Hey everyone! Welcome back to another DaVinci Resolve tutorial. For those filmmakers or influencers out there, our videos have a lot of components to them. Knowing how to export those individually will save you so much time down the road. Today I will show you how to export individual tracks in DaVinci Resolve.
Why Would I Need To Export Individual Tracks?
This is a great question and a question that has been asked quite a bit. There are a few reasons why someone would want to export individual tracks. Let’s go over some of them.
Audio Engineer
We all know that DaVinci Resolve is a beautiful one-stop shop for filmmakers, but not all of us are audio engineers. It’s important to have someone who knows what they’re doing. You especially want an engineer when bad audio is the number one thing that will take an audience out of a film. I respect the filmmaking grind, but don’t let anyone give you a hard time for not doing everything script to screen.
It’s lunacy and makes us all feel crazy anyway. Always check with your audio engineer first to see what kind of source files they need. One of the biggest things they ask for is for all of your audio tracks to be exported individually. These are called STEMS. Your audio engineer wants separate tracks so that they can mix the actor’s vocals, music, sound effects (SFX), and ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement), all get the proper mix. As we have learned, nothing is an all-size-fits-one in filmmaking. Wouldn’t that be boring if it were?
Proofing
Let’s say you have exported your film, and you are doing your final watch-through. Then you hear something in the audio that’s incorrect, but you never hear that in your timeline. Being able to export each individual track will help you isolate the problem.
Preparing for ADR
In some cases, if you know you have to ADR the entire film, it can save a lot of time to send an actor their specific stems. If you and the actor have the time, it’s nice for them to have those stems early to listen back to. Then they can be more prepared when they walk into the studio to re-record their lines.
ADR-ing Off Site
If you have any mixing or ADR-ing in a different location, you always want to send the mixer those stems. That way, they will be able to have more flexibility and make audio adjustments if the actor needs that.
How To Export Individual Tracks in DaVinci Resolve
Before You Get Started
Before we get started, I have to mention this pro tip because it is essential. I know things can get crazy when you’re under a time crunch, but always make sure to label your video and audio tracks. It should go without saying, but I understand how we all work. We just want the project done. Sound effects, dialogue, and music tracks are all over the place. You probably haven’t eaten or showered, and I must correct myself.
You NEED this project done. That 72-hour film festival won’t complete itself. But trust me, take the time to set up your timeline properly, and it will make all the difference for you.
Method 1: Fast Way to Export Single Clip Audio
If you’re looking for a really quick way to export a single audio file, the steps below will be the method for you. Keep in mind that this will not export your entire track. It will only export the cut file that you right-click on.
- Head over to the Music page
- Right-click on the track you want to export and select “Export Audio Files”
- Choose where you want to save your files and make sure the File Name section says “Clip Name”
- Select your File Format. (WAV is the safest)
- Choose your bit depth
- Export
Method 2: How To Export More Than One Specific Track
Sometimes, we only need to export specific tracks for STEMS. We don’t necessarily want to export them all, but we want to export more than one. The following steps will show you how to do that.
- Head over to the Deliver page
- In your Render settings up top, scroll to the right and select Audio Only
- On the Video tab, make sure Export Video is unchecked
- On the Audio tab, make sure Export Audio is checked
- In the Format section, use the drop-down arrow and choose Wave or MP3
(If you export an MP3, it can only be exported as 32-bit depth, so keep that in mind.)
(Make sure you have “Single Clip” selected. Otherwise, you won’t have the proper settings)
- From the Timeline Track, Select which track you want to export
- In the bottom right, click the + sign to add another track
- Continue to add all of the tracks you want to export
- When you’re ready, select Add To Render Queue
- Click Render All, and your files will show up in your chosen location
Pro Tip #1
Even though we have Audio Only selected, it’s important that we select if we want a WAV or MP3. If we leave it on the Quicktime selection, it will export a video with your audio, and we don’t want that.
Pro Tip #2
If you are exporting tracks for STEMS to send to an audio mixer, they will ask for your tracks to be mono, short for monaural, instead of stereo. To make sure you have all of your tracks in mono, follow the steps below!
- On the Edit page, look at the number next to your audio track. If there is a 1, it’s a mono track. If there is a 2, it’s stereo. To easily fix this for export (without affecting your clip in the media pool), right-click on the number and select “Change Track Type To”
- Select Mono. Then on your Deliver page, it should say Mono next to both of your tracks
FAQs About Exporting Individual Tracks
Can I export all of my tracks as a single track?
Yes, you absolutely can! Follow the steps in “How To Export More Than One Specific Track,” and when you choose your output track, select “Bus 1.” This will output all audio tracks as one file.
Conclusion
Exporting audio tracks is incredibly simple in DaVinci Resolve. The whole platform is easy to navigate and has a wonderful forum to help anyone who has questions. I hope you found this tutorial to be helpful and easy to understand. Let us know in the comments how you export your audio stems. Happy filmmaking!
Additional DaVinci Resolve Resources
If you are looking for more resources, here are some additional DaVinci Resolve tutorials I wrote that I encourage you to check out.
