Presets in DaVinci Resolve can completely transform your editing workflow. Whether you’re color grading footage, building cinematic transitions, or animating titles, free Resolve presets give you a professional edge—without hours of manual tweaking.
This guide walks you through what presets are in Resolve, where to find the best free ones, how to install them, how to use them creatively, and best practices to keep your edits looking polished.
You can also explore ready-made motion graphics, transitions, and design elements in our full guide to DaVinci Resolve templates to expand your creative toolkit.
What Are Presets in DaVinci Resolve?
A Resolve preset is a saved configuration of effects, color corrections, or Fusion compositions that you can instantly apply to new clips or timelines. These can include:
- Color Grading Presets / PowerGrades – Pre-designed color looks for cinematic consistency
- Fusion Templates – Ready-to-use text animations, lower thirds, motion graphics
- Transition Presets – Zooms, wipes, slides, glitches, and more
- Fairlight Presets – Audio EQs, compressors, and mastering chains
Why this matters: Presets help you work faster and maintain a professional, consistent look across projects, crucial for editors handling multiple videos weekly or working with clients.
Top Sources to Download Free DaVinci Resolve Presets
Hand-picked libraries for PowerGrades, Fusion transitions, titles, Fairlight chains, and LUTs — with install notes and use-case tips.
🎛️
Motion Array — Free Resolve Presets
Curated PowerGrades, Fusion transitions & titles
Professional-grade freebies spanning PowerGrades for cinematic color, Fusion transitions with on-screen controls, and title templates optimized for YouTube, ads, and social. Packs are documented, neatly organized, and often mirror premium quality.
- Includes: DRX grades, .setting transitions, animated lower thirds
- Use cases: Fast client turnarounds, consistent channel branding
- Install: Import DRX in Color ▸ Gallery; copy .setting to Fusion Templates, then restart
PowerGradesFusionTitlesYouTube
🎚️
Mixing Light — Free LUTs & PowerGrades
Trusted by professional colorists
Educational hub offering free LUTs and sample PowerGrades built for real-world color pipelines. Ideal for filmmakers seeking tasteful contrast curves, filmic saturation roll-off, and balanced skin tones that survive platform compression.
- Includes: Look LUTs, utility LUTs (log ↔ rec.709), DRX examples
- Use cases: Narrative shorts, branded docs, interviews
- Install: Add LUTs in Project Settings ▸ Color Management ▸ Open LUT Folder; refresh LUTs
LUTsPowerGradesSkin TonesNarrative
✨
MotionVFX — Freebies for Resolve
Premium-style Fusion transitions & titles
Known for meticulous motion design, MotionVFX offers select freebies that feel studio-ready: camera-move transitions, kinetic titles, and graphic accents with responsive controls. Great for ads and high-energy edits.
- Includes: .setting transitions, animated titles, accent elements
- Use cases: Commercial spots, product videos, channel idents
- Install: Place files in Fusion/Templates folders; restart Resolve
TransitionsTitlesCommercialsGraphics
🎞️
Noam Kroll — Film-Style PowerGrades
Cinematic looks designed by a filmmaker
Filmic PowerGrades that emphasize natural contrast, gentle highlight roll-off, and cohesive palettes across scenes. Excellent for indie films and branded storytelling where subtlety beats oversaturation.
- Includes: DRX node trees, filmic tones, soft highlight handling
- Use cases: Short films, wedding films, lifestyle ads
- Install: Import DRX in Color ▸ Gallery, then apply to node tree
PowerGradesCinematicStorytellingHighlight Roll-off
🧪
We Suck Less — Reactor for Fusion
Community package manager for Fusion tools
Reactor is a community-driven installer that unlocks a vast catalog of Fusion macros, transitions, generators, and utilities. Perfect for power users who want to expand Resolve beyond stock effects.
- Includes: Macros, effects, templates, scripting helpers
- Use cases: Motion graphics, VFX, modular pipelines
- Install: Follow Reactor install guide on WSL; manage packages inside Fusion
FusionMacrosVFXOpen Source
🖤
Blackmagic Design Forum — Freebies
Official community: presets, tips, workflows
The official Resolve forum often shares user-made templates, node setups, and troubleshooting gems. You’ll find Fairlight chains for cleaner dialog, color recipes for tricky footage, and template projects for common tasks.
