How To Add Text in DaVinci Resolve | Make Titles Readable

Add text in DaVinci Resolve by dragging a title from the Effects Library above your footage, then edit it in the Inspector.

A title can label a person, introduce a scene, show a callout, or place a few words over a shot. The steps for how to add text in DaVinci Resolve begin on the Edit page: add a title clip above the video, select that title, and change its words and styling in the Inspector.

For a plain title, start with Text. Move to Text+ when you need deeper styling or animation, use MultiText when one graphic needs several separately controlled text layers, and choose a Fusion title when you want a prebuilt animated design. The basic title workflow works in the desktop version of DaVinci Resolve 21 on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Adding Text In DaVinci Resolve: Choose The Title Type

DaVinci Resolve gives you several title tools, but a first title usually needs only Text. Choosing the simplest tool that meets the shot keeps editing faster and makes later changes easier.

• Text: Good for names, labels, simple headings, credits, and static lower thirds.
• Text+: Better when you need richer shading, layout controls, or animated text properties.
• MultiText: Useful when several text layers belong inside one title graphic.
• Fusion Titles: Prebuilt animated title designs that expose their editable controls in the Inspector.
• Subtitles: Better for timed dialogue captions that need subtitle-track behavior rather than a graphic title clip.

How Do You Add A Basic Text Title?

A basic title takes one title clip and one Inspector panel. Place the title on a video track above the footage so the video remains visible underneath it.

1. Open the Edit page from the page bar at the bottom of DaVinci Resolve.
2. Open the Effects Library at the upper-left side of the Edit page.
3. Open Titles, then find the basic Text title.
4. Drag Text onto a video track above the clip where the words should appear.
5. Select the new title clip, then open the Inspector at the upper-right side of the interface.
6. Type your wording in the title text field, then set the font, size, color, alignment, and position.
7. Drag either edge of the title clip on the timeline to control how long the text stays on screen.

The viewer should now show your words over the video while the title clip sits on the track above the footage. If the title is not visible, place the playhead over the part of the timeline where the title clip overlaps the video.

Text Controls Worth Knowing

The Inspector contains the controls that matter for most title work. Set the wording first, then typography, then placement; that sequence reduces repeated adjustments when line length changes.

Which Text Tool Should You Use?

Text is the sensible default for ordinary on-screen wording, while Text+ and MultiText are stronger when the design needs more control. Fusion title templates save setup time when their built-in animation already matches the project.

Blackmagic Design’s Edit page title documentation confirms the core workflow: open the Effects Library, choose a text generator or Fusion title, drag it above the video tracks, then edit the title in the Inspector.

DaVinci Resolve 21 also adds spell checking across text elements and supports richer font handling in Text+ and MultiText. Those features help during polishing, but they do not change the basic process of placing a title clip on the timeline and editing its properties.

Make On-Screen Text Easier To Read

Readable text depends more on contrast, placement, and restraint than on decorative effects. A title that looks good on a paused frame can still fail once the background starts moving.

• Choose a font weight that stays legible at the final viewing size.
• Use enough contrast between the letters and the footage; add a stroke, shadow, or background only when the shot needs it.
• Keep text away from the extreme frame edges so platform cropping does not crowd it.
• Use consistent font, size, and placement for repeated lower thirds or labels.
• Trim the title clip so viewers have enough screen time to read the wording without making the shot feel stalled.

Common Text Problems And Fixes

Most title problems come from timeline placement, selection, or styling rather than a damaged project. Check the visible title clip first, then the Inspector settings attached to that exact clip.

Add The Title, Then Refine Only What Matters

A basic title is finished when the wording is correct, the text is readable, and its duration matches the shot. Extra controls are optional; use them only when they solve a visible problem or support the edit.

1. Open Edit and Effects Library.
2. Choose Text for a simple title or a more advanced title type when the shot requires it.
3. Drag the title above the footage.
4. Select the title and edit the wording in Inspector.
5. Set font, size, color, alignment, and position.
6. Trim the title clip to the needed screen time, play the shot once, and adjust only what is hard to read.

If the title plays over the intended shot, stays readable during motion, and ends where you want it to end, the text is set correctly.

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