Cutting up video footage and removing silences is one of the most time consuming parts of any video project, especially when you are working with a big project. Thankfully, Davinci Resolve has two different silence removing features that will allow you to quickly and easily automate this task. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, so choose the option that best suits your needs. We've covered both of them below.

Takeaways:

  1. How do you automatically remove silences in Davinci Resolve?
  2. Can you adjust the way that Davinci Resolve removes silences?

OPTION 1: Removing Silence in Fairlight (Audio Only)

This approach gives you full control over how silence is detected and removed, but it only affects the audio track. If you want to trim both audio and video at the same time, skip ahead to OPTION 2.

  • Change to the Fairlight tab in DaVinci Resolve.
  • Click on the clip you want to edit so it’s highlighted.
  • Use the I and O keys to set the in and out points for the section you want to process.
  • Right-click the selected range and choose Remove Silence from the context menu.

Remove Silences in DaVinci Resolve

Adjust Parameters (IMPORTANT)

  • Threshold (in dB): Controls what is treated as silence
  • Pre-roll / Post-roll: Adds time before and after silence for smoother cuts
  • Minimum Strip Duration: Skips very short silent parts
  • Fade In / Out: Applies gentle transitions at cut points
  • Click Remove Silence to process the clip. Red sections will be deleted from the audio timeline.

Note: This process removes silence from audio only. The video track remains unchanged, which may cause sync issues if not adjusted manually.

OPTION 2: Removing Silence with Audio Transcription (Audio and Video)

This method lets you remove silences from both the audio and video tracks using Resolve’s transcription engine. It’s more automated but less customizable. Hopefully, the adjustment options will be added to this feature as well.

  • Switch to the Edit page and select your clip.
  • Right-click the clip, go to AI Tools, then select Audio Transcription and click Transcribe.

How to Remove Silences in DaVinci Resolve

  • Once transcribed, silences are marked with brackets containing three dots.
  • Click the three-dot icon in the top corner of the panel and select Remove Silent Portions.
  • Press Control + A (or Command + A on Mac) to select all segments, then click the insert or append button to place them on the timeline.
  • Close the Transcription Panel

This method generates a rough cut without manual trimming. However, it may cut too early or miss certain silences, so always check the results.

Which is the Best Method?

  • Use Fairlight when you need precise control over audio and are not concerned about video sync.

  • Use Transcription when you want to remove silence from both audio and video quickly.