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Effects, speed, titles and audio: what gets lost

An XML describes the edit, not everything Premiere Pro computes. Here is what arrives in DaVinci Resolve, what doesn't, and how to prepare each case by hand.

Guide updated on 3 November 2026. By Théo Vervier, filmmaker and author of GRADEFLOW.

What carries over, what doesn't

With a Final Cut Pro XML exported from Premiere, Resolve usually handles cuts, cross dissolves, constant speed changes and basic framing (scale, position, rotation) well. The rest needs preparation:

  • the Lumetri grade and LUTs, which don't carry over;
  • speed ramps made with time remapping;
  • nested sequences, multicam clips and adjustment layers;
  • effects specific to Premiere, such as stabilization;
  • Essential Graphics titles, MOGRTs and After Effects compositions;
  • audio effects and part of the mix.

The rule that works: anything that isn't a cut on a clip must be either rendered to a file or rebuilt in Resolve. Decide clip by clip before exporting, in a copy of the sequence.

Slow motion and speed ramps

A constant speed change (Speed/Duration) usually carries over. Ramps made with time remapping don't: they arrive at a constant speed, or with the wrong duration. Three options, from simplest to cleanest:

  1. Replace the ramp with a constant speed, if the shot allows it.
  2. Render the clip to a file from Premiere (right-click, Render and Replace, on a copy of the sequence) and grade that file. Render it as ProRes of sufficient quality, in log if the original is.
  3. Remove the ramp before exporting and rebuild it in Resolve with retime curves, on the original media. This is what many colorists ask for.

Also check freeze frames and reverse playback: compare them with the reference movie.

Nested sequences, adjustment layers and effects

  • Nested sequences: they often arrive empty, frozen or as a single clip. Un-nest them when you can, otherwise render them to a file.
  • Multicam clips: flatten them in Premiere (right-click, Multi-Camera, Flatten) so each clip points to the right camera.
  • Adjustment layers: they don't reliably carry their effects. Remove them from the copy of the sequence and rebuild the effect in Resolve, on the Color page.
  • Premiere-specific effects (stabilization, third-party effects): render the clip to a file, or rebuild the effect in Resolve.

Titles, MOGRTs and After Effects

Essential Graphics titles and MOGRT templates can't be read by Resolve: they go missing or arrive empty. Two methods:

  • Render each title to a file with its transparency (ProRes 4444 with an alpha channel), then place it on a track above in Resolve.
  • Rebuild simple titles in Resolve, with Text+.

After Effects compositions linked through Dynamic Link can't be read by Resolve: render them from After Effects and replace them in the copy of the sequence. Remember to render them again if the composition changes.

Another method is to grade a textless version, then lay the titles over the file exported from Resolve. It avoids grading the titles, but adds a finishing step.

Audio

The XML carries the audio clips, but the result depends on the media: multichannel files (four-track cameras, field recorders) sometimes arrive with muted or misassigned channels, and levels need checking by ear. Audio effects (EQs, compressors, Essential Sound) don't carry over.

Two common choices:

  • If the mix is finished in Premiere, export it as WAV (the full mix or stems) and place it in Resolve, lined up with the sequence timecode. It will be the audio of the final export.
  • If the mix happens in Fairlight, import the timeline with its audio clips, then check the channel mapping in the clip attributes, track by track.

What GRADEFLOW does

GRADEFLOW sorts each clip before sending it. Slow motion, fast motion, ramps and reverse playback go out on the original media, with the points set in Premiere: the ramp stays editable in Resolve. A freeze frame becomes a Resolve freeze frame.

Nested sequences, multicam clips and effects Resolve doesn't read, such as stabilization, are rendered by Premiere as ProRes 4444. After Effects compositions are rendered by After Effects and stay linked: the “Mettre à jour les compositions After Effects” (Update After Effects compositions) button replaces the ones that changed without touching the grade. Simple titles become editable Text+ titles; animated titles and MOGRTs are rendered with their transparency, on their track.

For audio, each Premiere track becomes a Resolve track, with levels, gain, volume keyframes, fades, pan and faders. Audio effects don't carry over with GRADEFLOW either: Resolve doesn't allow them to be applied by script. The send report lists them track by track. Lumetri and LUTs from Premiere don't go, and an adjustment layer keeps only Lumetri's basic settings.

You grade and export in Resolve. GRADEFLOW needs an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 15 or later, Premiere Pro 2025 or 2026 and DaVinci Resolve Studio 21. The full list, limits included, is on the Features page. Sales are not open yet.

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