- Includes: Preset shares, DRX nodes, Fairlight chains
- Use cases: Problem-solving, learning best practices
- Install: Import DRX; copy templates to the appropriate folders
CommunityFairlightColorTemplates
📐
VFXStudy — Free Fusion Tools
Educational presets & motion graphics rigs
Tutorial-driven freebies that pair Fusion presets with clear lessons: lower-third systems, callouts, map routes, and HUD elements. Great for editors moving into motion graphics without leaving Resolve.
- Includes: Callouts, HUD packs, infographic elements
- Use cases: Explainers, tech content, educational videos
- Install: Copy templates to Fusion/Templates; access via Effects
CalloutsInfographicsHUDTutorials
🌈
Color Grading Central — Free LUTs
Looks for cameras & storytelling styles
A selection of free LUTs focused on storytelling: filmic contrast profiles, clean commercial looks, and camera-matched transforms. A practical way to jumpstart looks, then refine with nodes.
- Includes: Look LUTs, camera-specific variants
- Use cases: Weddings, commercials, lifestyle content
- Install: Project Settings ▸ Color Management ▸ Open LUT Folder, then refresh
LUTsCommercialWeddingsLifestyle
🌐
Resolve Presets Community Hub
Aggregators, GitHub repos & curated threads
Community-maintained lists collecting free PowerGrades, Fusion templates, and Fairlight chains from multiple creators. Expect variety: from subtle film looks to experimental transitions and automation tools.
- Includes: Links to DRX packs, .setting transitions, macro collections
- Use cases: Discovery, trend tracking, niche effects
- Install: Follow each creator’s instructions; keep folders organized
AggregatorsOpen SourceFairlightTrends
How to Install Free Presets in DaVinci Resolve
Unlike Premiere, DaVinci Resolve uses a few different preset types. Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Download Your Preset Pack – Unzip the files if needed.
- For PowerGrades (Color Presets):
- Open the Color page
- Right-click in the Gallery panel → Import → select the
.drx file
- For Transitions or Fusion Templates:
- Copy the downloaded
.setting files into the Fusion/Templates/Edit/Transitions folder in your DaVinci Resolve installation directory - Restart Resolve to see them appear in the Effects Library
- Apply to Your Clip: Drag and drop the preset or right-click a PowerGrade to apply it to the current node tree.
- Tweak to Taste: Presets are a starting point—adjust nodes, keyframes, and timing for your specific footage.
Creative Ways to Use Free DaVinci Resolve Presets
- Build Cinematic Consistency – Use film-style LUTs and PowerGrades to give all your videos the same polished look.
- Speed Up Social Content – Batch-apply transitions and lower thirds to make reels and shorts production-ready faster.
- Boost Client Deliverables – Use audio mastering presets in Fairlight to give your clients clean, professional sound.
- Experiment with Fusion – Try creative text animations or 3D camera moves with one click.
If you’d like to create your own reusable assets instead of relying only on presets, check our step-by-step tutorial on how to make a template in DaVinci Resolve.
Best Practices & Common Pitfalls
- Adjust for Each Clip: Color PowerGrades often need exposure adjustments to avoid mismatched shots.
- Avoid Overloading Fusion: Using too many Fusion-based transitions can slow playback. Cache or render in place.
- Mind GPU Load: Resolve uses GPU acceleration heavily; too many heavy effects may cause dropped frames.
- Save Your Custom Versions: Once you tweak a preset, save it to your own library to build a reusable toolkit.
- Verify Download Source: Only download from trusted creators to avoid broken or incompatible files.
If you want to boost your workflow even further, explore our guide to the best plugins for DaVinci Resolve to discover tools that enhance performance, color grading, transitions, and VFX.
FAQ
What are PowerGrades in DaVinci Resolve?
PowerGrades are color grading presets saved as node trees that can be applied to any clip or project, giving you a consistent color style quickly.
Where can I find high-quality free Resolve presets?
Trusted sites include Motion Array, Mixing Light (free LUTs), and Motion VFX freebies. These offer pro-quality and are updated regularly.
How do I install transition presets?
Copy .setting files into the Fusion Templates folder for transitions, restart Resolve, and you’ll see them in the Effects Library.
Do free presets work in the free version of Resolve?
Yes, most presets work in the free version. Some may require Studio features like advanced noise reduction—check before downloading.
Are free LUTs the same as presets?
Not exactly. LUTs apply a single color transformation, while PowerGrades can contain multiple nodes, masks, and effects.
Do presets slow down playback?
Fusion-heavy templates can impact real-time playback. Use render cache or “Render in Place” for smooth editing.
How do I save my own presets?
Right-click in the Color page Gallery to save a PowerGrade, or export Fusion compositions from the Effects panel for future use.
