June 3, 2026
Color me shocked: AI starts drama
DaVinci Resolve 21
DaVinci Resolve 21 drops huge new tricks, and the comments are already fighting over the AI overload
TLDR: DaVinci Resolve 21 adds a huge stack of new tools for editing photos, video, audio, social clips, and virtual reality projects. The biggest reaction wasn’t the features themselves, but a split between people exhausted by all the AI branding and editors insisting the new shortcuts save real time and money.
DaVinci Resolve 21 just rolled in with a giant bag of upgrades for video makers and photographers, from a brand-new Photo page to easier keyframe animation, drag-and-drop animated graphics, cleaner audio organization, vertical video tools, direct social uploads, and even virtual reality support. There are also shiny new cleanup tools for rough footage and face touch-up features that sound like they came straight out of Hollywood. On paper, it’s a power move. In the comments, though, the real show is the AI drama.
One camp is exhausted. The loudest eye-roll came from users noticing that the opening feature list felt like a parade of AI labels, with one commenter basically saying, “I’m not mad, I’m just so tired.” Another took the sarcasm all the way to the moon, joking that Blackmagic should just “replace users altogether.” Ouch. It’s the classic 2020s tech fight: is this helpful magic, or are companies sprinkling “AI” on everything like seasoning?
But the defenders came in hot too. One user argued that anyone whining about these tools has clearly never burned hours fixing broken footage under deadline, saying these features are lifesavers in real-world editing. Another predicted AI in movies will end up like CGI: hated when it looks fake, invisible when it’s done well. And amid the chaos, one longtime fan cut through the noise with the ultimate flex: buying the paid version was “among the best money spent in software of my life.” So yes, DaVinci launched a big update — but the comments turned it into a full-blown AI culture war with punchlines.
Key Points
- •DaVinci Resolve 21 adds a new Photo page and expanded AI-assisted tools for media search, slate reading, de-aging, and blemish removal.
- •The Edit, Cut, and Color pages receive workflow updates including new keyframing modes, normalized curve zoom, four-point Bezier easing, and color workflow enhancements.
- •Fusion adds over 70 new graphics through Krokodove, and the software now supports native .lottie animation files.
- •Fairlight introduces collapsible track folders, while the media pool adds clip ratings and tags to improve audio and media management.
- •The release expands immersive, social, live production, and restoration workflows with foveated rendering, vertical video settings, direct social uploads, ATEM Mini ISO timeline support, and noise reduction tools.