence moves the following clips; Reverse Speed plays backwards; Freeze Frame holds the frame at the playhead.
Method 2: Speed ramps and freeze frames
Retime controls
Open the Retime controls on a clip to create speed changes that vary within the clip.
Freeze frame
Put the playhead on the frame and choose Clip > Freeze Frame. Turn it off again with the Freeze Frame checkbox in Change Clip Speed.
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What happens to audio
| Speed change | Audio | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Linear (Change Clip Speed, Retime handles) | Retimed with pitch correction | Mac |
| Linear | Retimed without pitch correction | Windows and Linux |
| Variable (ramps, curves) | Muted | All |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Slow motion stutters | Set Retime Process to Optical Flow in the Inspector, or shoot at a higher frame rate. |
| Voice sounds wrong after slowing on Windows | No pitch correction on Windows; detach the audio or fix pitch on the Fairlight page. |
| No sound on a speed ramp | Audio with variable speed effects is muted; use a separate audio clip. |
Questions people ask
How do I slow down a clip in DaVinci Resolve?
Right-click it, choose Change Clip Speed and set a percentage below 100.
What is the freeze frame shortcut in Resolve?
Shift-R turns the whole clip into a freeze of the frame under the playhead.
How do I reverse a clip in Resolve?
Tick Reverse Speed in Change Clip Speed.
More DaVinci Resolve guides
Sources and how we checked
- DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual: Speed effects, Change Clip Speed, Retime controls and freeze frames (p. 1254-1257) (checked 2026-10-05)
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with DaVinci Resolve's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.